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Umbro & Bombay Gymkhana Announce Kit Partnership For 2016-17
Bombay Gymkhana has announced Umbro as official kit sponsor for 2016/17 season.
Mumbai: Bombay Gymkhana has announced Umbro as official kit sponsor for 2016/17 season. Umbro is the original Manchester based football brand that invented sportswear and sports tailoring. The British based sporting brand will provide the match kits for the Senior Football Team and their Under-19 team. The U-19 team is called the 'Bombay Gym Colts' and were promoted this year into the 1st Division of the MDFA League. The Senior Team happens to be the only amateur team playing in the Pro Mumbai Football League.
Future Lifestyle Fashion is the official licensee's of Umbro in India. Speaking about the partnership Rachna Aggarwal CEO Future Lifestyle Fashion said, “With a legacy of over 140 years Bombay Gymkhana has always been pro-sports. It is a proud moment for Umbro with its own rich sporting history to associate with such an institution and strengthen Umbro's identity by engaging with consumers at points where football and culture collide".
Vineet Gangwani Bombay Gym Captain said "Football is one of the most popular sports in the Historic Bombay Gymkhana Club. This year we are very happy to state that a supreme and traditional Sports Brand such as Umbro has come on as a kit partner for the Bombay Gym Football Teams. Umbro has specially designed the Bombay Gym Uniforms keeping in mind the club colour of 140 years".


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Companies have been urged to target Christmas shoppers as early as possible.
According to online auction site eBay, consumers typically start looking for festive gifts in May and June, while the number of Christmas shoppers is set to soar now September has arrived.
The organisation has therefore advised brands to start tailoring their marketing activity for Christmas in order to take advantage of this trend.
Phuong Nguyen, head of eBay advertising in the UK, commented: “By observing online behaviour in the run-up to Christmas, brands can identify and differentiate between undecided Christmas ‘gifters’ and people who are shopping for themselves.”
Companies could also use this time to determine what might be the most successful way of engaging with festive shoppers at this time of year.
For instance, some could find TV and online ads a useful way of highlighting Christmas gifts, while others might find offering promotional items as part of a festive-themed a useful approach.
EBay: ‘Marketers cannot afford to miss out on Xmas long-listers’, Marketing Week
Posted by Robin McCrink

domain: news


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It’s been 70 years since Charles M. Schulz published the very first Peanuts comic strip that launched a global franchise. Now, to celebrate this epic anniversary, Apple TV+ has released the first trailer and premiere date for its upcoming original series, The Snoopy Show.
Created in partnership with Peanuts and WildBrain, the series was originally announced back in 2018 and is set to reintroduce Charlie Brown and friends to a new generation of viewers.
The Snoopy Show will star the world’s most famous beagle and his best friend Woodstock as they go on new adventures. Each episode will consist of three seven-minute cartoons based on the comic strip and features the unique animation style that Peanuts fans have loved for decades.
Snoopy may seem like just a happy-dancin’, bone-lovin’, doghouse-sittin’ pup, but he’s much more than that. He’s Joe Cool: hippest kid in school. He’s surfer king and famed arm-wrestler Masked Marvel. He’s World War I Flying Ace who battles the Red Baron. All of his bold, beloved personas are on full display in this new animated comedy.
The trailer brings the whole Peanuts gang back together, including Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Franklin, Schroeder, Peppermint Patty and others. The clip begins with Charlie Brown trying to train Snoopy to sit and shake, which the dog takes as a cue to set up a lawn chair and give Charlie Brown a milkshake. It also teases some of Snoopy’s new adventures like a trip to the movies and more.
The Snoopy Show will debut on February 5, 2021, exclusively on Apple TV+.
The legendary Peanuts comic strip has been a huge part of pop culture since its inception in 1950. The strip ran until February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterwards. With 17,897 strips published, Peanuts is arguably the longest story ever told by one person.
The strip has been adapted into various movies and animated specials, including A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, which are staples of the holiday season.
In 2015, The Peanuts Movie was released to coincide with the strip’s 65th anniversary. The 3D animation used to create the characters, instead of the traditional hand-drawn style, ruffled a few feathers at first. But once the film was released, fans embraced it completely due to its faithful adherence to the spirit of Schulz’s comic strip.
You can check out the very first Peanuts comic strip from October 2, 1950, below…
Today we celebrate the 70th anniversary of Peanuts with the very first comic strip from October 2, 1950. Here's to 70 more years with the Peanuts gang! ? #Peanuts70 #Snoopy70 pic.twitter.com/niJXtPkK54
— PEANUTS (@Snoopy) October 2, 2020


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J&J Loses Bid to Appeal $2.1 Billion Talc Powder Verdict
Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court shot down Johnson & Johnson’s bid to appeal a $2.1 billion jury verdict in favor of women who blamed their ovarian cancer on the company’s baby powder. In 2018, a St. Louis jury found that J&J’s talc-based powder products were the leading cause of ovarian cancer for 20 women and awarded $4.7 billion in damages. The landmark award was later reduced to $2.1 billion on appeal by the company.
In a statement, J&J officials said they plan to appeal last week’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court on the grounds that the Judge erred in allowing the women’s claims to be joined together for trial in state court as some of the plaintiffs were residents of states other than Missouri.
Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, J&J stubbornly refuses to admit their talc-powder products contain asbestos and carry risk of cancer. In a statement, company spokeswoman Kim Montagnino said “Johnson & Johnson will continue to vigorously defend the safety of the product and the unfounded allegations made against the company.” In the St. Louis trial, plaintiffs’ attorneys cited internal J&J documents from the early 1970’s revealing test results that found traces of asbestos in the company’s talc products.
Johnson’s plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is a long-shot by most estimates. The high court reviews fewer than 1% of the cases appealed to it annually. Famed trial lawyer Mark Lanier who represented the group of 20 injured women had this to say, “the trial jury sent a loud message alerting the world to the dangers of talc. Now the message has been confirmed through each level of the state’s appellate system.”
Background on Talc Powder and Ovarian Cancer
Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder trouble began after a 2018 Reuters investigation uncovered that J&J knew for decades that its talc-based products contain asbestos but failed to warn regulators and the public about the risk of cancer. The Reuters article prompted a stock selloff that erased $40 billion from J&J’s market value in one day and created a public relations crisis as the company faced widespread questions about the possible health effects of its flagship baby powder products.
In May of 2020 Johnson & Johnson decided to remove its talc-based baby powder from shelves in the U.S. and Canada claiming lawsuits and “unfounded” bad publicity has reduced customer demand for the products. Critics point to the move as additional evidence the company has known for decades that talc powder laced with asbestos carries the risk of cancer.
J&J is also the target of a federal criminal investigation into how forthright the company has been about talc powder safety. Forty-one states and the U.S. Congress are looking into the company’s lack of disclosure of health risks related to talc powder products. U.S. Representative Raja Kishnamoorthi, who led the Congressional inquiry described J&J’s decision to stop selling talc baby powder as “a major victory for public health.” Rep. Krishnamoorthi stated “my subcommittee’s 14-month investigation revealed that Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that its products contain asbestos.” A finding the company continues to deny.
Johnson & Johnson maintains its decision to discontinue talc-based baby powder in North America was not connected to the congressional investigation or any other claims related to asbestos. In an earlier statement, J&J said, “demand for talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising.”
Sold continuously since 1894, baby powder accounted for only 0.5% of J&J’s U.S. consumer health business prior to the decision to halt sales. An internal marketing presentation from 1999 refers to the baby powder division as J&J’s “#1 Asset,” grounded in “deep personal trust” and a “sacred cow” for the company.
About Case Works
If your firm needs help getting talc powder claims prepared for settlement, click the button below to get in touch. The Case Works Talc Powder Team is specially trained to work with victims to maximize the value of their claim. As a seamless extension of your firm, our Talc Powder Team will ensure your clients receive exceptional service and the care they deserve. We can help your firm get claims proven up and ready to settle.


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The Retail Leaders Circle MENA, the essential destination that unites the foremost C-level retail leaders, has announced its agenda of globally renowned speakers and a new headline partner for the 5th edition of the summit that takes place next month, from 25th-26th March at the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeriah Beach.
This year, Mastercard, which recently debuted their sonic brand identity, has joined The Chalhoub Group as a headline partner, while Reem Mall, which is on track to open in 2020, has been announced as the Platinum Partner.
Centred around the theme, ‘New Age Retail: Thriving Through Disruption', The Retail Leaders Circle MENA will bring together the world’s retailers, brand owners and suppliers to provide insightful talks and best practices from international industry leaders including Patrick Chalhoub - CEO of The Chalhoub Group and member of The Retail Leaders Circle Advisory Boar, Stepahanie Phair - Chief Strategy Officer at Farfetch and Selim Chidiac - CEO of L'azurde.
To reflect the changing preferences and expectations of today’s consumers, The Retail Leaders Circle MENA will explore the disruptive trends that are reshaping the retail industry via provocative interviews and intense moderated discussions with powerful decision-makers such as Nisreen Shocair - CEO of Ellay.com and Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne - Chief Executive Officer at Emaar Malls.
As the Retail Leaders Circle MENA is committed to sharing innovative new research and data to inform new strategies, there will be talks delivered by global thought leaders including Norma Taki - Partner for Retail & Consumer at PwC Middle East, Ramy Fares - Director of Retail, Travel & Transport for Middle East and Africa at Microsoft and Kristina Rogers - Global Consumer Industries Leader: Consumer Products, Retail, Agribusiness at EY.
‘With the retail industry at a critical crossroads, The Retail Leaders Circle MENA provides a crucial platform for over 300 delegates - from entrepreneurs, policy makers and thought leaders - to debate the principal challenges and opportunities that are disrupting the region’s retail agenda,’ said Panos Linardos, Chairman of Retail Leaders Circle Global. ‘With the amalgamation of traditional retail and e-commerce, it is clear that brands and mall operators must adapt their customer journey to the evolving consumer behaviour. In 2019 we are focusing on looking at the ways retail companies can thrive in a world where the only constant is change and the biggest risk is taking no risk at all.’
For more information, visit: www.retailleaderscircle.com/uae/
About Retail Leaders Circle:
Retail Leaders Circle is a global platform created by the New York Institute of Management to provide the world’s retailers, brand owners and suppliers with the intellectual and social capital they need to succeed. Bringing together the most influential and visionary leaders shaping the agenda of the retail industry, Retail Leaders Circle hosts a series of by-invitation annual summits - in Dubai, New York and Singapore – that deliver the latest intelligence, insights and innovations in retail, to enable industry executives to stay ahead.
For more information, please contact:
© Press Release 2019


