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Strong Costa coffee and firm Premier Inn beds propel Whitbread's sales higher, as it plots major expansion into China
Costa Coffee is looking to double its sales over the next five years to £2billion through expansion at home and abroad, with a particular focus on China, its owner Whitbread said as the group posted a strong rise in third quarter sales.
Whitbread, which also owns the budget Premier Inns hotels chain, said it is on course to deliver full year results in line with market expectations as its total sales rose 4.3 per cent in the 13 weeks to November 28, an acceleration from a 2.8 per cent advance seen in the first half.
Britain's biggest coffee shop and hotels operator, which also runs pub restaurants such as Brewers Fayre, has expanded rapidly as cost-conscious customers seek out affordable hotels and show a rising popularity for takeaway coffee.
Coffee wanted: Whitbread's Costa Coffee is looking to double its sales over the next five years to £2billion
Third quarter sales at Costa Coffee stores in the UK which have been open over a year rose 4.9 per cent, with its overall sales at its 2,773 stores worldwide up 20.4 per cent.
Whitbread said Costa Coffee sales had been solid in the Middle East and were up strongly in Asia, including a slight improvement in China where the firm has opened 54 stores so far this year, with more openings to come.
The group said it is also aiming to grow Premier Inn rooms in the UK by 45 per cent to 75,000 by 2018. Total sales at the hotel chain rose 13.7 per cent in the third-quarter, with revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry measure, up 6.5 per cent.
However, in spite of the strong sales news Whitbread shares fell 25p to 3,500p after the update, with traders citing valuation grounds after the stock reached an all-time peak of 3,600p last month.
‘There is little doubt as to the quality of Whitbread’s business and continuing progress, but some question marks are beginning to appear on its valuation,’ said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.
‘Even though the premium on the earnings multiple is perhaps justified, the shares may be heading towards a pause for breath.
Having risen 45 per cent over the last year as compared to an 11 per cent hike in the wider FTSE 100, market consensus has recently eased slightly to rest at a hold, albeit a strong one,' Hunter added.
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Chartered Semiconductor, which builds chips for companies like IBM and Samsung, says it is looking at a bleak economic picture for the coming months.
Update: Infineon Technologies, a German chipmaker, announced Friday that it would lay off 3,000 workers due to the "levels of risk in the current market conditions."
Chartered CEO Chia Song Hwee issued a cautionary statement when the company announced earnings late Thursday afternoon. "We continue to be cautious about the worsening economic situation," he said, adding that Chartered is "dealing with the challenges of...crude oil price increases" and "a weaker U.S. dollar." Chartered is one of the largest contract chip manufacturers in the world and competes with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
Energy-related costs are negating cost-saving efforts, according to Chia. "Cost increases in items such as chemicals, process gases, and supplies are nullifying the results of our cost reduction and productivity improvement efforts," he said.
Chartered is looking to customers to help it defray costs. "Due to the unprecedented situation and limited opportunities to offset such increases through internal cost reduction measures in the near term, we have initiated discussions with our customers to share the cost increases," said Chia.
This is coming at an inopportune moment because Chartered is moving from its current 65-nanometer manufacturing technology to a more advanced 45-nanometer process. "We are at a point where we can no longer defer enabling 45nm capacity," he said. The company will need an additional capital expenditure of $160 million for the year to support "early customers at 45nm in 2009" as well as for rebalancing the mix between 65nm and 45nm, Chia said.
Chartered reported gross profit of $69.9 million for the second quarter, or 15.3 percent of revenue, compared with a gross profit of $60.2 million, or 18.6 percent of revenue in the year-ago quarter. This is also up from $64.6 million in the first quarter of this year.

