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- Fears of possible chemical and plastic contamination of seafood and salt have driven down consumption of fish in Sri Lanka, the main animal protein for the country’s majority Buddhist population.
- Consumers are concerned that pollutants from a cargo ship that caught fire and sank off Colombo in May could end up in the fish they eat, and the government has not given any reassurances while it continues to investigate the incident.
- Experts say there are reasons to be concerned but note that Sri Lankans are already eating seafood and salt that’s contaminated with heavy metals and microplastics.
- They say the ship sinking should serve as impetus for the government to take measures to reduce marine pollution in general and set guidelines for safe levels of seafood consumption.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sunitha Rathnayake, a homemaker in southern Sri Lanka, was down to the last of her salt and planned to order some more from an online grocery service at the end of June. But she soon found out that salt was out of stock at the main supermarkets, with shoppers panic-buying the condiment; they were apparently fearful that future supplies of salt would be contaminated by pollutants from the sunken X-Press Pearl container ship.
Sunitha had to cook without salt for several days until the suppliers had restocked, but now she says she’s fearful about buying fish in light of the maritime disaster in May. Like many Buddhist households in Sri Lanka, the Rathnayake family doesn’t eat meat, so fish is the only animal protein available at home.
Fears about seafood being contaminated by the plastics and toxic chemicals that were on board the Singapore-flagged X-Press Pearl when it caught fire and sank off Colombo have affected a wide swath of Sri Lankan society. “As my regular buyers stop consuming fish, I had to pedal extra kilometers trying to sell the daily quota of fish I bring to sell,” says Asoka Sumathi, a fishmonger who goes door to door by bicycle. He says he often had to return with unsold fish during the weeks soon after the ship’s sinking, and his business hasn’t fully recovered yet.
Fish vendors at Sri Lanka’s main fish market in Peliyagoda, northern Colombo, say prices have dropped due to decreased demand. In an attempt to prove that the fish is safe to eat, some vendors ate raw fish in front of the media.
At the same time, there’s been neither confirmation nor reassurance from the government on the issue. Susantha Kahawaththa, director-general of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR), says that no mass fish deaths have occurred due to the accident. However, following the sinking, DFAR and the National Aquatic Resources Agency (NARA) are still collecting dead fish samples to test for possible contamination linked to the incident, and have so far not found anything to establish the link.
“There can be short- to long-term impacts to fish due to the pollution caused by the sunken ship,” says Ruchira Cumarathunga, emeritus professor of fisheries at the University of Ruhuna. He says the sinking coincided with the spawning period for fish species. “As the ship was carrying a large number of chemicals, we do not clearly know how they would react and the chemicals can pass through small to larger fish through the food chain, and this requires vigilance and monitoring of fish for several seasons,” Cumarathunga tells Mongabay.
Experts say some fish species may be more vulnerable to the pollution than others. Large quantities of plastic beads, or nurdles, fell off the X-Press Pearl and into the sea after it caught fire. Another threat comes from the sinking of the vessel, whose carcass may affect bottom-feeding and grazing fish such as some coral fish species, Cumarathunga says.
While many worry about the possible contamination of fish due to the ship accident, researchers say some fish species already have chemicals such as mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic, along with microplastics, in their bodies due to oceanic pollution in general.
A 2018 study by NARA showed that swordfish and yellowfin tuna had high levels of mercury and cadmium, and dried shark meat had very high levels of pollutants, says Kolita Jinadasa, a senior scientist. Another study has shown that pollutants from industry and other sources have impacted seaweeds in some sites in Sri Lanka.
The pollution caused by the X-Press Pearl’s sinking may have future impacts, but this shouldn’t deter people from consuming fish, as it still offers high nutrition value, experts say.
Jinadasa recommends setting safe limits for the consumption of fish through a risk-benefit analysis. He says Sri Lanka should establish guidelines for provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI), to allow the consumption of potentially harmful contaminants in certain foods at low enough levels that can be sustained over a lifetime without health risks.
At the same time, however, Sri Lanka should take urgent measures to monitor its marine pollution levels and set up a periodic monitoring mechanism, Jinadasa tells Mongabay. Without baseline data, he says, it’s difficult to quantify the impacts of an accident like the X-Press Pearl sinking, and thereby take informed decisions.
Other studies have identified the prevalence of microplastics in fish species consumed in Sri Lanka. A recent study done at an estuary in southern Sri Lanka found microplastics in the gut and muscles of Commerson’s anchovy (Stolephorus commersonnii), a small fish widely consumed across Sri Lanka. A marine environment survey conducted by the Norwegian government research vessel Fridtjof Nansen also found microplastics in Sri Lankan waters.
An April 2021 study shows that more than 1,000 rivers account for 80% of the plastic waste that reaches the ocean via rivers. It also names Sri Lanka as among the top 20 ocean polluting countries.
Experts say the chance of chemicals leaked from the X-Press Pearl contaminating salt production is low, as the long manufacturing process would tend to mitigate that risk. However, microplastics have already been found in commercial salt in Sri Lanka, according to a recent study, which indicates that some salterns are more prone to microplastic contaminants.
Pollution of seafood also has severe trade implications for Sri Lanka, which exported some $300 million worth of fish in 2019, according to DFAR. Many export markets have strict regulations in terms of level of pollutants such as mercury and cadmium, and if the current rate of marine pollution continues, Sri Lanka risks losing this source of foreign exchange.
As the country grapples with ocean and river pollution, and the X-Press Pearl incident adding a new layer to an increasingly complex problem, experts have reiterated the need for long-term action plans to ensure seafood safety. The maritime disaster should be the impetus to drive such a program with set targets, Jinadasa says.
Jayasinghe, G. D., Sandaruwan, K. P., Silva, D. W., & Jinadasa, B. K. (2018). Total diet study approach in estimating mercury and cadmium levels using selected fish: A case study from Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science, 47(3), 275. doi:10.4038/cjs.v47i3.7534
Meijer, L. J., Van Emmerik, T., Van der Ent, R., Schmidt, C., & Lebreton, L. (2021). More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean. Science Advances, 7(18), eaaz5803. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaz5803
Praboda, M. W., Egodauyana, K. P., Wijethunga, H. N., Abeygunawardana, A. P., Senevirathna, J. D., & Thushari, G. G. (2020). Occurrence of microplastics in gut and muscles of Commerson’s anchovy in Madu-Ganga Estuary of Southern Province, Sri Lanka. Conference session presented at International Research Conference 2020, Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka. Retrieved from http://www.erepo.lib.uwu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5649
Banner image of a variety of seafood. Image by PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay.


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Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter claims that the PS4 and X720 will save the industry, and that Sony’s new console will launch before Microsoft’s nextBox.
His statements follow:
“We expect October – December to be relatively flat, and expect a return to negative territory again next year, at least until the launch of a next-generation console from Microsoft or Sony.
A new console cycle is likely to reverse the negative sales trends of the last several years, with next-generation consoles expected from each of the three manufacturers over the next 18 months.
Nintendo will launch the Wii U on November 18, and, while neither Sony nor Microsoft has yet announced new hardware, we expect a PS4 no later than November 2013, and a next Xbox no later than March 2014.
We believe that the publishers plan an unprecedented number of new games for launch in the first two years of the next generation, providing relief from the gamer fatigue we’ve seen over the last three years.”
All this comes prior to the NPD releasing yearly market figures, which are expected to look bad. What’s your take on the matter?

domain: news


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New leak reveals long exposure capability of the camera of Oppo N1
Oppo N1 is the anticipated upcoming high-end smartphone that is expected to arrive real soon. The exact dare for the scheduled event by Oppo is 23rd of September when the new flagship of the company will be officially presented. The various rumors and leaks that we have been exploring in the last several weeks describe an innovative camera-based smartphone that will compete against the biggest rivals on the market.
The key feature of the device will be its rich if capabilities primary camera. It will be equipped with detachable lenses and will support the NFC transfer for the photos. If all this sounds appealing to you, wait until you hear the latest rumors about the Oppo N1. There is a big chance to see the new smartphone with a camera with long exposure options. In support of this rumor comes the long exposure picture as part of the recent teaser for the phone. Oppo has just released a new promotional video for N1. As expected, you will not learn any new information from it, but it is really nice to have a glimpse on the upcoming device.
Luckily, we have summarized what we know about the specs of the phone from the rumors and leaks. It will boast a 5.9-inches display without bezels and 1080p resolution. It will work with Snapdragon chipset – either 800 or 600. The phablet will be armored with a 12MP camera on the back that is fully equipped with features and capabilities. The shooter will have Sony lens with an f/2.2 aperture. The camera will be able to capture long exposure photos for up to 8 seconds long, which is rather impressive for a camera-phone. The new device will run o Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The expected price for Oppo N1 is around $650 which is equal to €490, £410 or CNY4000. The big event for its unveiling will be held in Beijing, China on 23rd of September.