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By Brendan Conway
Commerzbank’s commodity strategists summarize the situation in the coffee market this morning:
After rising by a further 9%, Arabica coffee now costs more than 200 US cents per pound again for the first time in two years. The dry weather in the Brazilian growing areas is still keeping the markets on tenterhooks. At the beginning of the week, F.O. Licht – a research company specializing in agriculturals – lowered its forecast for this year’s coffee crop in Brazil by 8 million to 48 million bags. After four years of surplus and a supply surplus of 7.2 million bags in the 2013/14 crop year, F.O. Licht thus sees the risk of supply tightening on the global coffee market. The market clearly expects to see supply deficits and further rising prices in the coming years too. This is the only way to explain why the forward curve for Arabica coffee remains in contango despite the huge increase in price by more than 80% since the beginning of the year.


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The New World, an MMO Game from Amazon is still trying to recover from the host of issues at launch with the game breaking bugs which makes the game characters prone to bugs which lets players to post the HTML codes which massively interrupted the players. These bugs caused the New World Players a lot of time time and money they spent on this broken game.
The most notorious issue was that the New World Game was bricking Graphics Cards. The game makes the Graphics card drivers fail and eventually kills the GPU. This is a very serious issue as Graphics card nowadays the priciest components in your computer. It was reported that even high end Graphics cards like the EVGA RTX 3090 Graphics cards are prone to break when running this game.
The game’s latest update in February which is referred to as the bugs bots and balance update. In this update the fans can expect a lot of bug fixes. The total amount of bug fixes are were over 700 according to the Lead QA, Greg Jones and the developers at large.
One of the biggest issue that has been addressed this month is the player friction which was Game breaking bug according to the Creative Director David Verfaillie and the Game Director Scot Lane. They also planned out out a solution like reducing the cost of the fast travel and reducing the recovery times at the Inns.
The lead Director, Dave Hall promised that after the update rolls out the players will be able to roam around the world freely and its going to be really great after the bug fixes.
Another improvement that has been made on their part is the key improvements in the player movements. Many players have reported that the movement in the world feels very clunky. The developers in this new update will be tweaking the jumping mechanics and removed the slowdown when you are attacking with melee weapons.
They claim that these fixes will fix the New World’s experience and hence the players will feel the improved combat and movement activities.
You can follow us on Twitter and drop a like on Facebook to get the latest update on guides for Mobile Games, PC Games, and Codes List for different games. Got specific suggestions? You can submit them here. Thanks for reading!
Writer by day, gamer by night. Story-driven games are his favorite along with sprinkles of fighting games. When fitness is all you can think about, writing and gaming take a backseat sometimes…


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Anyone interested in frying up a little python?? Well, if you live in Florida, you’re in luck.
Turns out python may be the new chicken in the Sunshine State, because the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Dept. of Health may give the green light to make the slithery creature a menu item in restaurants and at home.
The snakes are overtaking the Everglades, creating risks to other wildlife.
The wild card is mercury. Scientists are evaluating whether mercury levels in the snakes are at acceptable levels. Problem is … the smart money is on mercury levels being too high for human consumption, but scientists aren’t sure, so they’re testing 6,000 pythons.
We’re told they can actually be delicious. Some folks like to turn them into jerky, but they can also be cooked in various other ways.


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- Jennifer Davis
“I think it can be healthy and still great for any time of year,” she says. And with six years of restaurant experience under her belt, she and Harp started a food truck called the Hungry Pirate Food Truck, opening the last week of August.
“It’s new and early, and our menu’s still being developed,” Davis says, but they’ve already anchored it on fish and shrimp tacos with house sauces and guacamole. “We’re trying to be a little bit healthy but still filling and hearty,” she adds.
Currently, she’s sourcing her seafood through Shamrock Foods, mostly using mahi-mahi, tilapia and cod, though she hopes to link up with a more local provider. For customers who won’t or can’t do seafood they’ve added steak tacos to the menu. For October, they also plan to introduce a crab chowder and a vegetarian green chile. Those interested in seeking out the truck may want to hurry, as Davis plans to close for the winter once the weather turns. She anticipates being open through the end of October, and, likely, into November.


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Can’t make it to Star Wars Celebration Orlando? Good news: The Star Wars Show LIVE, presented by Verizon, is here to rescue you.
The Star Wars Show LIVE will be streaming from Celebration Orlando beginning Thursday, April 13, through Sunday, April 16, featuring celebrity guests, interviews with Star Wars creators, must-see panels, and much more. Andi Gutierrez and Anthony Carboni are set to host, bringing you all the action as it happens.
Verizon and The Star Wars Show LIVE will deliver 30-plus hours of live streamed content on StarWars.com, including the highly-anticipated Star Wars 40thAnniversary and Star Wars Rebels panels, a special discussion with Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and much more.
About Star Wars Celebration:
Star Wars Celebration is the ultimate fan experience focused on a galaxy far, far away…
There has never been a more exciting time to be a Star Wars fan, and Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, USA will bring fans of all ages together, from all around the world, to celebrate the pop culture phenomenon that is Star Wars — all on the cusp of new Star Wars movies and television shows! Looking ahead, while celebrating all that has come before, there’s something for everyone at Star Wars Celebration!
Celebration – Lucasfilm’s love letter to fans – is four fun-filled days of costumes, exhibits, a vibrant, interactive show floor, screenings, exclusive merchandise, celebrity guests, panels, autograph sessions, fan-inspired activities, and other surprises celebrating all things Star Wars! Star Wars Celebrations deliver a landmark experience where memories are made, families brought together, old friends reunited, and new friendships formed — all in the setting of the ever-evolving Star Wars universe.


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Chelsea and Cody Johansen want to find out how to feed their family and the Sky Valley local, healthy food.
Together with their three children they raise chickens, goats and turkeys, and grow a variety of produce, which they sold last year at a farmers market and through Community Supported Agriculture subscriptions. This year, they are tinkering with their system.
“We really enjoy this, and there is a need in the community,” said Chelsea, 30. “We are trying to fill that gap, or be a part of the community that is trying to fill that gap.”
They are calling their new program Friends of the Farm. Customers will be asked to put the same faith in their suppliers, RainySunday Ranch in Sultan, and pay at the start of each month. Instead of receiving a full box of vegetables and animal products, those who buy in will purchase credits for use any time of year.
With CSA subscriptions customers buy farm shares that entitle them to weekly supplies of seasonal produce. Payment is made at the start of each month, offering the farmer a set source of income. Some subscriptions are delivered and some picked up at the farm, but most aim to connect the buyer and seller.
In 2012 — the most recent set of data available — around 12,600 farms reported marketing products through CSA subscriptions, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That was a 0.5 percent jump from the last survey in 2007.
Making more connections is one goal for the Johansens’ new venture, seeing that as the most sustainable way to feed the community.
Because they trade labor and products with their neighbor who grows blueberries, the Johansens’ customers will have access to the fruit, Chelsea said. Why they may not raise livestock for butchery, they do know who in the valley grows beef, and can send their own customers that way, said Cody, 32.
For many people, knowing where to buy affordable local foods can be “hard to find, hard to afford, hard to access,” Chelsea said. Produce in the grocery store is often cheaper than what it would cost to buy local products, she said.
Originally, they started farming to supply their family with a food source they knew was safe and sustainable. From there they had to learn how to go from garden to marketed farm, and figure out what it takes to bridge the gap. Cody said that took some experimentation, and Chelsea said there were many large pieces of paper covered in planning notes.
On their 10-acre farm they have a small enough space to know where the areas with the best drainage are, and can monitor where different varieties of produce most easily flourish, Cody said. Chelsea added she never wants their operation to get so big they find “their hands not in the dirt.”
While they have some of the same habits as traditional farmers, like completing odd tasks around midnight, Cody said, they don’t fit the average demographic.
The national average age of a farmer is 58 years old, according to the most recent census data. There are growing movements nationwide to get a younger workforce in the farming industry, such as the Greenhorns and the National Young Farmers Coalition.
It is a dying industry, Chelsea said.
By federal definition, average small farms make less than $250,000, and are decreasing in number. The number of farms grossing more than $1 million annually, however, is on the rise.
For RainySunday Ranch to remain sustainable, it must bring in $40,000 each year. Last year, they had 10 CSA subscribers.
While that will eventually limit what they can offer, the Johansens said ideally they see a collaboration among Sky Valley farmers that could eventually fill each need.
“We don’t have the space, money or time,” she said.
The couple has farmed together for years, but this is only their second year on the Sultan property. The previous owners were longtime homesteaders, Chelsea said, adding the plan is to make the land as successful as it was for them.