domain: news


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While many Canadians tokers continue to lament the poor implementation of the cannabis legalization, updated statistics reported by Statistics #Canada have shown an increase in number of cannabis consumers.
Registering just above 5 million users aged 15 or older, the cannabis consuming population has grown almost 10% compared to previous report’s #statistics.
The country still sees a majority of male consumers but counts almost 2 millions canna-girls too.
Large Share of Medical Users
One of the numbers which stood out to us when checking the data, is that more than half of the users report medical use.
- 332,700 reported using cannabis for a medical purpose with documentation
- 811,600 for a medical purpose without documentation
- 1,583,100 for both medical and non-medical purposes
While we don’t doubt the honesty of participants in #StatsCan’s survey, the high number of “medical users” tells us that the stigma still exists. While it is true that Canada still has distribution problems and lacks legal dispensaries, with recreational use now legalized one would expect a larger share of recreational users. But, of course, here at AlibiHQ we do accept a bias in our assessment.
Illegal Sources Still Popular
Just like in the previous report, illegal supply is still popular among Canadians and both female and male consumers source more than 40% of their supply from illegal sources. Women do get more from friends and family than from illegal sources, though.
Other interesting data in the survey showed a confirmation of trends also noticed in the USA: more men (82%) than women (67%) prefer dried flower. Just less than half of consumers reported that dried flower is the only cannabis product they consume (49% male, 41% female). 23% of women reported to not consume any dried flower (12% male).
19% of the population now also vapes, while hashish and kief continue to be reasonable popular at 16%.
Smoking is still the most preferred method of consuming cannabis in Canada (male 68%, female 62%).
We look forward to future statistics when the craziness that is the Canadian lottery system for dispensaries, has handed out more licenses and made cannabis more accessible everywhere in the country. And when Canada has nationally taken care of rolling out edibles as well.
Note: all data tables screenshotted from Statistics Canada.
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The rechargeable batteries that power common items like e-bikes, scooters and electric cars can pose a dangerous new threat to firefighters. They burn hotter and longer — and many fire departments may be unprepared to tackle them.
In June,and two others seriously injured after a lithium-ion battery malfunctioned and sparked a fire in a Fire officials say the blaze quickly spread to apartments above the shop.
It's not an isolated incident. Fires caused by rechargeable batteries, including, have been increasing steadily in large cities like New York and San Francisco. Since at least 2019, fire departments in the two cities say they've responded to at least 669 incidents combined.
Last year, there were more than 200 fires blamed on lithium-ion batteries in New York City. Since 2019 the city recorded 326 injuries related to these types of fires, while San Francisco recorded 7 in the same time period.
These fires can also cause significant property damage. In 2022, most of New York's rechargeable battery-related fires caused structural damage. In San Francisco, about a third caused structural damage.
Experts say much of the problem stems from unregulated aftermarket chargers that are not required to be certified. In some cases, products left plugged in have overcharged causing batteries to malfunction, overheat and combust.
In response to the deadly fire started in an e-bike store in New York, the New York city council passed several bills to strengthen fire safety. The bills would restrict the sale, lease or rental of powered mobility devices and storage batteries that fail to meet safety standards set by Underwriters Laboratories.
Nationally, Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act, which would set standards for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and set nationwide consumer guidelines to protect people and responders from fires caused by the batteries.introduced the
Lithium-ion battery packs are made up of a group of cells inside a battery compartment and contain a flammable liquid electrolyte. The more electricity needed, the higher the number of cells — EV and plug-in hybrid vehicles, for example, have about 1,000 times more cells than an e-bike.
With an increased number of cells and higher energy batteries comes a greater risk during failure.
Specific numbers on EV fires are challenging to pin down. The National Fire Incident Reporting System, or NFIRS, used by fire departments, hasn't historically separated gasoline car fires from those involving electrified vehicles. Right now, EV fires are still considered rare events, since they only make up about 1-2% of vehicles on the road.
Experts warn those numbers will likely increase as more lithium-ion powered vehicles hit the road. Last year nearly three and a half million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles were registered in the U.S. — that's about six times more than in 2016.
The U.S. Fire Administration, which is involved in training, research and data, is leading an effort to develop and launch a new data platform called National Emergency Response Information System, or NERIS. U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said the new system will collect data in real time to help increase understanding of these fires.
"We need these lessons. We need the evidence back to the data. We need the data to inform policy, to inform regulation," she said. The NERIS system will be operational in 2024.
Part of the challenge for firefighters is that these batteries can be unpredictable. If there is a charging failure, a puncture or an impact from a crash, the batteries can ignite and lead to a phenomenon known as "thermal runaway."
"It's a chemical reaction where the heat from one cell of the battery ignites the next cell," said Andrew Klock, senior manager of training and education at the National Fire Protection Association. "If you think about it, it's like a bunch of matchsticks and if you light one and they're all touching each other, the next one will ignite."
In 2017, a 2016 Tesla model X SUV crashed into an open garage and ignited in Orange County, California. It took two hours for firefighters to extinguish the structural fire. But after they pulled the SUV out into the driveway, the battery reignited, then stabilized for about 45 minutes before it reignited again. Two hours later, after it was loaded onto a tow truck, it began smoking and reignited a third time. It took nearly five hours to completely extinguish the EV fire.
According to Tesla's emergency response guide for the Model X: "Battery fires can take up to 24 hours to fully cool. … There must be no fire, smoke, audible popping/hissing, or heating present in the high voltage battery for at least 45 minutes before the vehicle can be released to second responders (such as law enforcement, vehicle transporters, etc.)." It goes on to say, "Always advise second responders that there is a risk of battery re-ignition."
In a 2018 incident in Mountain View, California, authorities say a Tesla crash resulted in the vehicle's battery going into thermal runaway. It reignited five days after it was thought to have been under control, injuring two firefighters and a tow truck driver. A week after the incident, Tesla posted on its blog that "Tesla battery packs are designed so that in the rare circumstance a fire occurs, it spreads slowly so that occupants have plenty of time to get out of the car."
Another danger to first responders comes when thermal runaway doesn't result in fire but instead causes a phenomenon known as "off-gassing."
"When you have a thermal runaway in a battery, it gets extremely hot. It breaks down the chemicals inside and can make flammable gases," said Adam Barowy, a research engineer at the UL Fire Safety Research Institute. "If that gas doesn't ignite, as soon as it comes out of the battery, it can build up and start to develop an explosion hazard."
That happened in Erie, Colorado, in April. Mountain View Fire Rescue crews responding to reports of a fire at a home found smoke in the secondary garage. It was emanating from a Jeep Wrangler 4XE hybrid vehicle.
"They didn't see any flames. The problem with this was a buildup of combustible gases inside the garage and started coming into the house," said Doug Saba, deputy fire marshal for Mountain View Fire Rescue. "That happens a lot with batteries, lithium-ion batteries that fail. And they fail because there's either a manufacturer defect or something damages those batteries causing that. It could be an electrical short."
When they put water on it, an explosion blew the garage door off its tracks 30 feet into the yard. Police body camera video shows the door just missing the battalion chief's head as he stood outside.
"Luckily, he had his protective gear on, and the garage door actually nicked his helmet," said Saba.
Three firefighters inside the garage were knocked off their feet; none was seriously injured.
"So, there's kind of a two-pronged hazard. There's fire hazard, which can be sort of rapidly developing in the case of e-bikes. And there's this potential for an explosion hazard," said Barowy.
"Every three minutes there's a gasoline engine car fire, you don't hear about those on the news. But if an electric vehicle catches fire today, just one or two in this country, you'll hear about it on the news," said Klock. "So, they're not more dangerous than gasoline cars. They're just different. And if you're trained properly, you know you're going to be able to handle that much better."
In an email to CBS News, a spokesperson for Jeep's parent company, Stellantis, said the company "prioritizes the safety and well-being of our customers and routinely reports relevant data to regulators and other servants of the public interest."
"We also provide the first-responder community with detailed information about handling our portfolio of electrified products," the spokesperson said. "Stellantis vehicles are designed and built to meet or exceed all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards."
Fragmented fire preparedness