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“By 2028, we believe that cell-cultivated milk will be a standard option on supermarket shelves,” says Senara, a young biotech startup from Germany that recently came out of stealth, unveiling a technology to produce milk using cells.
Founded in Freiburg in 2022 by Dr. Svenja Dannewitz and Dr. Philipp-Prosseda, along with a team of scientists, Senara, which operates at pilot scale, claims it has developed a platform that can cultivate milk at lower costs. Senara explains that it uses a selection process to choose the best cells from milk (instead of taking animal samples) to grow them in bioreactors using a “continuous, high-throughput process” that significantly reduces production costs.
The final product, “real milk” — not a plant-based alternative — is said to contain all the essential milk nutrients such as lactose, casein, whey, and micronutrients. Additionally, it is free from bacteria and yeasts and can be customized to be more digestible, fatty, or lactose-free.
Why cell-cultivated milk?
Senara argues that cultivating milk is a sustainable alternative to animal milk production that addresses 12 of the 20 sustainability goals of the World Health Organization.
“Cell-cultivated milk offers a sustainable solution to reduce the environmental impact of dairy production by minimizing land use, greenhouse gas emissions, and water resources. It also promotes animal welfare by eliminating the need for factory farming practices,” explains Dr. Dannewitz, who is also Senara’s CEO.
The biotech’s approach to milk production has been backed by PurpleOrange Ventures, Positron Ventures, Partners in Clime, Black Forest Business Angels, and SquareOne Foods.
In addition, it has received various recognitions, including the MakeItMatter Award, a finalist nomination in the Science Startups category for the Falling Walls Award, and winner of “Cell-based Drink” at the World Cell-based Innovation Awards 2023.
In similar fields, the French startup Nūmi (previously MUMilk) also develops cell-cultured milk, but human breast milk instead of animal milk. Recently, the startup raised €3 million to facilitate its next phase of R&D.
“I recall my grandparents milking their cows, and now I’m applying my years of scientific experience to make milk – a fundamental nutritional building block – sustainable and accessible for today’s world and future generations,” shares Dannewitz.


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Alentejo wine production up 10%
Portugal’s Alentejo region is expecting a better than average wine harvest this year with output expected to be up to 10% higher on last year with an estimated 112 to 118 million litres of wine according to the regional wine commission CVRA.
This year’s grape harvest began earlier starting in Serpa with an expectation that by the middle of August around 25% of Alentejo producers will have their grapes in the wineries, and by the end of September 23,000 hectares of grapes will have been harvested.
Francisco Mateus, President of the CVRA said, “The grapes that are being collected are healthy and reflect another year of quality guaranteed. We are growing in terms of exports by around 8% in value and volume and his is a sign that we are continuing to offer the market excellent wines from all the regions of the Alentejo”.
In 2022, the Alentejo wine region harvested around 150,000 tonnes of grapes that resulted in over 107 million litres of wine.


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Using wireless technology, a sensor is implanted in the eye to pick up light signals sent from a camera mounted on special eyeglasses.
Schulman must find ways to attract new engineering talent to PayPal, which is viewed by many in Silicon Valley as technologically stagnant.
Pav bhaji and Bollywood-loving metal band Scribe release their third album today. Hail Mogambo seems inspired from the villain of the 1987 film ‘Mr India’
Otter Media — a joint venture between telecom giant AT&T and The Chernin Group — has agreed to buy a majority stake in Fullscreen, one of the largest networks on YouTube.
PayPal is splitting from eBay Inc and will become a separate and publicly traded company next year.
iPhone 6 Plus owners are reportedly complaining that the phone bends when you put it in your pocket.
Pune boy Udayan Mane ended the day as the best Indian with an even par effort that put him at tied 12th at the Asia-Pacific Golf Championship.


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T-Mobile announced plans to deliver an iPhone-compatible network last month despite being the only major US wireless provider that doesn't sell Apple's smartphone. It seems that they are one step close to making that a reality, albeit a baby step, by having a HSPA+ compatible network available for Apple Worldwide Developer Conference attendees at the Moscone Center next week.
Yesterday a 9to5Mac reader was reportedly walking by the Moscone Center with his unlocked iPhone 4 on T-Mobile and noticed that his handset switched over to 3G. As he left the area, it defaulted back to the EDGE network. This led the publication to speculate that T-Mobile might announce a compatible iPhone at WWDC.
We don't yet know if that's the case but T-Mobile did tell 9to5Mac that they have deployed a 4G HSPA+ network on the 1900MHz band to test a live network on a small scale. A company spokesperson said they still plan to launch the service in a large number of markets by the end of this year as part of their $4 billion network modernization effort. T-mobile concludes their statement by saying the timing and location of the test is merely coincidental.
The wireless provider has yet to offer its customers the iPhone, lagging behind the likes of AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Even regional carriers are getting in on the Apple action as C Spire and Cricket have recently announced plans for the handset. Prepaid provider Virgin Mobile USA, a Sprint brand, announced yesterday that the iPhone would be coming to their network on June 29.


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Polyphony Digital is teasing a new update for Gran Turismo Sport that will add several new cars. It is set to launch on January 17th.
Yamauchi himself shared a tweet that teased a new car and confirmed that this update will launch on January 17th for the PS4. It is a part of the long-standing support for the game which launched back in 2017. After disappointing with lack of content at launch, Gran Turismo Sport has continued to receive free content with each update adding cars, tracks, gameplay modes, and more.
— 山内 一典 (@Kaz_Yamauchi) January 5, 2019
While the details around this update are still shrouded in mystery, the following cars are being speculated based on the image shared by Kaz Yamauchi.
Rumored List of Cars In Gran Turismo Sport Update Version 1.32
- Mustang Shelby GT350
- Porsche 356 Spider
- Nissan 350Z or 370Z
- Honda DC2 Integra
- Ferrari Dino 246 GT
- BMW Z4
- Aston Martin DBR1
In other news, Polyphony Digital has opened a new studio that is being developed in parallel with the new Gran Turismo. While it is possible that they will work on a mainline sequel, they can also release another spin-off just like Gran Turismo Sport. As for the sales, it has been doing well in the European market and with the inclusion of PlayStation VR, there is further incentive to buy it for the VR experience.