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5G promises to transform our cities, our industries, the media and more, but what will change on our smartphones?
Huawei is working on a graphene battery
But the commitment of 5G is probably not fun. From a technological point of view, the new standard poses many problems, primarily those of electricity consumption. Like 4G at the moment, the 5G is very greedy battery that can pose a small problem when autonomy is still too often the Achilles heel of smartphones. For James Zou, the reason why we can not consider the evolution to 5G without further technological improvements. "I think we can solve the problem of consumption with 5nm processors and new charging technologies "says the official, who takes the opportunity to confirm that the next generation of mobile chips at Huawei should burn 5 nm if everything goes well.
Still with the aim to solve this problem, the sales manager explains that the Honor Huawei group is indeed busy with graphene batteries, a technology that has been promising for several years. According to him, the only limitation to the use of such technology today "it's the costs"But the product is ripe for the future, a news that corresponds to what we have heard from Samsung a few weeks ago, and the Honor Magic 2 uses a graphene cooling system.
The fate of 5G is closely linked to other technical developments in the smartphones sector. What to consider this new technology other than through the prism is very vague the legal application or laboratory tests.


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DishCelebs/ DishInstagram/ DishMusic/ DishOn The Show/ DishTV
Xzibit’s estranged wife Krista Joiner accuses him of lying about being broke to avoid paying spousal support
Things are already getting messy with Xzibit and his soon-to-be ex-wife, Krista Joiner! His estranged wife is accusing the rapper of lying about his finances to get out of paying her spousal support. According to Krista—who allegedly got the tea from Xzibit’s own family—he’s raking in about $1 million a month through his various cannabis businesses.
Tune in for all the messy deets and find out why Sherri Shepherd ain’t buying it!


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by Christine Hines
Financial technology companies are regularly rolling out new products and services made for our cell phones. Some online products or mobile applications offer new and affordable opportunities to millions of unbanked or underserved American households. Other fintech firms offer clever budget and financial planning services; new ways for credit and loans with creative underwriting methods to service customers who lack traditional credit histories; or simply alternatives for obtaining online loans.
Fintech providers assert that their purpose is to upgrade financial products and services for the benefit of consumers. It’s clear the financial marketplace is evolving quickly, and consumers may have the opportunity to benefit if these changes happen properly.
Still, a closer look at fintechs and their services uncovers a recognizable business practice that has long haunted customers (individuals and small businesses) of traditional banks and lenders. In a fintech report that his office released this month, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) acknowledged it too: fintech is embracing the decidedly anti-consumer practice of using the fine print to strip consumers of their rights.
Forced arbitration clauses are a ubiquitous presence in consumer contracts. They deprive customers of the public court system and send them into secretive, private arbitration proceedings to settle their claims against powerful corporations. In the past decade, report after report produced extensive data and real-life cases that show forced arbitration as a shield for wrongdoers to evade accountability and a barrier to deny harmed customers remedies for losses.
The overwhelming majority of arbitration clauses in financial contracts also bar consumers from banding together in class actions. The data show that very few consumers go to arbitration, especially on an individual basis. Consequently, big banks and predatory lenders can and have cheated and ripped off customers systematically without punishment.
Rep. Cleaver’s report, which summarized his investigation of the small business lending practices of fintech companies, found that “almost every company that disclosed a reasonable amount of information [to his office] admitted to using forced arbitration clauses in their contracts.” The congressman is rightly concerned with fintech’s seeming endorsement of the rip-off clause.
While his report did not indicate which fintech companies adopted the practice, the report listed six companies. In a quick online review, the terms and conditions of two, LendUp and Biz2Credit, contain arbitration clauses. Biz2Credit’s terms also bar its customers from participating in class actions.
They are not alone. In an online review of company websites listed in Forbes’ “Fintech 50 2018,” 36 of those firms provide consumer products and services. The terms and conditions of 22 of those firms contain forced arbitration clauses, class action bans, and/or jury trial waivers. Of those, 14 firms require arbitration and prohibit customers’ participation in class actions; 6 –many of them fintech investment firms — require arbitration but do not prohibit class actions; and 2 fintech firms did not appear to use arbitration clauses, but they required waiver of jury trials. One of those 2 also banned participation in class actions.
These firms offer an array of consumer products and services including loans, credit cards, financing, investing tools, digital currency purchases, and remittance services. They electronically acquire and collect tons of personal data on customers, and are responsible for carrying out critical functions on their behalf.
Fintech companies with their unique structures and under-the-radar business partners, such as data aggregators, come with perils for consumers, partly due to the proliferation of big data use and potential security problems. Customers can face risk of identity theft, exposure of personally identifiable information, and fraudulent transactions. Not to mention that fintechs engaging in consumer lending remain subject to civil rights and consumer protection laws. Indeed, systemic discriminatory lending resulting from flawed algorithms has emerged as a real concern.
Missteps like these impact not just one customer, but many. Class actions remain the best tool to address widespread or systemic misconduct and harm. They provide remedies to groups of consumers for violations of law, especially where the amount of an individual’s loss is too small to be pursued in separate suits — a likely scenario with fintech as it is for financial institutions, generally.
Meanwhile, individual arbitration, as comprehensive data shows, does virtually nothing to protect consumers that have disputes with powerful entities. The few individual cases that exist do not enforce laws for all other similarly affected customers. Individual arbitration is more myth than reality for most.
The marketplace is all too familiar with the potential for widespread damage caused by unsafe practices of financial institutions. Risky or discriminatory financial products and services, even if wrapped up in new technologies, harm consumers’ welfare. And removal of consumers’ legal protections exacerbates their distress.
There was a fix. In 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule that would have restored consumers’ ability to band together in class actions to pursue claims of harm caused by financial industry practices. But the U.S. Congress voted to overturn it. At its final moments, the rule died at the hands of Vice-President Pence’s tie-breaking vote in the Senate. The rule’s reversal was a blow to American consumers, but their rights can be restored in the marketplace by customer-focused businesses.
Overall, fintech strategies appear to rely on providing innovative, accessible, user-friendly products that aim to simplify their customers’ financial lives. The first instinct should not be to shutdown avenues for customers to seek compensation for losses. Fintech’s priority should be to maintain proven safeguards for consumers in a fluctuating marketplace, including the customer’s right to go to court.


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LAS VEGAS, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A $10 million prize is being offered for the creation of a Star Trek-style medical "tricorder" tool for diagnosing disease.
The X PRIZE Foundation and Qualcomm Foundation said the prize, announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, will go to the team that "develops a mobile platform that most accurately diagnoses a set of 15 diseases across 30 consumers in three days," a release from the the two foundations said.
The device must be light enough to be portable, weighing no more than 5 pounds.
The prize is intended to spur innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence and wireless sensing to create a device like the medical tricorder of Star Trek fame to make medical diagnoses independent of a physician or healthcare provider, backers of the prize said.
"Health care today certainly falls far short of the vision portrayed in Star Trek," Paul Jacobs, chairman of the Qualcomm Foundation, said.
"By sponsoring the Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE competition, the Qualcomm Foundation will stimulate the imaginations of entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists and doctors to create wireless health services and technologies that improve lives, increase consumer access to healthcare and drive efficiencies in the healthcare system."


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Business Involved, a Public-Private Partnership in Amsterdam is launched!
On Wednesday 27 October, Alderman Victor Everhardt (Economic Affairs) opened the new online platform Business Involved. Business Involved links employees of Amsterdam-based companies to social initiatives in the city, where they can do voluntary work. The platform is a collaboration between the municipality of Amsterdam, Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam and Deedmob.
Alderman Victor Everhardt: "Many companies in Amsterdam and their employees would like to make an extra social contribution to the city. This new online platform ensures that employees of companies can easily find social initiatives in the city where they can volunteer."
The new online platform for volunteering was developed by startup Deedmob, commissioned by the City of Amsterdam. The Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam (Volunteers Central Amsterdam) is connected to it to find the right entries to social organisations in the city. The goal is for Business Involved to create 100 sustainable, long-term partnerships between Amsterdam-based companies and social organisations in the next three years. The platform starts with Amsterdam-based companies but will be extended to companies in the region!
Our Founder Boudewijn reflects on 5 years of Deedmob and introduces a new leadership team.
Deedmob announces a transition of leadership and the start of a new phase for the company.
EU Start-ups interviews co-founders Boudewijn and David about Deedmob