Research and data about fire preparedness when it comes to lithium-ion batteries is just beginning to be collected. CBS News surveyed two dozen of the 50 largest fire departments nationwide on the topic and found only about 38% have had hands-on training to fight lithium-ion battery fires.
One survey respondent wrote:
"I don't believe we can say we have all that we need to support these incidents. Most of the equipment used for these incidents is not fully vetted and we are still working to identify the best options. Standard operating procedures need to be vetted and finalized and these procedures need to have consistencies that are shared between fire agencies."
Another survey respondent wrote:
"This is an ever-evolving topic and as new technology comes out, we need to continue to stay up on current trends, this is a work in progress.
"The prevalence and occurrence of hybrid/electric car and lithium-ion battery fires is increasing. … Lithium-ion battery fires present a severe hazard to the public and to our responders and we want to ensure that our personnel are prepared to mitigate these incidents."
"I would hope that approximately half of the firefighters in this country have had some exposure to training. But I would also expect that maybe half have not. There are approximately 1.2 million firefighters in the United States. So, there are many that need training," said Andrew Klock of the NFPA.
CBS News' survey also points to a lack of consensus on the best way to fight these fires — and there's no specific agency leading the charge to identify best practices and required training.
"As compared to Europe, for example, the United States is very fragmented in our approach," said Thomas Barth, investigator and biomechanics engineer at the National Transportation Safety Board.
In 2020 the NTSB released a report on the safety risks to emergency responders from lithium-ion battery fires and electric vehicles. At the time they made recommendations for fire response and more research into the stranded energy in these batteries that can lead to thermal runaway.
"As the deployment of this technology out to wider reaches of the field across the United States, there's still more education and still more work to do," said Barth.
Moore-Merrell agrees that emerging technology and innovation have been outpacing the ability of safety organizations and regulatory agencies to keep up.
While she says regulation is needed, she also believes more research must first be done.
"I think we need to understand and have more information, more data. Certainly, more outcome research on the incidents that do occur before we can inform policy and regulation," she said. "Right now, we're not even sure what to regulate because we don't know enough about the incidents that are happening."
Filling the gap in training
Even though data is just being collected and research is ongoing, there is a lot of training available — everything from online modules to classroom education and practical field training is being offered by numerous government and private agencies.
"This is an opportunity for automakers and General Motors certainly to go out and demonstrate to the world and the communities around the world our commitment to putting safe product out there," said Joe McLaine, staff engineer with General Motors Global Product Safety and Systems Division.
Over the past year, McLaine says GM has conducted hands-on EV emergency response training in more than 25 different locations, reaching over 5,000 first and second responders.
"We gave the training in four-hour sessions, and we had them take a training assessment. And when they did that assessment, they got a certificate of completion," said McLaine.
Chris Soda, a veteran firefighter with the Chicago Fire Department, started his own company to offer training. Junk Yard Dog Extrication Training offers classes and hands-on training to fire departments, police departments and towing companies to deal with battery fires.
"The tactics that we're using for internal combustion engine vehicles don't really apply to the batteries these electric vehicles were extinguishing," said Soda. "We don't have the science behind it to tell us exactly what's going on and the best way to combat these fires. It's kind of a patchwork of ideas of kind of what works best."
Last month Soda and his team held a training day in Camden, Michigan, with about 83 firefighters from multiple departments in attendance.
Izzy Maguffee, a firefighter and EMT from neighboring Byron Township, Michigan, took part in the training. She says that while she was given cursory instruction on lithium-ion battery responses as a cadet, this was the first time she had ever received hands-on training.
"A lot of what they're teaching is just basically knowledge on the different battery positions — for us to be able to put it out. Where to apply water, and just the best way for us to put them out since they're such a different kind of animal than our normal fires are," she said.
Along with classroom activity, the group learned three different methods for tilting vehicles to gain access to the battery for monitoring and cooling as well as new extrication methods.
"There's no silver bullet to this. And there's not one fix for every single electric vehicle incident. So, we're trying to give them a big toolbox so that they can rely on that, and they can sometimes mix and match techniques," said Soda.
The course also covers rapid extrication techniques for electric vehicles focusing on the potential mechanical damage that batteries can sustain after a collision and how to rapidly extricate entrapped victims.
An app for that
One recommendation the NTSB makes is for all car manufacturers to standardize their emergency response guides, known as ERGs, for first responders. Because all alternative fuel vehicles are not the same, the batteries can be in different places.
"We made a recommendation to every one of them to model their emergency response guide on the ISO [International Organization for Standardization] standard," said Thomas Barth of the NTSB. "It doesn't dictate the content of the information. But it has these standardized formats and colors and layout so that emergency responders, [if] they have fire, they know right where to go."
Firefighters rely on these manuals from each individual manufacturer to figure out what to do when they respond to an electric vehicle fire. There are currently about 300 separate emergency response guides.
The NFPA maintains a collection of these guides on its website. Pocket-sized books are also available.
"There's no centralized distribution of those response guides, whereas in Europe it's a government requirement that they have a phone app. Whereas in the United States that doesn't exist. It's more of an ad hoc collection," said Barth.
It's why Phil Scarfi, a New York City firefighter, and his colleague Scott Saal, who has nearly 40 years of experience in the automotive collision industry, decided there should be an app for that here in the U.S.
"It's called the Electric Vehicle Rescue app and it has all of the emergency rescue guides, the ERGs, all in one place," said Saal.
Scarfi says that he found first responders were having trouble figuring out where the battery on individual makes and models of electric and hybrid vehicles were located — important details when every second counts.
"They were popping up in all different locations, not the traditional under the front hood. Sometimes they were in the rear, under the passenger seat, all over the place. So it was taking a lot of first responders a little bit of time to figure out where those battery locations were. So that was the main basis of the app — provide an application where people can reference those battery locations," said Scarfi.
So far the app has been downloaded more than 65,000 times and is being used in nearly every state in the U.S. and in Canada. Through their nonprofit, Scarfi and Saal work with the manufacturers to ensure the latest ERGs are pushed to the app to create an easily accessible and updated source of information for first responders.
"It's critical that we provide all this information, as much information as possible, so that we are both protecting the safety of first responders but also the occupants of these vehicles while first responders are working around them," said Scarfi.
GM is also working on a new concept app for ERGs. This app would give first responders a 3D schematic of the vehicle before they arrive on scene.
"A push of information — 3D rendering of the vehicle with overlays of that vehicle to show the structure of the high strength steel where the airbags or the supplemental restraints are, where the low voltage or high voltage cut points may be in that vehicle, as well as overlaid information from OnStar or other telematics information that could be pushed directly to first responders," said McLaine. "We want to see this be mandated."
Tesla, one of the auto manufacturers that use lithium-ion batteries, did not respond to requests for comment for this story, but one survey respondent said that the company had provided some training to their department.
When asked about EV battery fires, Ford wrote in a statement: "We have a long history of working closely with emergency workers and first responders on auto safety issues and that continues as we enter the EV era. We're further evaluating opportunities to help educate on this important topic. Emergency response guides (which follow NTSB's recommendation to utilize the ISO format) are available for all our Ford electric vehicles."
In the meantime, firefighters like Chris Soda say they can't wait for all the research and best practices to be established.
"The cars are out here today, and we don't have time to wait on that technology to kind of catch up to ensure that we can operate safely."
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text: Adidas has installed what it is calling a “virtual footwear wall” in its flagship store in London. The wall lets customers choose footwear from a virtual shelf of products through a touch-screen, and they can pre-order the shoes they pick. The shopper can turn the 3D images to see the shoes from different angles and zoom in for details. Adidas also provides additional product information and supporting videos. The launch is to help mark the release of the company's Adizero F50 Micoach football boots, which will be sold through the wall. The boots have a built-in Micoach chip that lets players look at their speed, distance and work rate while competing.