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Antismoking advocates are taking the battle against cigarettes to the aisles of pharmacies as well as retailers with in-store health clinics, arguing that stores promoting health care shouldn't also be selling tobacco products.
Tuesday, San Francisco's city board of supervisors will vote on whether to bar cigarette sales at pharmacies as of Oct. 1, a measure Mayor Gavin Newsom modeled after similar bans already on the books in Canada.
Other efforts have cropped up across the U.S. to pass state and city laws banning the sales of cigarettes at drugstores and retailers offering in-store health services. While no major ban has passed in the U.S. yet, widespread approvals of such measures would affect pharmacies such as CVS/Caremark Corp. CVS 0.18 % and Walgreen Co., supermarket chains and big-box retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT 0.33 %
The issue is a particularly touchy one for Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer. Wal-Mart is trying to expand business by positioning itself as a champion of affordable health care, attracting more customers to its pharmacies with cheap prices on generic drugs and opening health clinics in many of its stores, all of which sell tobacco products. Wal-Mart, however, doesn't have stores that would be affected by San Francisco's ban as proposed.
Supporters of the sales bans say they are trying to reduce tobacco-related illnesses by limiting access to cigarettes, which have established health hazards. By ratcheting up the social unacceptability of cigarettes, supporters believe they can deter young people from starting tobacco habits.
Opponents portray the efforts as selective legislation that will have little impact on smoking rates, while making retailers choose between selling what customers want and offering affordable health care.
The San Francisco vote is being closely watched. The city "was the first to ban smoking in workplaces and other public places, and has been a catalyst for other jurisdictions," said Matt Myers, president of the national Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "If San Francisco prohibits the sale of tobacco in pharmacies, we could well see this prohibition spread across major areas of the nation."
A study by researchers at Yale University found that 82% of 1,000 California pharmacists surveyed and 72% of 988 adult consumers questioned support a ban of tobacco products at pharmacies. The proposed San Francisco ban is supported by the California Pharmacists Association, the California Medical Association, and the American Cancer Society, among other groups.
Leading up to the San Francisco vote, backers have had trouble winning legislative approval of bans. Ban measures introduced this year in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Illinois to bar stores and pharmacies with health clinics from selling tobacco and, in some cases, alcohol, all stalled. A bill in New York that would have applied to all pharmacies, including those in big retailer and supermarket outlets, also foundered.
Opponents of the tobacco bans believe stores will get out of the clinic business if they are forced to choose between providing health care and selling cigarettes. "We do not understand how forcing retailers to choose between having an in-store clinic and selling tobacco products serves the broader goal of providing consumers with easier access to high-quality, affordable health care," says Tine Hansen-Turton, executive director of the Convenient Care Association, which represents the roughly 1,000 health clinics located in retail outlets in the U.S. The clinics are primarily staffed by nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists who treat common ailments such as sore throats and sinus infections.
It is a tough call for retailers, which would be forced to give up a big source of revenue and lose a significant customer draw. Grocery stores, drugstores, wholesale clubs and mass merchandisers accounted for 19% of tobacco sales in the U.S. last year, or at least $13 billion.
But a few big retailers already have given up cigarettes. Target Corp. TGT 0.94 % quit the sales habit in 1996 believing that new laws restricting cigarette sales made them too labor-intensive to dispense. The chain says the financial impact was minimal. Earlier this year Wegmans Food Markets Inc., a Northeastern-based food-store chain, discontinued sales because of "the destructive role smoking plays in health," Chief Executive Danny Wegman said at the time.
Wal-Mart stopped selling cigarettes in its Canadian stores in 1994 as the provincial government of Ontario was adopting a law that would bar stores operating pharmacies from selling cigarettes, a ban seven other Canadian provincial governments later approved.
Cigarettes have gotten harder to buy in recent years. About a decade ago, state laws began prohibiting retailers from selling tobacco products to individuals under age 18, and in some cases, age 19. Most states also began enacting laws requiring stores to keep cigarettes behind cash registers or separate customer service counters instead of easily accessible, free-standing kiosks.
While cigarette sales have fallen 18% in volume terms since 2000, 17.4 billion packs were sold last year. Over that same period, sales of other tobacco products-moist snuff, roll-your-own tobacco and small cigars -- increased by the equivalent of 1.10 billion packs of cigarettes, according to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Retailers are grappling with the ethics of reconciling a health care business with tobacco sales. In November, CEO Thomas Ryan of CVS said his company was considering eventually halting the sale of cigarettes.
"We have a vision in our company to strive to improve human life, and it is a challenge around cigarettes," Mr. Ryan said at a conference. "It's a big number from a dollar standpoint...We've had internal battles and discussions. I wouldn't rule it out at some point down the road."
Wal-Mart wouldn't comment on legislative attempts to ban cigarettes, but in the past, CEO Lee Scott has indicated customer preferences dictate what it sells at its stores. "There are still a tremendous number of our customers who smoke," Mr. Scott told Wall Street Journal editors at a recent meeting in New York. "We've got a market to serve, and second we've got shareholders to think about," he added.
Doug McMillon, head of Wal-Mart's Sam's Club unit that sells its tobacco products mainly to convenience stores, said halting cigarette sales is something he has "thought about. I don't expect it to happen in the next year. It's a big business, so it makes it harder to stop," he said at the Journal meeting.
In a letter to San Francisco Mayor Newsom, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores doubted prohibiting the sale of tobacco products in drugstores would reduce smoking. "Such a ban would only succeed in making an arbitrary determination as to which retailers would be permitted to sell products that remain legitimately for sale in the state and in the nation," the letter said.
Local jurisdictions mulling a ban are each drawing the line on tobacco sales in a different place. The San Francisco proposal wouldn't affect sales at grocery stores with pharmacies or warehouse clubs such as Costco Wholesale Corp. COST -0.01 % Backers reason that grocery stores and warehouse clubs don't market themselves as promoting health care, said Mitch Katz, director of San Francisco's Department of Public Health.
"Supermarkets draw a cross-section of people, but a pharmacy attracts a vulnerable population -- people with illnesses," Dr. Katz said.
New York Assemblyman Sam Hoyt drafted a bill earlier this year to restrict the sale of tobacco-related products in pharmacies, including those in grocery stores and big-box retailers. He said he acted after Wegmans halted cigarette sales, because he didn't think enough retailers would follow its lead voluntarily.
The bill didn't make it out of committee, but Mr. Hoyt said he'll try again next year.
A bill drafted by the Illinois State Medical Society earlier this year drew a rebuke from the Federal Trade Commission, which criticized portions of it as potentially anti-competitive. In addition to banning tobacco products and alcohol at stores with walk-in health clinics, the bill would require permits to operate clinics, curb clinic price-comparison ads, and require more physician involvement.
After the Illinois bill stalled in committee, members of the Illinois State Medical Society have tackled a revision, and plan to introduce the new version this fall, said Dr. Shastri Swaminathan, a Chicago psychiatrist and president of the Illinois State Medical Society.
Write to Ann Zimmerman at email@example.com


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With a heavy dose of irony, the former scrapyard owner and his family recently had to relocate to a new home after their business was sold to a company that had previously used the scrapyard.
But it seems the scraper’s new owner wasn’t too happy about it, with the former owner threatening to sue the new scrapyard company.
The scraper is one of several tools the scrap yard sold to the company that was previously known as The Scrap Yard.
In the video above, you can see what the scrapyards owner describes as a “scrapyard with no scrap yard.”
The scrapyard’s owner, Jim R. Bales, told WTVR-TV that he has been trying to get his business back since the company bought the business.
Balsons son, Jim Bales Jr., told the station that he and his brother were working with the owner of The Scrapper to get it back.
“I have no idea why they would want to sell it, but it’s my business, so I’ll fight for it,” Bales told WDRB.
“It’s a big piece of history that we’re trying to restore.
We’ll take it back to the scrap yards that built it.”
Balson, who has lived in West Virginia for the last 30 years, told the news station that the scrapping business is important to his family.
“They were my family, and they loved me,” Balsoned.
“If you can get back to that and help your family and give back to your community, it’s worth it.”
The scrapper was built in the 1950s, but is no longer used in the industry.


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Mumbai, Aug 14 () : Tata Motors has put into action a plan to step on the gas to zoom past Mahindra and Mahindra (MM).
Tata’s longest-serving model, Safari, is getting a major makeover in styling and added engineering inputs on the lines of Land Rover. The new model will be re-named Safari Storme. Lighter and more spacious version is scheduled for a launch in coming months.
A stripped-down version of the Aria crossover is next and that will be substantially cheaper than the Rs 12.13 lakh for the BSIV version (ex-showroom, Mumbai).
The Aria has failed to catch the market and pick up sizeable sales figures for the company. The personal pickup vehicle Xenon posted sales of 708 units sold in the same quarter a year ago that had only 168 units in the first quarter, a fall of 76 per cent.
However, the company trump card which could reverse its domestic fortunes, is the diesel-driven Nano. However it will not be launched before the end of the current financial year. The petrol-driven car, Nano, makes up 20-30 per cent of Tata Motors total passenger vehicle sales, clocking sales of 5,500-6,000 units a month.
Indica, the diesel-driven hatchback vehicle constitutes 70 per cent. Despite Tata witnessing a jump in sales in July, it decided to go ahead with a four-day plant shutdown at its Pune passenger vehicle facility starting August 1. If Tata Motors does not ramp up production to make up for the loss then this could mean a lower dispatch of cars and SUVs for the current month.
A company known for making tractors, M&M is the hottest car maker in India. In just ten years of making its first real début, it has entered the big league. It does have its share of failures. A joint venture (JV) with Renault, The Logan sedan, was a disaster. An earlier JV with Ford to produce the Escort didn’t work out to excite the market.


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LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Crank & Boom has a new Gov. Andy Beshear-inspired ice cream flavor to add to its lineup.
”We are just trying to tag on with what people are interested in,” Crank & Boom Owner Toa Green said.
Right now, many are interested in the governor’s daily updates on COVID-19 in the state. The new flavor, ‘Beers with Beshear,’ seems like the perfect happy hour treat as you watch the news conference. It consists of coffee stout ice cream, chocolate covered pretzels and homemade salted caramel sauce.
“Hopefully you’ll be able to enjoy it at 5:00 when the governor comes on and tells us what’s going on and reminds us that it’s all going to be okay and we’re going to get through this together,” said Green.
The new flavor will be released on April 7, but they’re taking pre-orders until Thursday night at 11:59 p.m.
Two dollars from the sale of each pint will benefit the Feed Backpack Program, which helps food insecure children in the community.
”We felt particularly now, especially when kids are out of school and don’t have that stability of going to school, it’s even more important for us to provide the bags because we feel like it is food which is vitally important, but it also shows them that somebody cares about them,” Green said.
Last week, Crank & Boom released Candy Beshear which consists of salted caramel ice cream with pieces of Kit Kats, M&Ms, and Butterfingers.