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Just one week after Actonel marketers Procter & Gamble and Sanofi-Aventis filed a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction to halt advertising for Roche and GlaxoSmithKline’s jointly-marketed Boniva, advertisements for both osteoporosis drugs appeared together within the main section of The New York Times. The ads, both full-page spots, appeared in today’s late edition of the newspaper.The Boniva ad, a black and white spot featuring the tagline “Boniva is the one!” appeared on page A11 of the newspaper. The ad invites consumers to opt-in to receive the “1st Month Free” by calling a toll-free number.The color ad for Actonel appeared on page A24. That spot features a photograph of an early middle-aged woman overlapped by a checklist of potential osteoporosis trouble spots. “What about that new osteoporosis medicine Boniva?” the Actonel ad text asks, “Boniva is not proven to prevent fractures beyond the spine.”Last week, P&G and Sanofi-Aventis charged in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court that consumer ads for Boniva falsely claim the drug has been proven to be more effective than Actonel.“The reason we felt it was very critical to file the lawsuit is that we believe that Boniva’s ads are very misleading,” P&G spokeswoman S.J. Middleton told MM&M. “The difference between once-a-month Boniva and Actonel . . . is that Actonel has proven fracture reductions on the spine as well as non-vertebral sites. Boniva only has the indication for spine. In their ads they are implying that they are the same as the other bisphosonates, we feel that consumers are being mislead.” “I cannot speak anything about Boniva’s ads appearing beside ours,” Middleton added.Spokespersons for Roche and GSK were not immediately available for comment regarding the newspaper ad placement.Both Roche and GSK have maintained in published reports that ads for Boniva accurately reflect clinical findings.
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Lei Jun, Xiaomi founder and CEO, announced the inauguration of Xiaomi’s new Scientific and Technological Park on the microblogging platform Weibo on July 10. Lei Jun accompanied the statement with a number of photos of the new headquarters, as well as various snapshots from the inauguration.
The center is located in Beijing’s Haidian district along with head offices of other tech giants such as Lenovo and Baidu, among others. In total, the park consists of eight structures covering an area of 340,000 square meters and cost the company 5.2 billion yuan($755 million).
To staff the new compound, Xiaomi will employ new engineers and will lead the development of artificial intelligence, IoT, big data and cloud technology. In addition, its head office will provide information support, retail, e-commerce and even part of Xiaomi‘s financial activities.
The new headquarters of the Chinese tech giant is the result of the enormous growth the brand has seen in recent years, which in turn requires an increase in headcount. In order to accommodate the growing number of employees, the company has chosen to relocate.


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Cdc – seasonal influenza (flu), New cdc flu data—report estimates flu illnesses and hospitalizations prevented by vaccination last season. fluvaxview—how many people got their flu.
Livestrong.com – lose weight & get fit with diet, nutrition, 14 new year’s resolutions that are bad ideas have you made your new year’s resolution yet? it’s that time of year when people are creating their lists of vows to.
New jersey – wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, New jersey is a state in the northeastern and middle atlantic regions of the united states. it is bordered on the north and east by new york state, on the southeast.
Lonely planet – official site, Love travel? plan and book your perfect trip with expert advice, travel tips, destination information and inspiration from lonely planet..
Mycentraljersey.com | central new jersey | mycentraljersey.com, New jersey turnpike turnpike northbound : no food available — nj turnpike auth.: no food available and no water available on new jersey turnpike northbound grover.
Njit: news: njit in the news – new jersey institute of technology, Njit in the news "local professor works as music supervisor for award-winning documentary".
Health news & articles | healthy living – abc news, Get the latest health news from dr. richard besser. here you’ll find stories about new medical research, the latest health care trends and health issues that affect.
Princeton, new jersey – wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in mercer county, new jersey, united states, that was established on january 1, 2013, through the.
U.s. news | national news – abc news, Abc news reports on united states politics, crime, education, legal stories, celebrities, weather, the economy and more.


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Women in business to discuss building wealth in a disruptive economy
Heiress Communications Consultancy will be hosting a women’s seminar on how to build wealth in a disruptive economy on 10 March at Avani Hotel and Casino.
The event will correspond with International Women’s Day, which is on 8 March, which is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Heiress Communications Consultancy founder, Paulina Mbango said in celebration of women in business and to recognise the courage and strength it took to weather the economic impact of COVID-19, women who attend the event will stand a chance to win one of several gift vouchers from Gondwana, Coca-Cola and ActionCoach Namibia worth N$20,000.
“The platform was created to provide women with a 360-degree view on various finance and career-related topics, in order to enable women to navigate their businesses and careers cohesively,” she added. She further stated that a lack of information on how and where to get assistance for business, especially during challenging times, leads to the inability to seize opportunities and re-strategist to accommodate the reality on the ground.
Mbango said the event is aimed at highlighting the Namibian financial landscape and the wealth creation opportunities availed through various institutions, specifically after the impact of COVID-19 and the platform also aims to cast light and awareness on what is available for the businesswoman in terms of forthcoming opportunities and available funding vehicles.
“Topics will include the socio-economic impact of COVID-19, the economic outlook going forward, Namibia’s investment climate and business funding opportunities amidst current economic challenges,” she added.
The target audience for this event is career women with part-time businesses and women in business that are interested in understanding the economy they operate in and how their businesses can transition amidst economic disruptions.
Discussions will touch on understanding the current economic environment and forthcoming opportunities for women in business, alternative funding for SMEs and Start-Ups and the importance of business coaching. Panellists will range from various institutions including, FirstRand Namibia, Development Bank of Namibia, Namibia Business Angle Network, Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board, Namibia Trade Forum, Team Namibia, Start-Up Namibia Incubation Centre, EOS Capital and Action Coach Namibia.


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Only one week after Facebook Places became available on Android phones, BlackBerry has begun offering the location-based service as part of its Facebook app. Before Nov. 3, the 12-week-old Places platform had only been available to iPhone users.
And now for Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Whrrl, Booyah, etc., the game for audience share truly begins. With an increasing device-driven availability, it’s likely only a matter of time before many of Facebook’s 500 million users begin tinkering with Places – perhaps even if they have been checking in on one of the other platforms up to that point.
Tom Goguen, VP of collaboration and social networking for BlackBerry parent Research In Motion, said that expressed interest from BlackBerry users has been recently increasing. “We started seeing requests for this feature in user feedback on our [last] version and started looking at the best way to bring Places into our app,” he told ClickZ via e-mail. “We then started to work with Facebook to develop the integration for this new feature, using the publicly available Facebook APIs.”
Research In Motion said BlackBerry owners are invited to download an upgraded Facebook app starting today. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said the new version of the app will allow users to check in, add places like restaurants and bars, view places where friends have checked in, and tag friends in photos.
Palo Alto, CA-based Facebook last week said it has 200 million mobile users per month – up from the 150 million it had most recently claimed. The company has not disclosed how many of those people are using its Places platform.
Facebook did not respond to an information request for this story.
President Trump's digital savvy isn't limited to social media. As it turns out, the Trump Organization owns thousands of domain names, possibly even more than 10,000.
According to Matt Hoggatt, CEO of mobile audience network ReachMobi, there are rich opportunities in the realm of mobile web, if only mobile companies knew how to realize the platform’s potential. We caught up with Matt for a glimpse into the future of mobile web, and to find out what web push notifications have to offer marketers.
Last week, a panel of ecommerce and mobile experts joined together for a webinar to discuss key topics surrounding the mobile app ... read more
As we have learned from the previous columns in this series, images are the major contributor to bloated, slow-loading mobile pages.


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Apex Legends gets limited-time holiday-themed mode and content
In an odd trailer debuted during the 2019 Game Awards, Apex Legends character Mirage introduced the new holiday content for the popular battle royale shooter.
Fans of Apex Legends and the celebration of Christmas will find a lot to like with the game’s upcoming limited-time holiday event. Dubbed Holo-Day Bash Event, the winter festival will transform the look of the popular battle royale game. The trailer promises new event-themed cosmetics as well as an all-new mode exclusive to the Holo-Day Bash.
This story is developing...
From The Chatty
Chris Jarrard posted a new article, Apex Legends gets limited-time holiday-themed mode and content


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Spotlight links up with Betfair Exchange
Published 9th March 2020
The agreement will see the launch of new show ‘Racing Post Live’, covering the biggest horseracing festivals throughout the calendar year.
The show will run throughout the flat and jumps season, covering more than 42 live racedays and producing several Betfair Exchange educational videos.
Spotlight, which counts the Racing Post among its brands, and Betfair Exchange, will launch the new show in time for the 2020 Cheltenham Festival,
Experts from Spotlight and Betfair Exchange, as well as other guests, will offer live and real-time insight, tips and reaction for every day of Cheltenham.
“We are very excited to work on this innovative video proposition in partnership with the marketing team at Betfair,” Spotlight’s digital marketing director Gethin Evans said.
“It's a fantastic opportunity for us as digital publishers, for Betfair as a real-time exchange education platform and for the sport of horseracing to get a true digital share of voice across our group, including the Racing Post and MyRacing channels.”
Harry Phillips, head of UK and Ireland brand marketing for Betfair, added: “We are constantly looking for scalable ways to reach qualified digital audiences, and we are delighted to be working with Spotlight Sports Group to do that.
“The opportunity to partner on a pioneering live show across the biggest horseracing festivals is something that will help build awareness and education of the Betfair Exchange product.
“We are working with the Spotlight Sports Group in-house production team to produce a true made- for-platform watch along for horseracing, which we hope drives further engagement in the sport going forward.”