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Colette Kress, Nvidia chief financial officer, had credited cryptocurrency mining as one of the new drivers for the company graphics chip sales.
There has seen a revenue rise by Nvidia from demand related to gaming, artificial intelligence, the Nintendo Switch game console and self-driving cars. But, of the moment, cryptocurrency is the sexy driver. As the popularity of Ethereum and other blockchain based crypto currencies have created a spike in demand.
Cryptocurrency Aids to Drive Demands Especially for Graphics Hardware:
“We served a significant portion of this specialised market with a dedicated board,” Kress said regarding cryptocurrency for mining crypto currency. A digital asset created to work as a way of exchanging currency is known as the cryptocurrency.
To secure the activities and control issuance of more money, it uses crypto currency. By mining for money, for themselves, prospectors and investors hope to generate more of it. As the value of cryptocurrency swings widely it is kind of like a modern version of the Gold Rush.
To fire on all cylinders, Nvidia continues, Kress said, but it still stays alerted to the cryptocurrency trend. And saw that graphics processing units are ideal for mining the currency.
For graphic card from cryptocurrency miners as a demand drive. The Rival Advanced Micro Devices also cited the possibility of order.
Nvidia CEO Jen Huang in response to a question on Nvidia earnings call said that “Cryptocurrency and block chain are here to stay. Over time, it will become quite large. It is obvious that new currencies will come to market. It has clear the GPU is fantastic at cryptography. The GPU has quite well positioned. It has a market that is not likely to go away soon. Our strategy is to stay close to the market and offer miners a coin mining SKU, optimised for mining.”