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Katy Perry to be the Face – and Hair – of GHD?
Pop star Katy Perry is expected to be named GHD’s brand ambassador over the coming weeks.
Katy Perry Set to Become GHD’s Brand Ambassador
Marketing magazine reports that the hair care products manufacturer will launch an ad campaign promoting its latest hair straighteners next month and is currently in final negotiations with the California singer to star in the ads, which RYKCR/Y&R has created.
GHD’s Influence in the Hair Care Industry
GHD (Good Hair Day) is also reportedly discussing possibly becoming a second-tier sponsor of Perry’s UK tour, which begins next month.
About GHD and it’s Influence in the Hair Care Industry
GHD (Good Hair Day) is an iconic British company renowned for revolutionizing the hair care industry. Established in 2001, the brand quickly made a name for itself with its innovative range of high-quality hair styling tools, particularly its hair straighteners. GHD’s products were unique in their combination of design, performance, and pioneering technology, transforming how hairstyling was perceived and practiced at home and by professionals. The brand’s transformative influence extended far beyond the UK, becoming a global phenomenon and setting new standards in hair care worldwide.
Katy Perry: A Key Collaborator in GHD’s Success
GHD’s impact was further bolstered by its strategic marketing campaigns, which included collaboration with pop music sensation Katy Perry. As the face of GHD, Perry’s global appeal and trend-setting image perfectly aligned with the brand’s innovative ethos. Perry’s endorsement significantly boosted the brand’s visibility and appeal, particularly among younger consumers. This partnership exemplified GHD’s knack for understanding and capitalizing on the intersection of popular culture and personal grooming, helping to cement its status as a leading innovator in the hair care industry.


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Carlyle Group is set to close its biggest-ever Asia private equity fund at $6.5 billion, people with direct knowledge of matter said, in a deal that adds to the record levels of funds seeking deals in the region.
Lanvin's new owner, Chinese conglomerate Fosun, has announced that it has finalised its acquisition of a majority stake in luxury underwear label Wolford, becoming the brand's owner with 51% of its shares.
India’s gold imports fell for a fourth straight month in April from a year ago to 57 tonnes on subdued demand after local prices jumped to the highest level in nearly 21 months, data from GFMS and bank dealers showed.
Gold crosses, halo-ed headdresses and angel wings filled the red carpet at New York’s Met Gala on Monday, as some of the world’s biggest celebrities embraced the religious theme of the so-called Oscars of the East Coast.
Luxury group Salvatore Ferragamo said on Monday it expected 2018 results to be undermined by currency swings and an unfavourable mix of its sales channels, after posting first quarter results in line with expectations.
Sunday saw the opening of the Italian luxury brand’s new NY digs on SoHo’s Wooster Street, an innovative retail destination channeling the neighborhood’s artistic heritage and proposing original services and experiences.
Burberry has become the latest luxury label to rethink its fur policy and has launched a review. If it chooses an outright ban, it will make Burberry the latest in a raft of luxe brands to go fur-free in the past year.


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WASHINGTON — The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers is officially joining the debate on shrink label recycling.
The Washington-based group announced May 8 that it was forming a Label Working Group "in an effort to focus on the recycler's perspective on the problem."
Full-wrap shrink sleeve labels on PET bottles and containers have been a hot topic in recycling this year. The labels, commonly made of polyactic acid or PVC, are popular with brand owners, but can also contaminate the PET recycling stream.
Recyclers are reporting seeing an increase in full-wrap labels on containers and bottles, said APR Director Steve Alexander in a news release.
"While the initial concern was on PET bottles, we are now seeing these full wrap shrink labels contaminating polypropylene bottles and containers. The problem continues to grow," he said.
The labels can interfere with sorting equipment — most technology can't identify the resin composition of the container underneath the label — and labels aren't easily removed during pre-wash or in float tanks.
"This essentially contaminates the entire stream of material, and makes it unusable for a second life application," said John Standish, APR's technical director, in the release.
Recyclers are often the last to know about innovations like shrink labels, only becoming aware of new products once they're made available for recycling, Alexander said. APR's goal is to work with innovators so they understand the implications on the recyclability of the container.
Many APR members are currently working on solutions to the shrink label issue. APR said it plans to work with label manufacturers and other groups to find solution that works for everyone.
"The last thing a brand owner wants to see is a new innovation that they have invested in rendering their container non-recyclable. We do not want that either. Contamination is the last thing we want to see in our material," Alexander said.
The label group will meet next month in Baltimore at the APR Membership Meeting. The group has also published a list of principles that labels should meet to eliminate contamination.
The list, available on the APR website, consists of the following guidelines for sleeve labels on PET bottles:
- The label will not interfere with the ability of a NIR automatic sorter to identify the underlying PET bottle.
- The label will separate from the bottle in a whole bottle wash step.
- Any sleeve label that remains after bottle granulation will float in water.
- Label residue present during hot caustic wash will not cause discoloration of PET flakes or molded plaques made from flake.
APR isn't the first group to take on the shrink label conundrum.
Eastman Chemical Co. formed a full-wrap label consortium last year with members from than 30 companies.
According to Eastman, the consortium focused on cooperation and collaboration between its diverse member group, which included everyone from resin producers to recyclers.
The consortium planned to hold its third meeting in February. During a presentation at the Packaging Conference, Holli Whitt, Eastman's market development manager for sustainability for specialty plastics, invited industry groups like APR to join them.
But APR Chairman Tom Busard took issue with the group, and with Whitt's invite months after the group was formed, arguing that APR should have been involved with the organization from the start.
Whitt countered that Eastman had proposed the consortium as a project for the National Association of PET Container Resources, but the Sonoma, Calif-based organization did not seem interested.
Busard is also chairman of NAPCOR.
"The folks who created the label consortium maybe will admit now … that it might have been better to start with APR, rather than just waiting a year to invite them," Busard said, in his presentation at the Packaging Conference in February.


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Apple agreed Wednesday to return most of its overseas profits to the United States and pay a onetime $38 billion tax on the earnings, as well as create new U.S.-based jobs and issue bonuses to its employees. Company spokespersons attributed the move to the White House’s enactment of a $1.5 trillion tax cut in December.
The tax legislation included revision of a longstanding policy that had allowed companies to avoid paying U.S. income taxes on profits they had accrued overseas until they returned the income to the United States.
U.S. businesses consequently stashed an estimated $3.1 trillion in earnings offshore. Apple alone had $246 billion in overseas accounts as of last year.
Companies repatriating funds would have had to pay a 35% tax on the funds under the old tax laws. The new tax law reduces the tax owed to only 15.5%.
Apple did not specify publicly how much money it is returning to U.S. accounts, but the $38 billion sum suggests a repatriation worth $245 billion—almost all of its overseas cash reserves. The company also announced that it will spend $30 billion more in-country over the next five years to create 20,000 new jobs and that it is issuing stock-based bonuses of $2,500 each to almost all of its employees worldwide.
President Trump hailed Apple’s announcement later that day, tweeting that it is a “huge win for American workers and the USA!” He added: “I promised my policies would allow companies like Apple to bring massive amounts of money back to the United States.”
Apple has faced criticism inside and outside the United States for its use of offshore accounts and other mechanisms to avoid paying taxes. In December, the Irish government started collection efforts to force Apple to pay $15 billion in taxes that the European Union ruled Apple owed.


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FTC is likely to file case against Microsoft over its acquisition of Activision. FTC is likely to file a case against Microsoft over its acquisition of Activision. This week, it seems less likely that Microsoft will be able to close on its $70 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.
Politico says the U.S. FTC is “expected” to try to prevent the acquisition with an antitrust complaint, citing three persons with knowledge of the situation.
The announcement comes as regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union give the deal their close attention. Governments throughout the world are eager to regulate the dominance of large computer firms, and Microsoft’s entrance into the gaming industry gives them a prime opportunity to do so.
Lina Khan, the head of the FTC, has been quite vocal about her disapproval of any attempts to create a monopoly in the technology sector. No final judgement has been made, but sources tell Politico that “the FTC personnel investigating the agreement are sceptical of the corporations’ justifications.”
Meanwhile, on Wednesday the U.K. regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, disclosed conflicting comments the two firms had made to its inspectors in October, taking the verbal battle between Sony and Microsoft over the acquisition to a new, ridiculous level.
Sony has pleaded with regulators to stop the merger, claiming that having Microsoft’s own Activision Blizzard, and especially the Call of Duty series, will eliminate competition in the video game industry.
Both firms found themselves in the rare position of having to prove that their rival is more successful than they are, and they went to great lengths to portray themselves as the underdog. Microsoft objected, saying it was “not plausible” that Sony could be foreclosed by the smallest of the three console competitors, Xbox, due to the loss of access to a single title.
(It has also strongly denied it would ever do such a thing; Microsoft gaming head Phil Spencer stated Call of Duty would remain on PlayStation “as long as there’s a PlayStation out there to ship to,” and Microsoft told the New York Times it has given Sony a further 10 years of Call of Duty titles.)
Microsoft has been quite kind in its assessment of its own exclusive games, claiming that they are inferior to Sony’s. The article claims that “Sony has more exclusive games than Microsoft, many of which are greater quality,” citing “iconic first-party series” like God of War and Uncharted as examples.
In comparison to Xbox, PlayStation has “almost five times as many” exclusive games. Sony responded by criticising its own subscription offering. It bemoaned, “Game Pass is much ahead of PlayStation Plus.”
— Polygon (@Polygon) November 24, 2022
Microsoft is miles ahead of the competition in the multi-game subscription service market. There are currently 29 million people that pay for Xbox Game Pass on console and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and that number is only anticipated to rise.
It also said, “The PlayStation Plus multi-game membership tiers are well behind.” Sony also indirectly insulted Electronic Arts’ Battlefield series when stating that Microsoft’s decision to make Call of Duty exclusive would make it impossible for any other company to compete in the FPS market.
Sony claimed, “Even assuming that SIE had the ability and resources to develop a similarly successful franchise to Call of Duty, it would take many, many years and billions of dollars to create a challenger to Call of Duty, and the example of EA’s Battlefield shows that any such efforts would more than likely be unsuccessful.” Microsoft plans to finish its acquisition of Activision Blizzard by the middle of 2023.