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Fred Olsen Cruise Line will be sending its new shop Borealis to the Middle East as part of it’s Around the World in 80 Days world cruise, but with shorter itineraries on […]
MSC Cruises has expanded its Red Sea cruise season out of Saudi Arabia, adding more embarkation ports in Egypt, as well as shore excursions and pre-cruise stay options.
Swan Hellenic will be cruising the Red Sea to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan during the coming 2023 cruise season, as well as South Africa and other destinations on the continent.
Silversea Cruises has revealed the itinerary for its 2025 World Cruise aboard Silver Dawn, with one of the ten legs cruising from Mumbai to Istanbul via Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan in […]
The UAE’s Abu Dhabi Ports Group and Egypt’s Red Sea Ports Authority have signed a term sheet and a head of terms agreement for the development of cruise infrastructure.
Azamara has revealed the itinerary for its 2024 World Cruise aboard new ship Azamara Onward, with several port calls in the Middle East included.
Silversea has revealed its speaker line-up for next year’s 138-day 2022 World Cruise aboard Silver Whisper, departing Fort Lauderdale on January 5th and arriving in Copenhagen on May 22nd.
CroisiEurope, one of the largest river cruise line’s in Europe, has announced an Egyptian cruise season in the Red Sea for winter 2021/22.
Atlas Ocean Voyages has been unable to complete its inaugural cruise from Greece to Egypt due to a case of COVID-19 being discovered onboard its ship World Navigator.
Emerald Cruises, a luxury boutique cruise line that recently expanded into the ocean-going cruise sector, has announced its first cruises will include calls in Saudi Arabia.
Star Clippers is due to sail a 10-day cruise from Safaga in Egypt during the 2022 cruise season, the only cruise ship scheduled to do so during the entire year.
Egypt’s health ministry has issued new regulations for people arriving in the country who are vaccinated against COVID-19, including cruise tourists.
The new luxury expedition cruise line Atlas Ocean Voyages has announced summer 2021 itineraries for its first expedition ship, World Navigator.
MSC Cruises has released the full season cruise itineraries for MSC Magnifica’s maiden homeport program in the Red Sea out of Jeddah.
The German cruise line Phoenix Reisen has announced the sale of its oldest cruise ship, Albatros, due to reduced demand and the coronavirus-inflicted need to make the company more efficient and profitable.
Celestyal Cruises has announced that its new cruise ship Celestyal Experience will be sailing itineraries to three continents from March, 2021, including calls in Turkey and Egypt. The ship, formerly Costa Cruises’ […]
Costa Cruises will be returning to Egypt in late 2020, the cruise line confirmed as it released its redesigned European cruise itineraries for 2020 and 2021. The redesigned itineraries follow Costa Cruises’ […]
The luxury cruise line Seabourn has released its “Extraordinary Destinations E-Brochure,” highlighting its worldwide itineraries for the fall 2021 and winter/spring 2022 seasons, with eight cruises to or from Dubai and its […]
There is an almost limitless range of options to choose from when it comes to picking a cruise in 2020. No matter what you’re looking for or who you’re traveling with, there […]
Viking Cruises, the river cruising arm of Viking Ocean Cruises, is expanding its Egypt program for the 2020 season with a new ship and new pre-cruise holiday options.


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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Maytag Corp., the nation's No. 3 appliance maker, said slower than expected sales of major appliances would drag fourth quarter sales and earnings below expectations. Shares of Maytag fell more than 8 percent on the news.
Steven Wood, Maytag's chief financial officer, said the company expects earnings per share to be about 50 percent lower than last year's 82 cents for the quarter. Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial had pegged earnings for the current quarter at 78 cents a share.
Wood also said Maytag, maker of Hoover and Jenn-Air brands, expected to take ''a number of one-time charges associated with asset write-downs, suspended business initiatives, and other expenses.'' The special charges could total as much as $55 million to $65 million pre-tax, Wood said.
Shares of Newton-based Maytag were down $2.50 to close at $27.19 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Electronic Arts extends partnership with NHL
Multi-Year agreement reached for more hockey games
Electronic Arts, the National Hockey League (NHL), and the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) have announced a multi-year renewal to their partnership.
The new agreement will allow EA SPORTS to continue creating new hockey video games going into the next few years.
“The EA SPORTS NHL franchise these past 30 years has become synonymous with hockey culture, and this extension will ensure it remains at the forefront of connecting millions of fans around the world to the sport through interactive entertainment," said Cam Weber, Executive Vice President & Group GM, EA SPORTS.
The announcement follows the release of the latest game, NHL 21, earlier in October.


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Ukrainian fashion designers, artists, and businesses are using consumer power to sustain their industries during the Russian invasion. They have created initiatives like Spend With Ukraine and the Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund to support creatives and the economy. These initiatives aim to keep the industry afloat and provide normalcy.
By buying Ukrainian, consumers can help support the country’s economy. The founder of Spend With Ukraine, Andrey Klen, emphasizes the importance of buying Ukrainian in order to support the economy and win the war. Ukrainian fashion designer Anna October, who is part of Spend With Ukraine, also stresses that every purchase helps support the country. The key to success is sustaining interest in spending with Ukraine and spreading awareness about the impact of these initiatives.


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Apple iPhone 2.1 firmware tightens up security
Apple iPhone firmware 2.1 is now out and Apple has put out the details on just what the changes are; most deal with the Apple iPhone security issues that were identified in 2.0 and 2.0.2 firmware release.
So just what are those security fixes… FreeType vulnerabilities have been shored up; an update to the Application Sandbox to enforce proper access restrictions; Passcode Lock has been corrected to fix the emergency call exploit.
Also… WebKit has been updated to address CSS import statements that were causing problems; TCP initial sequence numbers are now randomly generated to stop attackers from spoofing TCP connections; mDNSResponder has been updated to reduce susceptibility to DNS cache poisoning.
Basically what all this means is the Apple iPhone firmware 2.1 makes your Apple iPhone more secure.


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Pantech’s unannounced P9020 phone has appeared on the FCC site, and it appears to sport a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Details on this phone aren’t abundant, but we do know that it sports HSDPA 3G which would work on AT&T’s network, Bluetooth, GPS navigation, memory card expansion, and music player. Since the draft user manual mentioned many AT&T services such as AT&T Navigator, AT&T Radio and such, it’s probably safe to assume that the phone will be hitting AT&T’s network, right?
Sprint Hints It Will Add Another New BlackBerry Device
LG Optimus F3 For Sprint Rumored [Image]
Samsung Wallet App Finally Released For U.S.
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 Expected Price Pops Up


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VF Corp., owner of Lee and Wrangler jeans, is exploring strategic options for its denim business that could include a sale or spin off of the classic American brands, according to people familiar with the situation.
The apparel conglomerate has owned Wrangler and Lee for decades and they were once its core, but the company’s jeans sales have slowed in recent years as more women opt for yoga pants or premium denim brands like J Brand or Frame.
VF’s denim business last year had $2.66 billion in sales and $422 million in profit. A typical multiple in the apparel industry could value the business at several billion dollars. It isn’t clear what other brands might be part of the company’s review.
Also popular on WSJ.com:


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MGC Pharmaceuticals’ seed-to-pharmacy strategy is picking up significant momentum with the ASX-listed company reporting revenues of $763,000 in the fourth quarter ended 30 June 2019. The result is due in part to the receipt of $469,000 in revenue from private Canadian cannabis investment company CannaGlobal for cannabis-based cosmetic raw materials under their five-year supply agreement.
MGC Pharmaceuticals’ seed-to-pharmacy strategy is picking up significant momentum with the ASX-listed company reporting revenues of $763,000 in the fourth quarter ended 30 June 2019.
Notably, this is well above the sales revenue of $296,811 that it recorded in the entire 2017-2018 financial year.
The result is due, in part, to the receipt of $469,000 in revenue from private Canadian cannabis investment company CannaGlobal for cannabis-based cosmetic raw materials under their five-year supply agreement.
Managing Director Roby Zomer said: “This has been a fantastic quarter in which we have delivered material results from our core pharma business strategy and increased the critical distribution channels for our portfolio of internally developed high quality, cost-effective phytocannabinoid medical products through five agreements opening new global markets.”
“In addition to this, our non-pharma business units resulted in a substantial increase in revenue.”
“MGC Pharma is also continuing with significant advancements within our Research and Development division as we continued to work closely with leading academic institutions internationally to firmly position the company at the forefront of future medical developments in this sector.”
“We hope to be in a position to provide a significant project update shortly to shareholders on our state-of-the-art Maltese GMP production and development facility, where we are the leader in the emerging industry, a key platform for further revenue generation and growth as one of the leading players to service the huge European patient market.”
MGC reached distribution agreements with five new partners in the June 2019 quarter that provides access to the medical cannabis markets in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Brazil and Australia.
This has already delivered growth for the company’s pharma business with Australian distributors Health House International and Cannvalate already issuing about $300,000 worth of purchase orders in the first month.
In addition, the study into the efficacy of cannabinoid-based medicines in the treatment of brain tumours by the National Institute of Biology (NIB) and University Medical Centre Ljubljana in Slovenia has returned positive initial findings.
MGC’s Phase II clinical trial for its “CogniCann” medical cannabis product for the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s patients being conducted in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame in Perth is also progressing well ahead of schedule.
The company expects to conclude the trial in the second quarter of 2020, about 12 months ahead of schedule due to the unexpectedly high level of interest from potential candidates to participate in the trial.
NB: This article is for general financial markets news purposes only and is not to be taken as an endorsement of, or advertisement for any individual product, medicine or drug.


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I can finally speak about the project that has completely taken over my life for the past year. Project Bluehouse or Blue Business Platform is the official codename in the press release. Essentially, “IBM Lotus Foundations is a new family of software servers currently planned to provide the essential software that companies with five to 500 employees need to run their business.”
Things are still being worked out, but I have already pitched the idea of integrating this server management piece with the iPhone (now that the iPhone SDK is officially out there). Unfortunately, things at IBM go at a glacial pace, and I have yet to hear much about my idea coming to fruition. Well, here’s hoping they seriously consider it.