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News Viz Now Accepting Submissions for Comics Outside Japan (Updated)
posted on 2009-10-08 10:38 EDT
Eric Searleman, a senior editor at the North American publisher Viz Media, has announced in a staff blog entry on Wednesday afternoon that his company "is now accepting submissions and pitches for original comics." With this announcement, Viz has effectively confirmed that it is continuing its original comics initiative.
Marc Weidenbaum, the former editor-in-chief of Viz's manga magazines and vice-president of original publishing, spearheaded the initiative at New York Comic Con in April of 2008. At the time, he emphasized that his company was not soliciting submissions, so Wednesday's announcement is the first open call for submissions. Weidenbaum and Searleman did review portfolios at Comic-Con International last year, although Viz did not hold reviews at this year's event.
Viz declined to comment on the status on the original content line after Weidenbaum left the company this past February. However, Searleman appeared at the Editors Day event in Georgia's Savannah College of Art and Design to participate in a panel and a portfolio review with editors from other American companies in May.
[via Icarus Publishing]
Update: Viz posted the pitch submission release form for its original comics program in PDF format.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history


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China isn't India's buddy. They are not even famous for 'jeans and Coca-Cola' the way 'neo-imperialist USA' once was. But it is taking on the real and imaginative space of, well, space. The country sent three cosmonauts - the Chinese call them 'yuhangyuan' (space traveller) - on Tuesday to its permanently crewed Tiangong Space Station 340-450 km above Earth. It's China's fifth manned mission 'up there'. Along with such facts, there is a plethora of Chinese science fiction, most famously, Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. So, it wouldn't hurt to actually be a Chinese space odyssey fan, even when down here on terra firma, we don't see space to space.
Friday, 01 Dec, 2023
- Surprise Boost: Economy Grows 7.6% in Q2, Beating Estimates
India's economy expanded 7.6% in the September quarter from a year earlier, exceeding expectations as manufacturing posted strong growth and investments gathered pace. Private consumption was tepid while a patchy monsoon dented farm growth, according to government data released on Thursday.JSW, SAIC Ink JV to Run MG Motor Operations in India
The Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW Group and SAIC Motor announced an India joint venture aimed at expanding the operations of MG Motor, owned by the Chinese company, in the country. JSW will hold a 35% stake in the joint venture, they announced on Thursday.UltraTech to Buy Kesoram’s Cement Unit
Aditya Birla Group’s UltraTech will acquire the cement business of the BK Birla Group’s Kesoram Industries in an all-stock deal at an estimated enterprise value of around ₹7,600 crore, which includes debt.


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This came during an auction dedicated to the natural history of the Gorgosaurus family of dinosaurs.
According to the auction house, the item sold is 26 mm (1.0 in) in diameter and weighs 29.17 g (145 carats).
The auction is scheduled to open on July 28.
Sotheby's in London launched an auction for the sale of Egyptian and Roman antiquities, under the title "Sculptures from 4,000 years ago."
Initially, the antique box was expected to fetch £5,000 - £8,000.
The king’s identity is unknown, but it was determined that the bust spans back to the 12th/13th Dynasty.
Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck, who joined the Dutch resistance, has not lost hope of finding the 1683 painting of Steven Wolters by Caspar Netscher
The falcon-headed statue dates back to the fourth century BC.
Under the title "Art of the Islamic World & India Including Luxurious Carpets" Sotheby's held its auction in March 2022.
“Pavonia” is one of the most vivid examples of Francis Picabia's distinctive transparent paintings.
This is part of an initiative sponsored by Sotheby's International Auction House.
This historic auction includes eleven works, all of which were on display until recently in the famous Picasso restaurant in Bellagio.


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Home Tags KABR Group
Tag: KABR Group
The Chinese restaurant Han Dynasty, which also operates several New York City locations, is coming to a prominent Downtown Jersey City property.
Rumble Boxing has inked a deal to open inside space currently under construction in Downtown Jersey City.
The team behind CoolVines will be bringing an 8,700 square foot fall hall called The Bread Factory to Jersey City.
A trio of leases totaling 9,365 square feet have been signed at a prominent office building in Jersey City.
A mid-rise, luxury apartment community in Bayonne was recently sold for $49.6 million.
A Jersey City property that has been vacant for almost four years could finally be revitalized while adding a new storefront.
The two buildings which span over 110,000 square feet and sit on more than 15 acres are set to be converted into rental apartments.
The plan by a company with ties to the KABR Group involves bringing a 10-story building to two vacant properties in Jersey City.
The China-based chain known for providing a unique pre-dining experience has agreed to a deal that will bring their Sichuan-style hot pot to a prominent Downtown retail project.
The 211-room hotel, which sports a bistro and bar with an outdoor terrace on the second floor, held a ceremony earlier this month to officially mark their arrival in the Powerhouse Arts District.


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First British certified sustainable plaice
Direct Seafoods is set to be the first supplier to offer British certified sustainable plaice.
This follows the successful MSC certification of The Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society plaice fishery, the first fishery in Britain to receive MSC certification for the species.
Laky Zervudachi, group sustainability director of Direct Seafoods said, “Sustainability is at the core of our business. The kitchens we supply are increasingly concerned with offering quality seafood sourced in a way that protects the oceans.”
He added: “We have worked with The Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society for some time now and are delighted to be the first to supply British MSC certified plaice, offering customers an even wider eco-friendly choice.”
Operating from 27 boats on the picturesque Stade beach, from where fishing boats have operated for over a thousand years, it is one of the oldest beach-launched fishing fleets in the UK.
Hastings MSC Dover sole and herring is already available in a wide range of restaurants across the UK as well as some local restaurants and fishmongers.
George Clark, UK commercial manager for the MSC, explained: “Suppliers such as Direct Seafoods, who focus on providing MSC certified seafood, are helping to protect not only the oceans but the industry itself.”
He concluded: “It’s great news that Direct Seafoods are listing Hastings MSC certified plaice, helping to distribute a fantastic British caught sustainable fish across kitchens from fish and chips shops to Michelin-starred restaurants.”
African Century Foods is a fully integrated tilapia producer with its own broodstock, hatchery, grow... Read more
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Accessory maker Speck Products showed off its latest iPod cases at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company also launched its first electronic iPod add-ons, a set of car chargers and FM transmitters.
Little-known GGI was one of many upstarts at the Consumer Electronics Show looking to get in on the iPod accessory action.
Belkin used its CES booth to display the TuneDok, as well as a variety of other Mac and iPod gear.
Japan’s Green House used CES to show off a variety of peripherals made to sit above or below a Mac Mini, including a speaker, hard drive and subwoofer. The company was at the Sands Convention Center hoping to find some U.S. distribution for the gear.