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|By Business Wire||
|March 13, 2014 08:02 AM EDT||
The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, today announced that Thinfilm and Xerox Corporation have joined the NFC Forum at the Principal level. In addition, 19 Associate and Implementer members have joined the consortium.
- Thin Film Electronics ASA is a leader in the development of Printed Electronics. The first to commercialize printed rewritable memory, Thinfilm is creating printed system products that will include memory, sensing, display and wireless communication such as NFC -at a cost-per-functionality unmatched by any other electronic technology. Thinfilm’s roadmap of system products integrates technology from a strong and growing ecosystem of partners to enable the Internet of Things by bringing intelligence to disposable goods.
"Thinfilm believes strongly in building ecosystem partnerships. The NFC Forum is an extraordinary way to bring together industry leaders from different areas of the ecosystem to foster shared vision and mutually beneficial collaborations," said Davor Sutija, Thinfilm CEO.
- Since the invention of Xerography more than 75 years ago, the people of Xerox have helped businesses simplify the way work gets done. Today, Xerox is the global leader in business process and document management, helping organizations of any size be more efficient so they can focus on their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., more than 140,000 Xerox employees serve clients in 160 countries, providing business services, printing equipment and software for commercial and government organizations.
"Our active participation in the NFC community will further enhance the ability of Xerox products, services and technologies to make life simpler for our customers," said Steve Schlonski, vice president, Global Technology & Offerings Development, Xerox. "Making that association easier into a world of connected technology is central to our business process."
The Principal level is the next-to-top tier of NFC Forum membership, and it includes significant participation opportunities. Principal members may designate individuals to run for Forum leadership positions, and they may appoint one voting representative to each NFC Forum Committee and Working Group. Other privileges include proposing Forum initiatives and participating in the NFC Forum testing and certification program using their own in-house test labs.
"Like the NFC global ecosystem, the NFC Forum thrives on diverse industry perspectives and insights," said Koichi Tagawa, chairman of the NFC Forum. "We welcome and look forward to the unique contributions that Thinfilm, Xerox, and our other new members will bring to the organization."
New Associate members include:
- DigiCert, Inc.
- IXXI -- Groupe Ratp
- Korea Smart Card Co.
- PLDS Germany GmbH
- Seiko Epson Corporation
- TrustPoint Innovation Technologies, Ltd.
- TUV Rheinland Group
Joining as Implementer members are:
- A.K. Stamping Company, Inc.
- BMW Group
- NEC TOKIN Corporation
- Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group Company Limited
- Silicon Craft Technology Co., Ltd.
- Sino-American Electronics Co., Ltd. (SAC)
- Sonim Technologies, Inc.
- Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd
Any organization with an interest in furthering the development and adoption of NFC technology is encouraged to apply for NFC Forum membership. In addition to its ongoing work via conference calls and online meetings, the NFC Forum holds face-to-face, all-members meetings three times a year to advance NFC initiatives, and to address specifications and other projects under development.
An all-members meeting is taking place next week in San Francisco, California, USA. At the conclusion of the week-long meeting, the NFC Forum is hosting a Spotlight for Developers on March 21 at the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf. Developers from all industries are invited to attend to learn how to jump-start their NFC application development. Advance registration is required.
Follow the NFC Forum:
About Near Field Communication Technology
NFC technology makes life easier and more convenient for consumers around the world by making it simpler to make transactions, exchange digital content, and connect electronic devices with a touch. A standards-based connectivity technology, NFC harmonizes today's diverse contactless technologies, enabling current and future solutions in areas such as access control, consumer electronics, health care, information collection and exchange, loyalty and coupons, payments, and transport. NFC technology is supported by the world's leading communication device manufacturers, semiconductor producers, network operators, IT and services companies, and financial services organizations. NFC is compatible with hundreds of millions of contactless cards and readers already deployed worldwide.
About the NFC Forum
The NFC Forum (http://www.nfc-forum.org) was launched as a non-profit industry association in 2004 by leading mobile communications, semiconductor, and consumer electronics companies. The Forum's mission is to advance the use of Near Field Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability among devices and services, and educating the market about NFC technology. The Forum's global member companies currently are developing specifications for a modular NFC device architecture, and protocols for interoperable data exchange and device-independent service delivery, device discovery, and device capability. The NFC Forum's Sponsor members, which hold seats on the Board of Directors, include leading players in key industries around the world. The Sponsor members are: Broadcom Corporation, Google, Inc., Intel, MasterCard Worldwide, NEC, Nokia, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Samsung, Sony Corporation, STMicroelectronics, and Visa Inc.
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With 10 simultaneous tracks, keynotes, general sessions and targeted breakout classes, Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo are two of the most important technology events of the year. Since its launch over eight years ago, Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo have presented a rock star faculty as well as showcased hundreds of sponsors and exhibitors! In this blog post, I provide 7 tips on how, as part of our world-class faculty, you can deliver one of the most popular sessions at our events. But before reading the...
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This article originally appeared on PlanPhilly.
Philadelphia: get ready to see more bright blue Indego bikes zipping through the streets this summer.
The city’s bike share initiative announced Thursday that it will expand its electric bike pilot with 400 pedal assist bikes, after a successful test-run.
Indego started the e-bike experiment in November with just 10 pedal-assist bikes. Indego officials studied use patterns over a four month period to see how people responded to the new option — and if the could e-bikes could withstand the streets of Philadelphia. The results impressed city officials.
“We saw that the Indego electric bikes were ridden up to 10 times as often as the standard bikes,” said Mike Carroll, deputy managing director of the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability. “And they traveled to every station across the city.”
The bikes can reach a top speed of 17 miles per hour. That’s not exactly face warping, but riders, be warned: Lyft recently pulled their e-bikes out of service in three cities including New York due to braking problems that projected unsuspecting riders over the handlebars.
Aaron Ritz, transportation systems manager in the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability, said Philly’s bikes come vetted for safety. Indego did their due diligence with the bike manufacturer B-Cycle, which is owned by Trek, whose bikes carry price tags in the thousands, Ritz said.
“Thing number one is that the equipment has been well tested upfront and that we also know from Trek and from our operations team, there’s a good procedure in place to make sure it doesn’t just start out good but it stays in good quality throughout the life of the bicycle,” he said.
“We haven’t received any complaints of safety during our pilot, which is definitely one of the reasons we decided to go forth and increase the number of bikes,”said Waffiyyah Murray, who manages the city’s Better Bike Share Partnership Program.
As the city prepares for dockless e-bikes, Indego will also add 12 new stations to its existing 130. Ritz kept mum about the exact locations, but says they’ll be focused on high-traffic areas. The locations will be announced on social media, he said.
Indego expects to start rolling the bikes out in late May.
Catching a ride on the electric bikes will cost an additional 15 cents per minute or five cents per minute for Access pass holders. The cost of day passes will also be increased to provide access to the e-bikes, he said.