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PUBS face their quietest Christmas on record – with 38million fewer pints and 5million fewer dinners sold from tomorrow to Boxing Day.
Just 3 million pints and 1 million dinners will be served in Britain’s pubs, the British Beer & Pub Association said.
⚠ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
Pubs are facing their quietest Christmas on record with 38million fewer pints soldCredit: Getty Images – Getty
On a normal Christmas, it would usually expect 41million pints and 6million Christmas dinners to be served.
On Christmas Day alone, a key trading day for pubs, just 260,000 Christmas dinners and 700,000 pints will be served.
Usually, Christmas Day sales alone would exceed 1 million dinners and 10 million pints.
Pub bosses said the stark figures show what impact the Government’s tier restrictions are having on pubs, strangling their ability to trade as viable businesses and survive.
It also said it highlighted how Christmas just won’t be the same for many people this year as they won’t be visiting their local to celebrate it.
As popular venues for Christmas parties and celebrations, pubs would usually be fully booked for the Christmas period with Christmas menus and festive beer selections already in place to give pub goers the Christmas experience you could only get at the local.
Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “This Christmas will be the quietest year on record for our pubs.
“And it’s all because of the Government’s unfair and unfounded restrictions on them, stopping them from opening properly, if at all.
“As the heart of the community and place many of us go to make the most of the festivities, it is such a shame our pubs will be so quiet this Christmas.
“After such a difficult and challenging year, we all deserve to make the most of the Christmas break with the chance to have a drink at our local.
Just three million pints and a million meals will be served in pubsCredit: Jake McPherson
“Especially as our pubs need all the support they can get right now.
“If the Government isn’t going to change tack on pub restrictions, then it has to recognise the damage it is doing and do more to protect pubs.
“That means grant support for pubs like those in Wales, which are as much as four times higher than for pubs in England facing similar restrictions.
“Failure by the Government to do this would be failing communities across the country whose local is vital to their wellbeing.”
The Sun says
PUBS survived the first lockdown by the skin of their teeth. Ever since, they’ve bent over backwards to stay Covid secure.
But now — through no fault of their own — they are being forced to shut up shop during their busiest season.
Which is why today, we are calling on Boris and his ministers to throw an urgent lifeline to publicans.
Yes, the furlough scheme is helping them cling on to precious staff.
But they are still paying through the nose to rent premises they are forbidden from using.
And without urgent help, they will soon pull down their shutters for the final time.
Just 30million pints will be sold with pubs shut and customer numbers down at those that can open due to “substantial meal” rules.
Normally, boozers sell 300million pints in December, according to the BBPA based on the monthly sales survey it has carried out for 20 years.
It means as much as £935 million in turnover being wiped-out from the pub and brewing sector this month in beer sales alone.
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The first shipment of radiata pine logs is being loaded at the Albany Port today, Monday 16 July 2007 following an agreement between the Forest Products Commission and Pentarch Forest Products Pty Ltd.
Albany FPC senior forester, Neil Worrell said the small logs are from the first thinnings of the 3,500 hectares of radiata pine plantation planted in the region between 1987 and 1992.
The logs are being loaded onto Pentarch’s ship the ‘Sea Sparkle’ and will be shipped overseas for low grade sawn product and for pulp.
This is the first of an estimated 400,000 cubic metres over the next four years to be exported from the Albany Port under the contract.
The price of radiata on the world market has recently risen enabling the FPC to sell the wood to Pentarch at a price that makes it feasible to thin the plantations.
This has meant increased employment opportunities with approximately 12 people directly employed by FPC contractors involved in the harvesting and carting of the logs to the Port. In addition, contractors will be involved in tree marking and roading to allow access for the trucks. Pentarch is also engaging contractors to handle the logs at the Port.
“The greatest value of this market is in the future as it will allow the remaining trees to grow on to producing good quality sawlogs from the second thinning and clearfall. For the farmers who entered the scheme they will now see an increase in the value of their crop share,” said Mr Worrell.
“Finding a market for first thinnings has been difficult and unfortunately the extent of the radiata pine plantation resource around Albany was too small to justify a major processing plant locally. Some small pines are used in Mt Barker for preservative treatment, however it cannot utilise all the small logs available from thinning.”
The FPC is still working with potential buyers to secure a market for the small diameter logs from the crown of the trees being harvested for Pentarch.


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Although the Minnesota ban won’t go into effect until 2017, it’s possible that manufacturers will begin to phase out the questionable ingredient before then.
Doctors across the country are prescribing fruits and vegetables to their overweight and obese patients. But the health benefits extend beyond weight loss.
The American Medical Association's "disease" label appears to boost feelings of self-acceptance among obese people — but it may also undermine weight-loss efforts, a recent study suggests.
Brominated vegetable oil, commonly used in sports drinks and sodas, has been banned in several countries because it’s both a flame retardant and a potential hormone disrupter.
Pictures trump calorie-counting on TwoGrand, a recent addition to the bastion of food and exercise tracking apps.


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HA NOI (VNS)— Exporting to the EU market is predicted to be harder next year and growth will reduce to only 10 per cent against this year's 20 per cent estimation, said Dang Hoang Hai, director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's European Market Department.
Hai even warned that domestic exporters would have to make every effort just to reach 10 per cent.
The difficulty was due to the bloc's continuous debt crisis, Hai said, adding that statistics the European Union statistics office Eurostat released last week showed that the 17-member euro zone has fallen back into recession for the first time since the global financial crisis hit hard in 2009. GDP fell by 0.1 per cent in the euro area and increased by 0.1 per cent across the 27-member EU during the third quarter of 2012, compared with the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2012, growth rates were – 0.2 per cent in both zones.
Domestic exporters have also seen signs of difficulties when they come to shipping to the EU market next year.
Director of the Lien Phat Footwear Co Truong Thi Thuy Lien said that her company's exports to the EU in the last months of this year and early next year were expected to be more difficult as the company has received few contracts for export to the market.
Lien Phat's exports to the EU market in the first 10 months of the year went down by roughly 30 per cent over the same period last year due to the eurozone's economic slowdown.
According to the General Department of Customs, Viet Nam's exports to the EU in the first 10 months of the year surged more than 20 per cent to US$16.1 billion. However, the growth was mainly from exports of mobile phones, electronic products, machines and equipment, all produced by foreign invested enterprises. Mobile phone shipments to the market doubled from the previous period to reach $4.43 billion while computer and electronic products also surged more than 78 per cent to $1.11 billion.
Meanwhile, key staple Vietnamese producers export to the market barely inched up, if they did not decrease. For example, footwear exports surged only 2.2 per cent to $2.08 billion while textile and garment shipments declined 5.6 per cent to $1.98 billion. — VNS


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Coronavirus outbreak: Notebook components supply may dry up in March
Notebook ODMs have resumed their production in China, but face the possibility of a lack of components starting in March if their suppliers continue to be prevented from going to work by the coronavirus outbreak. Quanta Computer has started volume production at a new assembly plant in Taiwan to meet urgent needs from clients, but components shortages remain an issue. Now Digitimes Research estimates that global notebook shipments will fall 29-36% in first-quarter 2020, much steeper than previously thought.
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With the cold in the auto sales market, more and more dealers choose to make an article and seek profits in financial services and after-sales maintenance, which also leads to cheating incidents such as shoddy goods for good and fraud Su Hui, executive vice president of tangible automobile market branch of China Automobile Circulation Association, said in an interview.
As sales are hindered, dealers will make an article on after-sales maintenance. Data source: Liu Guomei, China Automobile Circulation Association
According to the reporters understanding, when the vehicle is in danger, the insurance company will increase the insurance cost according to the actual claim amount. This means that users will still pay for the water tank framework in the video, which is revenue generating for 4S stores. At the same time, the depreciation cost caused by the replacement of key parts in the video will be borne by the user finally.
It does exist. Liu Fei told the daily economic news that he had heard of the above-mentioned fraudulent insurance operation in his 18 years of employment. On the one hand, 4S shops can earn extra costs by replacing parts; on the other hand, maintenance personnel can also get more labor costs during the installation process. Liu Fei told reporters that this entrapment move requires multi-party cooperation to complete, and some 4S stores often choose to ignore because of the interest chain relationship.
In addition to intercepting excessive oil and increasing maintenance items, some 4S store employees also have the situation of stealing user accessories. Liu Fei revealed to reporters, some maintenance workers did not install the new parts on the users car after taking the parts, but chose to sell them privately to earn profits. Most of the bullying behavior exposed in the video does exist in some 4S stores.
Disorder or lack of income
As long as you do this, no one is clean. In the video maintenance personnels words, completely ignited Liu Feis anger. We can only say that the quality of employees needs to be improved! Liu Fei said that due to the harsh environment of the auto repair industry and the relatively high technical requirements, the talent gap in the auto repair industry has become increasingly large in recent years.
According to the data of China research network, the gap of middle and senior technical personnel in automobile maintenance in China will reach 2.5 million this year. The repair industry has not earned much, and has suffered a lot, and there are not many people who can persist. In Liu Feis view, the mixed fish and dragon of the practitioners and the immature training system are also one of the important reasons for the industry chaos.
Through the reporters understanding, the low rate of return of relevant employees may provide a favorable soil for the breeding of hidden rules in the industry. In the video, a maintenance personnel once said that the main reason why they usually adopt the method of only replacing and not repairing when encountering faults is the income problem. Change parts at least (earn) 500 yuan, repair car can only earn 10 yuan, if repair is not good, there will be no income. The repairman said in the video. And another maintenance personnel also said in the video, how to make more money, how to do..
The phenomenon of cheating on customers such as shoddy goods and fraud is not prominent when the market is booming. However, as the overall market declines and new car sales are hindered, some dealers choose to do something and seek profits in financial services, after-sales maintenance, etc Su Hui said.
In this regard, Liu Fei told reporters, it is not enough to support the overall expenses of 4S stores only relying on the rebate of main engine plants, especially for the 4S stores which mainly focus on medium and low-end models. The after-sales maintenance project has not only become the main profit contribution point of 4S stores, but also caused some staff members to have a crooked mind to earn extra working hours by means of false increase of items and false maintenance.
Supervision needs to be strengthened
In the whole process of accepting the reporters interview, Liu Fei said the word black sheep more than ten times. There are good people and bad people in any industry, but when it comes to 4S stores, the curse is always surprisingly consistent. Liu Fei believes that accepting social supervision is a necessary step for the industry to move towards standardization, but the guidance of public opinion is also crucial to the development of the industry. Its too much to do now. Liu Fei said with a bitter smile.
In Liu Feis opinion, most consumers have placed the 4S store on the opposite side in their heart and can not trust the service provided by the 4S store. After this, I dont know what its going to be like. Liu Fei admitted that with the continuous fermentation of the incident, the whole industry would be affected, which would be unfair to the vast majority of conscientious 4S stores.
It is imperative to strengthen supervision and strengthen supervision means. Su Hui told the daily economic news that the downturn in the domestic auto market has made many OEMs and dealers relax their supervision of service quality. In addition, although the Three Guarantees and other policies to protect the rights and interests of consumers have been introduced for many years, the supervision and supervision measures of relevant departments still need to be improved.