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Singapore-based Online Press Initium Media Accepts Membership Subscription in Crypto
Online press Initium media announced its digital media platform had accepted cryptocurrencies to pay for membership subscriptions.
In the official statement released recently, the digital media platform said the platform had joined the partnership with Coinbase Commerce which parent company is Coinbase, becoming the first Chinese language media agency to use a crypto retail payment platform for membership subscription.
Members can subscribe or extend their membership through various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, DAI, USDC and Dogecoin. others digital crypto
“We received feedback from the readers concerning the privacy of transactions or the limitation of internet access; Initium Media hopes to provide and offer convenient, safe payment options to readers through the virtual cryptocurrency system,” the media said. “We continue to explore more payment methods and enhance product experience to our readers and audiences,” Initium Media added.
Initium Media celebrated its sixth anniversary in early August. The media was Hong Kong-based Chinese online press, mainly covering cross-strait regional news and specialising in data-driven and in-depth investigation coverages across Asia.
However, the digital press platform recently announced to relocate its base to Singapore from Hong Kong without acknowledging or denying their decisions subject to the recent geopolitical or Chinese national security-related legal challenges experienced in this former British colony city, but indicating the ranking of press freedom index in Hong Kong has dropped.
Virtual subscriptions are becoming popular
Apart from the Initium media, the New York-based online publishing platform Substack has announced on Monday, August 23, will start accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for its publication by pairing with Bitcoin payment processor company OpenNode. Over 500 thousand subscribers benefit from the payment system through its on-chain payment networks.
In April, TIME Magazine also allowed readers to buy its digital subscriptions with Bitcoin and 31 cryptocurrencies. TIME partnered with Crypto.com to facilitate the initiative.
Image source: Shutterstock
TIME Magazine to Start Accepting Cryptocurrencies as Subscription Payments


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Nokia X6 bears a sixteen-megapixel front digital camera. It has been priced starting at CNY 1,299
It’s the first Nokia cell phone with a notched show Nokia X6 launched in China on occasion in Beijing on Wednesday. The cellphone is the primary from the Nokia logo to game a show notch, and emblem licensee HMD Global has also blanketed a twin rear digital camera setup with AI and HDR capabilities on the Nokia X6. Other highlights of the Nokia X6 encompass a 19: nine show, the modern-day octa-core Snapdragon 636 SoC, up to 6GB of RAM, a sixteen-megapixel front digital camera, Quick Charge three. Zero, in addition to the presence of Android 8.1 Oreo with Do Not Disturb mode for gaming.


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Leaf EV: Electric cars are rapidly getting famous in India. They are in high demand as the latest reports. After considering the report, Nissan has finally decided the introduce the all-new second-gen Leaf model in the country. As you all know, the company has already released the EV model in the Foreign auto-markets and it is successfully running all over. It has also become the most-selling electric car globally. The company will soon reveal the launch date of the EV, supposed to be rolled out in this financial year.
The company will import the 2nd gen Leaf in India as a Completely Built Up (CBU) route hence, it is assumed that they will bring only limited units to Chennai for testing first. The Japanese automotive firm has previously announced their plans to bring the model to the country, but not in a large quantity variant. It will also not receive an aggressive price tag as it is imported through the CBU route, therefore, pull a larger value of tax that is normally imposed on imported means.
The brand new EV Nissan Leaf 2 is expected to be priced at INR 40-50 lakh. The company will reveal the car as a mass-market EV and is somewhat anticipated to be forecasted by Nissan to present their unique concept of technology in India. However, the carmaker has already started to homologate the vehicle for the India launch so, we will soon get the amazing car. The company has adopted many advanced technologies to build the car which will be the first to come to India.
Before the official launch, Nissan will have to battle for initiating the Leaf cooperative with India’s approved charging infrastructure. Recently, the Indian government has announced their proposals for installing charging infrastructure commonly known as Bharat EV Charger all over India, meanwhile, the company has to wait for the project to be executed in near future, till then, the Leaf will be only released as a demonstration concept in India.
At present, the Leaf 2 runs on a 40kWh battery which generates 140hp of peak power. The company claims a top speed of 400km supporting the Japanese driving cycle and 380km in the New European Driving Cycle. Previous reports suggest that the company is preparing to promote their market share in India after the increasing demand for the Nissan’s vehicles. As per their latest plan, India will get a new model of Nissan every 6 months and the project will begin in this festive fall.
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UK floods threaten national beer supply
Price hike likely as wheat and barley crops suffer in extreme weather
Brewers have warned that the price of beer is likely to rise this year due to extreme weather across the globe destroying barley crops.
In its latest shop price index report, the British Retail Consortium said there were likely to be supply issues for wheat and barley this autumn because of floods in the UK and poor harvests in America, Australia and Eastern Europe.
UK brewers are remaining optimistic about crops surviving here as weather conditions change, but are predicting price hikes if shortages do arise. Rupert Thompson, managing director of Wychwood Brewery, said: "It's too early to say how crops are going to be in the UK. We need to wait a couple of months, but some prices that have been quoted already in the market are very high.
"Our observation at the moment is it's likely that prices are going to go up, but how much by I don't know.
"If it went up like it did last year we will have no option but to put our prices up. Retailers will pressure us and say we can't, but we'll have no choice. We'll be caught between a rock and a hard place."
Alastair Hook, founder of the Meantime Brewery in Greenwich, said he was keeping his fingers crossed for a continuation of good weather, but added prices could shoot up if harvests were low.
He said: "For the smaller brewers who use high-end quality malt, it will have an effect. If the price of malt goes up inevitably the prices of beer will have to go up."
Kent brewer Shepherd Neame
production and distribution director Ian Dixon said he was in regular contact with maltsters who were "optimistic" about the supply.
"Although we'll have to wait until the crop is harvested, we're encouraged by the recent improvement in the weather which will help ripen the barley," he said.