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Walgreens forever changed its corporate trajectory with the execution of its “step 2” merger and acquisition of Boots Alliance, creating a truly international retail pharmacy operator with the restructured and rebranded Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Is this the year that restrictions on the use of over-the-counter medicines in conjunction with a flexible savings account are lifted? If you consider the value proposition — the $102 billion saved each year by the use of OTC medicines — and that health care is moving toward a more value-based, outcomes-driven system, it would certainly seem so.
There’s only one thing that can be better than a strategically placed shelf talker, and that’s a literal talking shelf. That’s exactly what Shelfbucks, a leading iBeacon promotion platform for retail stores, and Menasha Packaging are bringing to brand manufacturers with a smart display platform — a shelf talker that interacts and engages a consumer through her smartphone.
Walgreens last year extended its exclusive relationship with Vitamin Angels to help provide children and mothers in at-risk populations with essential vitamins and minerals, and in so doing continued to strike a chord with aspirational consumers.
Five macro trends impacted sales of OTC medicines in 2014, Bob Sanders, EVP at IRI, shared with attendees of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association Annual Executive Conference in March. On the plus side, switch continues to drive considerable growth across OTC aisles — Rx-to-OTC accounted for 19% of OTC sales and 27% of growth in the past five years, and that trend is likely to continue, Sanders said


text: Billboard has a long feature looking at whether Twitter has lost its lustre for brands, with the rather worrying title (for Twitter) of ‘Is Twitter The Next Second Life?’. It cites stats showing growth stalling for the micro-blogging service, while quoting Converse’s chief marketing officer Geoff Cottrill as saying ‘Twitter is a little bit overrated. There will be a new media toy that will replace it in a year or two’. It also suggests the likes of Procter & Gamble, Chevrolet and Hyundai are focusing more on Facebook. There are exceptions, with Dell being one notable example. However, one of the main points of the feature – personalities do better on Twitter than brands – is exactly why Twitter is working pretty well for artists at the moment.


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3 Mins Read
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the international certification for organic textiles, saw the highest growth in certified operations last year. The news comes as the wider textile industry experiences major shifts towards more sustainable and organic manufacturing processes, driven primarily by changing consumer tastes for more eco-friendly products. Fashion labels, from fast fashion to outdoor apparel are now all collectively incorporating organic textiles more than ever before, alongside other recycled materials.
GOTS recently reported that the number of organic facilities certified by the body grew by 35% in 2019 to reach 7,765 suppliers in 70 different countries, up from 5,760 the previous year. Growth in certification was recorded in both producer and consumer regions, but the most significant increase in the number of organic facilities was seen in Bangladesh, India and Europe.
“With more and more GOTS certified operations and products we altogether substantially contribute to sustainable development,” commented Claudia Kersten, managing director of GOTS.
GOTS added that there were an estimated record of 3 million workers employed in certified organic facilities in 2019.
To be certified as organic under GOTS, facilities must undergo stringent testing. From farming procedures to processing methods, organic products must not involve the use of synthetic chemical pesticides or fertilisers, and are not grown using genetically modified or radiated plants.
Agrochemicals commonly employed in non-organic agriculture is also one of the largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the industry. On the other hand, organic farming methods are widely considered to help promote better biodiversity, soil quality and does not contaminate the environment with run-off substances – which also exposes workers to fewer health hazards.
A 2019 study led by Dutch scientists from the University of Twente found that organic agriculture can help make progress on 8 of the 17 globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially on combating climate change, preventing biodiversity loss and achieving zero hunger and clean water for all.
Given the health and environmental benefits of organic products, more eco-conscious consumers are now shifting towards clothing made from organic textiles. In response to consumer demand and pressure to green its operations, the fashion industry is now taking new strides towards using more sustainable fabrics. Some of the major brands that have already achieved the GOTS regulations include outdoor apparel brand Patagonia and bedding company Boll & Branch.
Fast fashion giants are also taking the leap towards organic and recycled alternatives. H&M, for instance, has already increased its use of organic and recycled cotton to 95%, and the group aims to achieve 100% sustainably sourced cotton across its collection this year. Monki, on the other hand, has already used only organic and recycled cotton since 2018.
Aside from employing more recycled and organic textiles in their products, fashion brands are taking on circular solutions such as rental, repair and resale models. Despite representing quick-waste consumer culture, H&M debuted a recycling, repair and rental concept and a rental subscription service under its higher-end sister brand COS collection in China.
Even luxury brands are promoting refurbishment and resale, and most recently, high-end consignment platform Rebag launched a new programme to allow customers to rent, exchange and rent again to keep items out of landfills for as long as possible.
Read more of the latest news about the organic industry here.
Lead image courtesy of 123rf.


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2 July Thimphu. Hon’ble Lyonpo Yeshey Dorji, Minister for Ministry of Agriculture and Forests awarded the ISO 22000:2005 certificates to five companies namely Bhutan Agro Industry Limited, Thimphu; Bhutan Milk and Agro Private Limited, Phuentsholing; Druk Air In-flight Catering, Druk Air Corporation Limited, Paro; Terma Linca Resort and Spa, Thimphu and Zimdra Food Pvt. Limited, Phuentsholing.
ISO 22000:2005 is a food safety management system designed to enable organisations to control food safety hazards along the food chain in order to ensure that food is safe for consumption. It also includes interactive communication system approach to Food Safety Management (FSM), Pre-requisite Programmes and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).
The scope of ISO 22000:2005 is the entire food chain involving the farm to fork approach to food safety. ISO 22000 certification system is currently being applied in all modern food industries and it has already drawn huge interest amongst customer/consumer as it specifically deals with food safety with its standard at international reach.
The Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) as the National Food Inspectorate in the country strongly advocates and promotes the application of ISO 22000:2005 system to as many food establishment/industries as possible so that all food produced and served in the country are ensured of safety and at the same time increase the consumer confidence and market access for foods produced in Bhutan.
The event highlighted the increasing importance of food safety in this era of globalised trade with increased human and food traffic and expressed the government’s high regard to providing safe and wholesome food for the customer. ‘ I look forward many other food business would come forward for such kind of certification in the years to come considering the benefits to both for food business operators and consumers’ stated Hon’ble Lyonpo.
Finally the five companies were congratulated for having successfully met the requirement of ISO 22000 which has helped gained added reputation with enhanced market access and consumer confidence for their products and services both at national and international levels.
Hon’ble Lyonpo acknowledged the efforts and enthusiasm of Mr. Karma Dorji, Director General of BAFRA and his dedicated team for taking forward this initiative. Similarly the Minister also thanked UNIDO for both their financial and technical support extended to the country and assured that ISO 22000 will help enhance livelihood of Bhutanese people in pursuit of development philosophy, Gross National Happiness.
-Reported By Tashi Yangzom, ICS
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The 2009 Ford Ranger, which has long been a staple in the mid-size truck market, is unchanged for 2009.
The effects of Hurricane Irene will be felt for months on end, as communities rebuild and the floodwaters subside.
Read This Article
Detroit’s three automakers — Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors — weren’t able to come to an agreement with the United Auto Workers union by their self-imposed contract deadlines, raising tension between the automakers and its pool of labor.
You might not know it, but there may be a little black box that rides along with you recording your vehicle’s every move.
The 2014 Ford Fiesta earns best-in-class fuel economy.


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India has recently implemented a series of protectionist policies in trade, investment, and market access in an attempt to “de-sinicize” the economy. According to a Reuters report on the 11th, Indian Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari said on Monday that the Indian government plans to promote the production of certain specific products in the country, especially products that China has a large share of the global market.
Reuters said that in fact, in the past few months, the Indian government has announced production-related incentives to encourage the manufacture of electronic products, medical equipment and pharmaceutical products, while restricting the import of similar products from China. According to a report from The Times of India on the 11th, the Indian government is considering imposing tariffs on nearly 20 products including laptops, cameras, textiles and aluminium products, and at the same time imposing import permits on some steel products. This move will be India’s latest restrictions on imports from China imports. On the other hand, India’s imports from China have risen for two consecutive months since June.
To what extent can India get rid of Chinese products? “The Logical Indian” news network quoted a report recently released by the Research and Information System Research Center for Developing Countries in India on the 10th, saying that out of about 4,000 products imported from China, including mobile phones, telecommunications equipment, cameras, solar panels, 327 products, such as air conditioners and penicillin, can be sourced from other (third) countries or can be produced in India. The report stated that the value of the above-mentioned “sensitive imported products” accounted for 3/4 of the total imports from China.
India’s restrictions on Chinese products hurt many multinational companies. Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on the 11th that Volkswagen India’s General Manager Bhopare deplored the current lack of business convenience in India in an interview with the Indian media and called on the Indian government not to build a “higher separation wall” against China. Restricting or delaying the import of key parts and components from China is a retrogressive measure. Restricting imports will damage India’s domestic competitiveness and will also affect the country’s export prospects.”
In an interview with the Global Times reporter on the 11th, Zhao Gancheng, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, said that China has a high market share and large export volume in IT products, “be it network products or mobile terminals, including telecommunications equipment, it is estimated that they will be the first to be affected by this round of Indian localization policies.” In addition, China’s mechanical and electrical products, chemical products, and raw materials may also be severely hit by India. “But whether India can achieve self-sufficiency through indigenous production is doubtful”.