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As commercialism and political correctness continue to intrude on Christmas and other holidays, Americans should savor Thanksgiving beyond what's on the menu.
It is not a moving target like Easter. It is not bogged down in the clutter of cards and flowers for St. Valentine's Day. It is not bound by the PC values of a "holiday tree."
It's all about friends and family -- and the marvelous opportunity to, burp, eat as much as you want without the calorie-counters knocking on your door.
Thanksgiving stands proudly as a cherished keepsake on our calendar, since the tradition was established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.
This is no longer your Honest Abe's Thanksgiving. Gigantic floats pass by Times Square commemorating Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Turkey, stuffing and cranberries have given way to meatless lasagna or lentil loafs in some vegetarian kitchens. Mojitos have joined apple cider on the drink list.
But the essence of this holiday remains the same:
Loved ones counting their blessings, while remembering those who cannot share the moment, be they soldiers in Iraq or those who have passed away or are too ill to join hands with their family at the dinner table.
It's a good day to set aside partisan rhetoric, whether it involves Democrats and Republicans or Cowboys and Redskins, and celebrate a tradition that binds us together as brothers and sisters.
Undoubtedly, commercialism will ratchet up considerably by Friday morning, the most frenetic shopping day of the year. Folks will be jostling in malls for fabulous bargains before daybreak, if not clicking onto the Internet for other specials.
In the meantime, celebrate today's smorgasbord of food, fun and football.
Plenty of shopping days remain before Christmas.
But there is only one Thanksgiving.


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Vendors wanted for annual Woofstock in Beverly Hills
The city of Beverly Hills Community Services Department is currently seeking pet-related product and service vendors for its ninth annual “Woofstock 90210” pet event on Nov. 5 at Roxbury Park’s “Wiggly Field” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
(photo courtesy of the city of Beverly Hills)
According to the American Pet Products Association, U.S. pet owners spent $62.75 billion on their furry friends in 2016. With Americans spending more money than ever before on pampering their pets, this is a great opportunity to showcase products and services at an event that attracted nearly 3,500 people and more than 300 pets last year. All vendors interested in space at the event must fill out an application and submit it by Sept. 22.
The event will feature over 40 sponsors and retail vendors, pet adoptions, pet parade and contests, activities for yourself and your pets, pet demonstrations, food trucks, entertainment, live music and more.
For information, visit beverlyhills.org/Woofstock90210 or call (310)285-6830.
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Amazon Game Studios Will Ensure the Death of Zynga
The company's first title (developed by the online retailer's new game division, Amazon Game Studios) is Living Classics, a moving object game in which players must reunite a family of foxes "by exploring beautifully illustrated scenes and spotting moving objects." In essence, Living Classics appears to be another take on the hidden object game genre.
Living Classics features an interesting art style with familiar characters and scenarios, including those from Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. The debut trailer posted on the official Amazon Game Studios blog shows a wide array of challenges, including one that appears to be taken from The Sword in the Stone.
This is not the kind of game that will steal the thunder of Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI), whose Call of Duty franchise still leads the game industry in the United States. It is, however, a fairly unique entry into the world of Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) gaming. With recognizable characters and some of the most impressive animations ever seen in social media, Living Classics could easily steal the spotlight as the hottest new Facebook game.
At this very moment, investors do not seem to care. Amazon shares are up a marginal amount, and Zynga (which launched a new game this week, ChefVille) is up roughly four percent.
The bigger picture, however, is not as kind to Zynga. In July, the stock lost more than 40 percent of its value after Zynga announced its quarterly earnings results, which were well below expectations.
Since March, Zynga shares have dropped roughly 80 percent. The company has attempted to stay relevant by signing deals with major corporations, including the Comcast-owned (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Universal Studios. Without any major products to excite the masses, however, Zynga has had a difficult time maintaining its position as the social gaming leader.
Last September, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) became the number two player in social gaming, thanks in part to its acquisition of PopCap Games. According to AppData.com, EA has since fallen to fourth place. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has taken the second-place spot, while Woobox currently comes in at number three.
Earlier this month, EA sued Zynga over copyright infringement. EA claims that Zynga copied its new Facebook game, The Sims Social, in developing The Ville.
EA refers to The Ville as an "unmistakable copy" of The Sims Social. Reggie Davis, Zynga's general counsel, responded to the accusations by telling USA Today that it is "unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles."
"It's also ironic that EA brings this suit shortly after launching SimCity Social which bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga's CityVille game," he said.
That would be ironic if CityVille had not already been accused of copying the original SimCity. Still, EA has decided to leave CityVille out of this legal battle -- for now, at least.
With lawsuits, new competitors, and a lack of original and compelling game content, Zynga's future is not looking good.
Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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Jul 13, 2015New Hampshire's Gunstock Mountain Resort is employing a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon solution provided by Adored to communicate with, and market to, its guests, as well as to those who have never visited the mountain. The system does this according to each person's location, which helps to identify his or her interests.
Adored's beacon-based loyalty app enables cafés, restaurants, retailers, arenas and other businesses and brands to market to customers via their phones and tablets, based on their anonymized shopping history and location. The app is available for Android and iOS platforms, and can be downloaded at the Google Play and iTunes websites.
The technology is intended to replace loyalty cards, punch cards and e-mail marketing, by providing consumers with loyalty points based on their visits to a particular place of business. According to Adored, its solution differs from many loyalty programs and beacon-based apps because it delivers promotional offers according to a user's behavior, not identity or demographics.
For instance, if an individual uses the Gunstock ski lift for the beginners' slopes, the Adored software assumes that guest is a beginning skier and thus tailors promotions geared to someone with beginning skiing skills—offering a free ski lesson, for instance. If the Adored app has detected that individual's phone most often within a community many miles from the resort, such as in Boston, the system can also identify that he or she is a tourist rather than a local. It can then send promotions that would be of value to such a person, such as a weekend discount rather than something on a weekday.
All of this is intended to help Gunstock, as well as other businesses using the app. Ski resorts offered one of the early use cases that Adored's founders considered when launching the company in October 2014, says Cory von Wallenstein, Adored's CEO and one of its three co-founders. Von Wallenstein recalls visiting four resorts, all of which told him that they had found developing their own app for engaging customers to be a marketing mistake. "They could not deliver enough value to get the app installed and keep it installed on a consumer's phone," he says. They indicated that they needed an app able to provide real value for guests, generate more targeted offers and be useful off-location as well, in order to maintain the high engagement that would have them ready to use it the next time they visited the resort.
"When Cory came to us, we had been looking at beacons but didn't have the software," says Bill Quigley, Gunstock's director of marketing and sales. "We're already terribly engaged with our guests," he says, noting, for instance, that Gunstock offers targeted e-mails to consistent guests and customers. The resort had also offered an app, but that gained little traction. "There are tons of apps out there," he states.
Therefore, the resort opted to try the Adored app, which offers a much larger following (it has had 10,000 downloads to date), since consumers can use the app at a variety of locations, not just in ski areas. By becoming an active member of Adored, von Wallenstein predicts, the resort will have access not only to existing guests, but to potentially new visitors as well. Since only about 10 percent of those 10,000 app users may be skiers, Gunstock could market to non-skiers, too, based on their behavior. If an individual visits an active outdoor brand store, for instance, and then a coffee shop, Gunstock could offer him or her a coupon for a zipline tour at the resort during summer months.
For three weeks in March 2015, Gunstock and Adored piloted the app on the mountain, encouraging visitors to sign up for the app and offering such incentives as a discounted lift ticket for another day. About 200 people downloaded the app during the first weekend, about 5 percent of whom redeemed the lift ticket. Those were encouraging numbers to start with, von Wallenstein and Quigley felt. However, Quigley says, he also saw value in smaller offerings, and so the pilot included $1 off the price of a draft beer at the resort's restaurant. The redemption rate on the beer discount was 150 percent, he reports, meaning that people came back for more.
The beacons are installed at the lifts and restaurant, and remain there now, over the summer, continuing to collect data from those who have downloaded the app. Quigley hopes to begin using the technology to target non-skiers, as well as its existing customers, for the upcoming ski season. If there are only 1,000 skiers among the 10,000 consumers who have downloaded the app so far, he says, "I want those 9,000 people who aren't traditional skiers." But he wants to offer incentives and coupons that are of value only to those individuals who seem, based on their behavior, to be interested. "They've honored us by letting us in the phone in their pocket," he says, adding that his goal is to ensure Gunstock isn't wasting their time with unwanted offers.
Last week, Adored announced that it had raised a $2.3 million round of funding from local investors. That added revenue, the company said, will help the company launch the next phase of its deployments, by improving on the software that analyzes behavior and targets promotions appropriately.
In addition to Gunstock, von Wallenstein says, four other ski resorts will implement the system for the next ski season. The main advantage of the app for consumers, he notes, is that they retain complete anonymity. "No account is created," he explains, "There's no e-mail address, gender, age," simply the beacon-based location data being collected with regard to a unique ID number.
According to von Wallenstein, the Adored solution comes with beacons supplied by a variety of vendors, including Estimote.
A total of 65 cafés, theaters, hockey arenas and other businesses in the metro Boston and New Hampshire areas are already Adored adopters, von Wallenstein reports, and he expects to have 250 businesses participating by the end of this year, primarily in the Boston area. The results to date include quick-service locations increasing their average visits per week by 20 percent, as well as dining establishments converting 20 percent of their casual customers into regulars. The solution is being offered as a monthly subscription, at a rate that varies according to the size of a business, ranging from $200 to several thousand dollars per month. That fee includes the beacons.