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The Financial Ombudsman Service received 68,735 complaints in the second quarter of the financial year, up 19% on Q1.
Moreover, the ombudsman service received over 5,900 complaints in relation to COVID-19 over the same timeframe.
In total, it has now received 10,000 COVID-19 related complaints.
TPO complaints rose by 20% in 2019
Looking to complaints on credit, guarantor loans rose by 296%, complaints about home credit increased by 97% and complaints on credit cards saw a 26% uplift when compared to Q1.
According to the ombudsman service, PPI remains the most complained about product, with 12,800 complaints in Q2.
The Financial Ombudsman Service upheld 32% of complaints in the consumers’ favour in Q2. Excluding PPI, where the uphold rate was 41%.
Furthermore, the total number of consumer enquiries was noted at 119,214, which is a 10% rise on Q1.


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Lucid is recalling nearly 90,000 folding mattress-sofas over concerns that they’ll too easily catch fire.
The furniture company launched a recall Thursday that covers 86,000 units of twin, full, queen and king size models of its sofas, which fold out into mattresses.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, mattress-sofas under recall are two-tone gray and carry the following tag: “Made For: CVD INC, 1525 W 2960 S, LOGAN, UT 84321.”
The furniture was sold through online retailers including Amazon, Overstock, Wayfair and Walmart from September 2015 through June 2018 for roughly $130 a piece.
Consumers who own one of these mattresses are asked to stop using them and contact Lucid to receive a free fitted liner that will cover the mattress and bring it into compliance with federal law.
So far, no injuries have been reported as a result of the issue, but the furniture does not currently meet federal flammability standards for mattresses.


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Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, which sponsors CES, talks about past CES successes and failures and what he expects at this year's show.
An app that tackles one of the world's most pressing problems has arrived. Now, with a simple few taps, you too can realize what it's like to live in the year 2014.
The Korean giant's March event to unveil the Galaxy S4 drew ire and criticism, but it says it has learned its lesson for this week's launch.
Cutting-edge in tech today may be all about wearables and the connected home, but your smartphone is stepping in to control them all.
Technically Incorrect: Appearing on Fox News, terror expert Steve Emerson claims that the UK's second-biggest city, Birmingham, is a place non-Muslims dare not enter. This is severely untrue, as Twitter wittily explains.
Panasonic has announced a 4K-native Blu-ray player at CES 2015 in anticipation of the forthcoming UHD standard.
For the holidays, Cupertino could have shouted from the rooftops. Instead, it delivers a beautifully understated homage to a girl, her grandmother and music.
The landing marks a historic triumph for the European Space Agency -- and for space exploration as a whole.
Samsung's swooshing Galaxy Note Edge is a triumph of novel design, but its high price tag and minimal extra usability make for a niche appeal.
A bizarre high-tech bra prototype inspired by "Frozen" needs two people to touch each other to change colors and patterns.


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Pop culture collectables brand Funko, is releasing its own breakfast cereal line, FunkO's.
The line will consist of six unique, brightly colored cereals – each featuring their own pop culture figure and complete with a prize in the form of a Funko Pop! Vinyl collectible.
The cereal boxes will release in July, being available at various retailer locations.
Mega Man FunkO’s will be available at GameStop, Cuphead & Mugman FunkO’s will be available at Hot Topic, Freddy FunkO’s will be available through Funko, Nightmare On Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger FunkO’s and Friday the 13th’s Jason FunkO’s will be available at FYE, and The Lord of the Rings FunkO’s featuring Gollum will be available at BoxLunch.
Another round of cereals will continue to be added throughout the year, including Pennywise, Huckleberry Hound, Batgirl, Beetlejuice and Cthulhu.
Jessie Wade is a news writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter @jessieannwade.