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Alibaba founder Jack Ma has established a new Africa Netpreneur Prize contest that will see African entrepreneurs compete for $10 million in funding, with the aim of supporting businesses that are growing the continent’s nascent digital economy.
Called the Jack Ma Foundation Africa Netpreneur Prize, small businesses in Africa will vie for $1 million in prize money every year for the next decade, starting in 2019. The Jack Ma Foundation will host an annual pitch competition, with all 10 finalists receiving grant funding and access to the Netpreneur community of African business leaders for mentorship and other resources.
Applicants must be African nationals with internet-led businesses that help advance technology and innovation in Africa. The finalists will be selected by a team of judges from five regions representing the entire continent. Applications for the first pitch competition will be open from January 2019 until April 2019, and the finalist pitch competition will be held and broadcast across Africa in the second half of 2019. The program will be offered across the continent through lead continental partner, Nailab, and other regional hub partners.
“As a fellow entrepreneur, I understand the importance of getting support during the early daysThis prize demonstrates our support of a next generation of young entrepreneurs across Africa that is paving the way for a better future and impart positive change in their communities.”
– Jack Ma Executive Chairman, Alibaba
The Netpreneur Prize is the second initiative launched by Jack Ma to support African entrepreneurs. Last year, Alibaba Business School and UNCTAD announced the eFounders Fellowship Initiative, a program that will train 1,000 entrepreneurs from emerging markets, 200 of whom will come from Africa, with the purpose of building a community of young entrepreneurs committed to creating digital platforms to build more inclusive economies.


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This article is from RISQ Consulting’s Zywave client portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
Organized retail crime (ORC) refers to large-scale shoplifting incidents or other illegal (and sometimes violent) acts conducted by groups of criminals with the purpose of stealing significant amounts of merchandise. ORC has become a growing concern for retail businesses in recent years. In fact, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that ORC costs retail businesses an average of $700,000 for every $1 billion in sales. This surge in ORC has largely been caused by criminals looking to capitalize on the accelerated shift to e-commerce brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, criminals are stealing large amounts of goods and reselling them to unsuspecting online shoppers at reduced prices.
One ORC method that has recently come to light is flash mob robberies. Also called “smash-and-grab” robberies, these incidents involve a group of criminals swarming a retail business all at once (sometimes with weapons), overwhelming staff and law enforcement on the scene, and attempting to steal mass amounts of merchandise. Flash mob robberies have become more common, costly and violent over the past year, drawing widespread concern from retail businesses and their employees.
The following article provides more information on this ORC method, details about the latest flash mob robberies and possible measures to prevent such incidents.
What Are Flash Mob Robberies?
Flash mob robberies are not crimes of opportunity. Rather, these incidents are planned ahead of time by a coordinated group of criminals—whether it’s five or 100 people. According to data from the NRF, 79% of retail businesses have experienced multiple-offender crimes in the last year, with 10% of these incidents involving characteristics of flash mob robberies. In recent incidents, flash mob robbery plans have often resulted from criminals communicating over social media platforms.
When such an incident occurs, the group of criminals typically approaches the target retail business all at once, making it more difficult for employees or law enforcement to stop them. These criminals may simply rely on the size of their group to carry out the robbery without being apprehended or potentially leverage weapons and acts of violence to further deter anyone from intervening in their plan. For instance, criminals may utilize the following tactics:
- Breaking storefront glass or display cases
- Carrying guns, knives, sledgehammers or crowbars
- Engaging in physical assault (e.g., punching, slapping, kicking or biting)
- Using pepper spray or other chemical irritants
After swarming the target retail business, the group of criminals usually attempts to steal large amounts of merchandise quickly before promptly fleeing the scene. In some cases, certain criminals may be responsible for waiting outside the business with a vehicle (or several vehicles) to help the rest of the group exit the premises as fast as possible following the robbery.
Because flash mob robberies are group activities, it’s rare for every criminal involved in such incidents to get caught. Although a handful of criminals may be apprehended on the scene, the number of people involved in these robberies makes it easier for criminals to escape without consequences—thus allowing them to plan and be involved in future incidents.
Recent Flash Mob Robberies
Retail businesses across the country have been impacted by flash mob robberies, including independent shops and large corporations. Here are some of the latest incidents that have taken place:
- Nordstrom—A group of five criminals sprayed a security guard with a chemical irritant before stealing $25,000 worth of handbags from a Nordstrom store in Los Angeles, California. In another incident, 80 to 90 criminals targeted a different Nordstrom store in San Francisco, California—utilizing pepper spray, crowbars, knives and firearms to attack employees and fleeing the scene with $100,000 worth of goods. Only three individuals were apprehended amid the incident.
- Louis Vuitton—In Chicago, Illinois, a group of 14 criminals stole over $120,000 worth of merchandise in under 60 seconds from a Louis Vuitton store. The criminals physically assaulted employees who tried to stop them and leveraged three escape vehicles to swiftly exit the premises.
- Sunglass Hut—A group of four criminals physically assaulted employees at a Sunglass Hut in Monterey, California, before stealing nearly $30,000 worth of goods and promptly fleeing the scene.
- Best Buy—In a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, between 10 and 15 criminals invaded a Best Buy store and stole a range of electronics—including televisions, computers and tablets. A similar incident involving 20 to 30 criminals also took place at a different Best Buy store in a nearby suburb.
- Jewelers—A group of nine criminals used sledgehammers to smash display cases and steal a variety of jewelry from Iceberg Diamonds, a store located in Concord, California. The criminals did so in less than one minute. In another incident, 30 to 40 criminals targeted Sam’s Jewelers in San Jose, California, also smashing display cases with sledgehammers and stealing several products.
Flash mob robberies can carry numerous consequences for impacted retail businesses. In addition to lost merchandise, property damage and substantial recovery costs, these incidents can seriously threaten the safety of retail employees and other customers at the scene.
As such, it’s critical for retail businesses to utilize proper strategies for preventing and responding to flash mob robberies. Some risk management measures for consideration include the following:
- Train employees. Be sure to train retail employees on how to detect and respond to potential signs of a flash mob robbery. These signs may include a sudden emergence of excess vehicles in the store parking lot, a large group of people congregating outside the store or quickly heading toward the storefront, and customers who look like they may be carrying dangerous items or weapons. Employees should be stationed throughout the store during their shifts to be able to detect these signs. Furthermore, train employees on ways to safely mitigate violent incidents. Employees should know to never put their personal safety at risk to stop a robbery.
- Utilize security systems. In addition to training employees, make sure to equip the store with various security systems to help deter criminals. This may include security cameras, laminated glass, merchandise sensors and alarm systems. It’s also important to consider security elements that can hinder criminals from fleeing the scene of a flash mob robbery, such as fog systems, strobe lights and roll-down gates. Hiring dedicated security personnel may also offer further protection.
- Ensure proper product placement. To prevent criminals from stealing high-value merchandise, it’s best to place these goods in elevated areas that can’t be easily reached without assistance. To minimize overall losses amid a flash mob robbery, place limited amounts of each product on store shelves and keep the excess inventory in a secure area.
- Work with law enforcement. Build strong relationships with local law enforcement and ORC prevention coalitions and follow any guidance they provide for avoiding flash mob robberies. Also, consider asking these parties to help monitor social media platforms for potential ORC plans or other suspicious activity.
- Establish an emergency response plan. In the event that a flash mob robbery does occur, it’s crucial to have response protocols and lockdown procedures in place. Be sure to create a documented emergency response plan to minimize losses and protect employees (and customers) amid such an incident. Although specific response plan measures may vary between stores, employees should be instructed to contact the appropriate authorities if they detect signs of a flash mob robbery. When a robbery begins, employees should know how to implement the necessary security systems, shut down the store and protect themselves from harm. This response plan should be regularly reviewed and updated as needed.
- Secure adequate coverage. Lastly, it’s critical to ensure the proper protection against losses related to flash mob robberies by purchasing sufficient coverage. Commercial property insurance typically offers reimbursement to retail businesses that experience losses from theft or ORC. Consult a trusted insurance professional for further information on coverage solutions related to flash mob robberies.
For more industry-specific risk management guidance, contact us today.