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Byron Davies is a Welsh Conservative Assembly Member for South Wales West, and the Shadow Minister for Transport, Regeneration and European Affairs. Follow Byron on Twitter.
The state of the Welsh high street is a useful barometer in assessing the health of the Welsh economy. Unfortunately, this test rings true as the woes of the high street reflect the structural challenges facing our economy.
In Wales the shop vacancy rate is 4% higher than the UK average, while footfall in our town centres has fallen by a fifth in the past five years. The most recent figures for business births show Wales has the second lowest rate of all the UK nations and regions. Vacant and dilapidated shop fronts are becoming an increasingly common sight blighting our high streets, which can deter shoppers and even attract low-level crime.
Our high streets have been in gradual decline for over a decade, arguably due to the rise of internet shopping and the development of out-of-town shopping centres. Yet, even in these days of eBay, Amazon and supermarkets the size of department stores, there is a promising and viable future for the high street. The truth is that our high streets have been neglected for too long by lazy Labour. Welsh Conservatives want to see a return to bustling high streets full of thriving small local businesses, but to achieve this we need effective management, strategy and direction from the Welsh Government.


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Treasurer Wayne Swan says the cost of living rise is not surprising given the natural disasters over summer.
"Today's figures show an unsurprising spike in inflation caused by summer floods and Cyclone Yasi," Mr Swan said.
The consumer price index (CPI) released on Wednesday spiked by 1.6 per cent in the March quarter to an annual rate of 3.3 per cent, above the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) two to three per cent target band.
However, the central bank has repeatedly said it will look through the anticipated price impact from the Queensland floods when considering changes to interest rates.
Mr Swan pointed the finger of blame for the rise firmly at natural disasters that dramatically raised the price of fruit and vegetables.
He highlighted the price of bananas, which have risen 100 per cent in the past quarter.
"But it hasn't just been the bananas," Mr Swan said.
The treasurer said inflationary pressures were likely to moderate as the supply of fruit and vegetables improved.
"We can take some comfort that in coming quarters we will see some of these price increases unwind as crops regrow and production returns," he said.
Mr Swan said many Australians were doing it tough, with a spike in global oil prices also feeding into higher fuel prices at the pump.
He said fuel prices rose 8.8 per cent in the quarter, contributing about 0.3 percentage points to the quarterly CPI increase.
But the economic fundamentals remained strong, Mr Swan said.
"This summer's disasters have not knocked our economy off course.
"We have got strong job creation, we have got low unemployment, we have got solid public finances and a huge pipeline of investment that's flowing from record high export prices."


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Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill popped up on Instagram for a fashion moment. Get the scoop on the Hip Hop couple's Balmain and Alexander McQueen looks.
Emily B's daughter Taina Williams was recently crowned prom queen. See her gorgeous dress.
Future covers GQ and is named as one of 2016's most stylish men alive. Get the scoop.
Beyoncé's Ivy Park activewear line has been released. Get the scoop and shop over 30+ items under $50!
GapKids has issued an apology after their newly released campaign ad for Ellen DeGeneres' kids line has sparked controversy over it's racist implications.
The Beyhive is swarming with excitement after Beyoncé unveiled her new Ivy Park activewear line on Thursday. See pics and video.


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Imagine a world in which emails and marketing copy write themselves. Sounds like the plot line of a science-fiction movie, but text-generation technology might soon make this futuristic capability a reality.
This new technology that generates text is known as GPT-3.
By using artificial intelligence, this technology is being developed for numerous automated writing tool applications. This summer, the research institute OpenAI demonstrated that this software can generate text such as news articles, memes, and blogs. The results were almost indiscriminate from human-written pieces.
Companies such as Compose.ai are working to improve GPT-3 technology so that it can boost the development and efficiency of email communications in the workplace. While platforms such as Google’s Gmail already offer users suggestions on sentence completion and greetings, GPT-3 would generate drafts of complete responses. Other companies, such as Snazzy.ai, are investing in using the technology to generate copy for online advertising.
Marketing performance measurement company VMO found that AI-generated copy gains as many, if not more, clicks or interactions than human-created copy. While continued studies will be needed to confirm these findings, companies are intrigued by ease of auto-generated content.
The technology still isn’t perfect.
Using broad databases of preexisting examples causes the programs to generate irrelevant or nonsensical responses. For now, most companies are focusing on training the AI to pre-write simple tasks such as meeting-scheduling emails. However, the future looks promising for AI-generated copy.


text: UPS ® (NYSE:UPS) today released new published rates for 2014. UPS Ground, Air and International, and Air Freight rates within and between the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico will increase an average net of 4.9 percent. Updated rate and service information will be posted on www.ups.com/rates, beginning today. Customers can download the 2014 UPS Rate and Service Guide on Dec. 30, 2013, when the new rates take effect. UPS (NYSE:UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including the transportation of packages and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at UPS.com and its corporate blog can be found at blog.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.


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The first thing you need to do is choose a news reader, if you already don't have one. This is a piece of software that checks feeds you have requested and lets you read any new articles that have been added. There are various types of news reader. You should choose one that will work with your computer’s operating system.
When you have chosen a news reader, you can decide what content you want to keep up to date with. Please choose from below:
|Albania||Bosnia and Herzegovina||Bulgaria||Croatia|
|INTERVIEWS BY BALKANS.COM|
Alternatively, you can paste one of the BBN RSS URLs into a new feed in your news reader.
|E-mail article||Save||Additional News in English||Još vesti na Srpskom||Επιπλέον ειδήσεις στα Ελληνικά||Text|
Swedish furniture maker IKEA, which opened its first store in Bulgaria in capital city Sofia in 2011, has put plans to open a second outlet in Varna on hold, news website Mediapool.bg reported. Greek company Fourlis SA, which holds the franchise licence in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria, was in talks to buy land for the store in Varna last year, but the deal has not been signed and it is unclear when, if at all, it would go ahead, the report said, quoting Teo Mouratidis, the manager of Ikea’s Sofia store reports Sofia Globe.
Related News in English
Povezane vesti na srpskom
Συναφείς Ειδήσεις στα Ελληνικά


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Multiples suspend routine testing
Author: Simon Jones
Specsavers has suspended all routine testing for the ‘foreseeable future’ to focus solely on essential and urgent care.
‘We may be closing our stores for business as usual, but will remain open for care, particularly for key workers, said CEO John Perkins.
‘Our desire is to continue to provide essential and urgent services to the communities we serve, as well as online and telephone advice for those who need it.’
The company said it would only open fully once it was safe to do so and in compliance with government guidelines. It added that joint venture partnerships would make decisions locally in their communities around opening hours, which may be influenced by their own or their team’s personal situation during this crisis.
Patients must phone their local practice first for advice and to be assessed on the level of care that they might need. Key workers will be able to visit practices to seek immediate advice.
As a result of the developing coronavirus situation, Boots Opticians and Hearing care practices around the UK will also temporarily close.
Some stores will remain open to provide essential care for those with essential eye and hearing care needs. A list of these stores is available at www.bootsopticians.com.
In a statement managing director of Boots Opticians, James Arrow, said: ‘We have taken the difficult decision to temporarily close our opticians and hearingcare stores across the UK in order to protect the health and wellbeing of our customers and our team in these challenging times.
‘We are constantly monitoring the situation, working with government guidance and the NHS, and we will open our doors again as soon as we can.’


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Remix Kid’s Consignments fall/winter sale set
Remix Kid’s Consignment has set its second seasonal event, a fall/winter back to school sale for Aug. 26-27 at the former Copps grocery store at 3256 Church St.
Items in the sale will include gently used and new high quality baby’s, children's, teen's and maternity clothes, shoes, toys, books, DVDs, baby gear, decor, large indoor and outdoor toys, children's furniture and children's equipment like car seats, strollers, exersaucers, jumperoos, and high chairs. The sale will also include Halloween costumes, Christmas/holiday wear, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, pants, and winter items like coats, snow pants, boots, hats and gloves.
Times for the sale are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 26, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 27 with most items moving to half off after noon on that day.
For more information on Remix Kid’s Consignment including sale information, how to become a vendor, or volunteer opportunities, please visit www.remixkidsconsign.com. You can also find them on Facebook.