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Ready for a PR calamity? This crisis simulator can put your brand’s plan to the test
The Covid years have shown us that brands really weren’t prepared for crisis management. But how well can a brand really prepare for a PR disaster without experiencing one first?
Crisis management training firm Polpeo has created an intensely real simulator for brands to test their PR strategies. The Drum got to experience first-hand the stress-inducing effects of going through a simulated PR crisis.
Chief executive officer of The Social Element, Tamara Littleton and managing director at Carrot Communications, Kate Hartley, set up Polpeo in 2011. Littleton says Polpeo was founded because “brands at that time were really screwing up and getting their tone of voice wrong”.
Over the years, they’ve worked with clients in FMCG, government and oil and gas but more recently consumer companies have been calling on Polpeo to help prepare them for online brand damage. “The pandemic made people realize they weren’t ready for crisis management and didn’t know how to protect their reputation online,” Littleton says.
Consumers now expect brands to act on matters like Black Lives Matter, the Ukraine war and Roe v Wade. Just last month brands faced criticism for ingenuine activities around the Queen’s death and Center Parcs ended up in a PR pickle for shutting down to mark her funeral.
“With societal shifts, we have found more brands want to test their policies and stance on important matters,” she adds. Brands are wanting to understand how they might get ‘canceled and be ready with an appropriate response, Littleton says.
So, how does it work?
The “escape room” style simulator typically starts with a clogged notification box on a mocked-up social media site which reveals the unfolding brand crisis. It might be customers taking to ’Flipper’ to complain about a product or enraged ’SocialNetwork’ users accusing your brand of greenwashing, or a ’PictureGram’ hashtag calling out your lack of support for Black Lives Matter.
Polpeo tasks its staff to post in real-time, so the notifications box keeps aggressively pinging. You might start replying to customers to reassure them or give them instructions, but as more and more messages pop up it’s impossible to make individual replies.
As you scramble to get a grip of the social media backlash, journalists start calling you asking for comment. It’s time to get a press statement together and signed off.
Then the story breaks, first with BuzzNow and then the national press. The press line keeps ringing and ringing, and emails are flooding in all while your social sites are still on overdrive.
Polpeo staff are told not to be kind if you get the messaging wrong. Suddenly your well-thought-out press statement posted on your social channels and given to the media starts being negatively commented on and you are being called out for taking the wrong approach. “We are testing their tone of voice, so if they start getting stressed and start writing back loads of rubbish, we will attack them,” Littleton says.
Social media users start creating memes and gifs and vloggers start dissecting the crisis on Flipper. The whole situation is getting out of control and you are struggling to put out the fires. Then protestors (actors employed by Polpeo) start gathering outside the office chanting and holding banners.
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Adding to the social media storm a live feed from the protest pops up and now a journalist has gotten an exclusive with the leader of the activist group. There might also be a boycott – “everyone loves a boycott,” Littleton jokes.
Yep, actors really are drafted in. In the past Polpeo has orchestrated demonstrators to storm airfields and role-played explosions with injured actors covered in blood.
At first, the crisis team you’ve pulled together might be paralyzed and afraid to make a mistake. But eventually, they cobble together a strategy and start enacting a crisis plan. The tide starts to turn as social media users begin posting about your brand in a more positive light and fresh stories hit the press about the direction you’ve taken.
After about four panic-stricken hours, the simulator draws to a close and you get to sit down with your team and Polpeo to debrief. The simulator is designed to find the holes in a company’s existing crisis management so plans can be modified.
“The whole point is to try and help people build empathy and train them on how to go through a crisis and what it feels like and then test their processes,” Littleton says.
“It’s about how you work as a team and build a muscle memory or military training that if you go through a crisis and kept hold of your nerve you won’t be stressed out.”


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Privacy in the Facebook Era
By Jeff Sayre
Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg recently stated that privacy is no longer a social norm. Is that an actual fact or a engineered fact?
Here’s why I ask. Over the past several years, whenever Facebook has made a change to its privacy policies, it has caused great uproar—not only with civil liberties advocates (as you would expect), but also with Facebook’s user base.
The recent brute-force change to the privacy settings of all 350 million of its users is just the latest in a series of moves that exposes more of Facebook’s users’ information.
According to the above linked article, here’s what Zuckerberg said about the recent change:
Doing a privacy change for 350 million users is not the kind of thing that a lot of companies would do. But we viewed that as a really important thing, to always keep a beginner’s mind and what would we do if we were starting the company now and we decided that these would be the social norms now and we just went for it.
That last statement, “we decided that these would be the social norms,” is the telling truth. It is not that lack of privacy has become a social norm. It is that Facebook believes that it should be.
It is as if Facebook issued a decree to its global citizens. Privacy is no longer something you should request. Privacy is not in the best interests of our society (as in Facebook’s “society” or corporate mission).
Exposing more of its users’ data to the world is, of course, attractive to Facebook’s business alliances. It offers a number of new opportunities for profit. To a company rumored to be heading toward an IPO in 2010, new revenue streams and growing profits are a good thing.
But open data and opening up of personal data are two different issues. What pieces of your data should be open? Where do we draw the line? In general, as long as they are not breaking any laws, I believe it should be up to individuals to decide which pieces of their personal data are made public.
In a free society, we should strive toward letting individuals, not governments or corporations, be in control of their personal data. Collectively society should “own” the data with individuals given control over a subset of their personal data.
There are compelling reasons why opening up personal data to the world is desirable. But it should not be up to governments or corporations to make that choice on behalf of their citizens and users. In a free society, it should be the citizens who drive the push toward more open data, not a few elite power players who force the issue.
What do you think? Is Facebook engineering the expectation of lack of privacy? Are they forcing the issue and making it become a social norm by brute force? Is this truly what their users want? What rights should individuals have to control their personal data?
UPDATE February 24, 2010: See my article A Flock of Twitters: Decentralized Semantic Microblogging to see how users can take control of their own on-line communication streams.
UPDATE March 19, 2010: As this year’s keynote speaker at South by SouthWest Interactive (SXSWi), Danah Boyd presented a very thought-provoking keynote presentation on privacy in social media: Making Sense of Privacy and Publicity.
UPDATE May 8, 2010: An interesting graphic depicting what I call the devolution of Facebook privacy.


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Meet Bixby, Samsung’s very own personal assistant AI program that will make its debut on the new Galaxy S flagship. And they’re promising the world with this one.
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 isn’t even launching until the end of March, but thanks to leakster Evan Blass (aka @evleaks), we have a list of what looks like the official specs for Samsung’s latest flagship — the S8+. Here are the details.
We saw, in an extensive leak a few days ago, that Samsung might be playing it safe with the battery capacities on their upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphones. That makes sense, but a recent report surfaced which claims that Samsung’s new flagship devices may instead have bigger cells than their predecessors.
It would seem that 2017 will be the year of the bezel-less smartphone. As the biggest mobile event of the year, MWC 2017, draws closer, leaks from the likes of LG reveal that the company’s upcoming G6 flagship smartphone will severely cut down on screen bezels. Now, a new report from The Guardian hints at the fact that Samsung will debut their own version of a bezel-less display.
The Guardian are calling it an ‘infinity’ display and apparently it’s bezels are so thin, Samsung couldn’t even put their logo in front.


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By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. economic growth accelerated in the fourth quarter as companies replenished depleted inventories to meet strong demand for goods, helping U.S. activity post its best performance in nearly four decades in 2021.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annualized rate of 6.9% in the last quarter, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in its preliminary GDP estimate, after a 2.3% growth pace in the third quarter. .
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP growth of 5.5%. Estimates ranged from 3.4% to 7.0%.
The economy as a whole grew 5.7% in 2021, the strongest performance since 1984. It had contracted 3.4% in 2020, the biggest drop in 74 years.
Growth last year was fueled by massive fiscal stimulus as well as very low interest rates. The momentum, however, appears to have slowed in December amid a surge in Covid-19 infections, driven by the Ômicron variant, which has contributed to slashing spending and disrupting activity at factories and service companies.
Last year’s robust growth supports the Federal Reserve’s pivot towards raising interest rates in March.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters on Wednesday after a two-day monetary policy meeting that “the economy no longer needs high and sustained levels of monetary policy support” and that “it will soon be appropriate.” raise” interest rates.
Last year’s strong rebound in growth may offer some cheer to President Joe Biden, whose popularity has waned amid a stalled domestic economic agenda after the US Congress failed to pass his $1.75 trillion investment bill.
IT’S ALL ABOUT STOCKS
Investment in inventories accounted for most of the expansion in US GDP growth in the fourth quarter. Companies had been down in inventories since early 2021. Spending shifted from services to goods during the pandemic, creating a demand boom that put pressure on supply chains.
Growth in the last quarter was also driven by a jump in consumer spending in October, before slowing considerably as Omicron spread across the country. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, has been hampered by shortages of vehicles and other goods. The global chip shortage is affecting production.
Reducing household purchasing power, with inflation well above the Fed’s 2% target, also weighed on consumer spending at the end of the fourth quarter.
The outbreak of coronavirus infections with the Ômicron variant has also impacted the job market, although this is expected to be temporary. Employers are desperate for workers, with 10.6 million open US jobs at the end of November.
A separate Labor Department report on Thursday showed initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted rate of 260,000 during the week ended Jan.
The post US economy resumes speed in 4th quarter and records best growth since 1984 in 2021 appeared first on ISTOÉ DINHEIRO.
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