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While April normally signals the start of antique jewellery sales across the country, this year Covid-19 put an end to the majority of Irish jewellery auctions.
With the easing of restrictions, antique jewellery houses and auction rooms are beginning to open their doors again, albeit under new rules to ensure the safety of their clients.
O’Reilly’s on Francis Street in Dublin, an institution that has been catering to buyers since 1948, stayed open, selling online only and with no physical inspections of jewels.
"We felt we had no choice as we wanted to keep everybody on," says chairman Martin Bernon in reference to his nine full-time staff. "We all worked from home with lots of Zoom meetings, and while they were all new to me, it was old hat to our younger employees. But it also meant we had to adapt to our customers' needs during lockdown."
When buying jewellery, the wow factor comes from trying on a piece. Does it suit the tone of your skin? Is the ring right for the length and shape of your fingers?
To assist customers, O’Reilly’s held video calls with clients where they could see items more closely, with staff often trying on pieces so their clients could get a better grasp of an item. It also changed from live auctions to timed auctions over a 48-hour period.
This worked to a point. The May auction had 120 new registered clients “who had never been through the showrooms” and Bernon admits feeling like a “lost soul, wandering around the auction house devoid of customers”.
But while sales of high-value items were down, lower priced items sold well and the auction house discovered that timed 48-hour auctions created a niche market for specialist sales, such as silver and lower value items.
This new approach has launched the house into the digital age in a way it had never envisaged, and at the same time offers its customers more flexibility.
“Before the emphasis was having people in the room, but now with our new online timed auctions, it suits our customers better. They can play around, keep up with the progress of a piece, get a notification if they have been outbid and shop for it on the final day.”
The only drawback Bernon sees with timed auctions are for customers who are not tech savvy. “Our more traditional customers want a live auction that is over in two to three hours, but from here on we will continue to work with traditional methods – holding real-time auctions in-house and online – in tandem with offering timed auctions [over a 48-hour period] which suit younger more technically aware customers.
John Weldon in Temple Bar took the decision to suspend his auctions entirely – the last was held in February. "We know our customers need to try things on before they make a purchase: it's like buying a car, you need to test -drive it before you buy. We made the decision to ride it out and bide our time. But will we make a profit this year? Who knows?"
Likewise, Adam’s on Stephen’s Green decided to postpone its May fine jewels auction. “It was the wiser choice as the safety of our customers is paramount,” says Claire-Laurence Mestrallet.
Moreover, her sourcing of jewels involves travelling abroad, and this was restricted due to lockdown. However, she notes: “Over lockdown there have been a number of high-profile online jewellery auctions with successful outcomes, where prices appear to have maintained their pre-Covid-19 levels, which gives me great encouragement for the coming season.”
Both Weldon and Mestrallet note an increased number of enquiries from Irish clients wishing to consign jewellery for sale which is good news for stock in the coming year.
The catalogues for O’Reilly’s sale on June 17th and Weldon’s on June 16th are online, and for the first time since lockdown customers will be able to view items in person. (Adam’s will hold its fine jewellery sale on September 15th.)
But what are the new rules for visiting auction rooms to inspect items of jewellery?Following protocol guidelines from industry bodies, customers need to make an appointment to view specific items, and provide their name and contact details should the need for tracing arise.
"Our place smells like a Dettol factory at the moment," says Weldon, who is also a national officer in the Order of Malta. He has engaged in webinars with the charity "to learn new safety measures to ensure we are doing the utmost to protect our customers.
“We will encourage people to bring gloves, and we have a sanitisation programme whereby every piece will be disinfected between inspections.”
While the health crisis may have suspended sales, important life events such as birthdays, anniversaries and engagements continue, and customers in search of the perfect gift can go online and make appointments to view items in person.
O'Reilly's has a selection of rubies – in time for July birthdays – along with antique brooches, watches and engagement rings. Also featured are Cartier rings, a diamond bracelet by Harry Winston and items by Tiffany.
Hegarty’s auction in Bandon on June 14th, from the collection of Dr Harry Blake, has a few items of jewellery listed, including a rather nice sapphire and diamond ring.
Weldon has a selection of diamond engagement rings along with a George III Freedom Box given to the Right Hon Theophilius Jones in 1767. Freedom boxes were given to dignitaries to mark the honour of the freedom of the city of Dublin.
He reckons that an antique 14ct gold mesh purse will be purchased for its metal rather than its aesthetic value: “The price of gold has risen by 13 per cent in the past six months. That’s coronavirus for you – people are putting their money into something solid. While the EU central bank can print more money it cannot print more gold.”


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Need more than ₹35 say Swiggy workers who threaten strike against new policies
- Swiggy delivery partners based in Bengaluru are getting ready for a second round of strike in case the company is unable to meet their demand.
- The delivery partners called off their first round of strike on Sunday afternoon after Swiggy agreed to address the grievances in one week’s time.
- The delivery partner’s union claims that there may be a series of strikes in other cities as well, but there needs to be a targeted action plan for that.
AdvertisementSwiggy’s rift with its delivery workforce might be getting bigger in the coming week, and could affect its food and grocery orders.
As many as 30,000 delivery partners, as Swiggy calls them, threatened to go on a strike in Bengaluru if their demands are not met by the end of this week, Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) said.
The development comes only a day after 3,000 of them in Bengaluru called off their three-day strike after the management sought a week’s time to address their grievances.
“We have been in direct contact with a handful of striking delivery executives in a few pockets of Bangalore to assuage their concerns. These zones remained fully operational during this period. We continually evaluate our payout and incentive structure for delivery executives in order to ensure their earnings are at par with industry standards,” Swiggy said.
Delivery workers expect better pay, achievable targets
The delivery partners have been protesting as Swiggy extended their delivery zone’s and reduced payout for these long distance travel. According to the striking workers, they only earn ₹35 for five kilometers, following which they earn ₹6/kilometer.
Besides this, the company also stopped their annual bonus of ₹10,000 for delivery partners, and now only receive a weekly incentive of ₹1,000.
The workforce also claims that their daily targets have been increased too, which now takes 14 hours to complete. They expect the company to reduce it so that it could be achieved in 8-9 hours.
|Demands raised by delivery partners, raised by IFAT|
|Minimum base pay should be increased from the existing ₹35|
|Distance pay should be increased from existing ₹6/Km to ₹10/Km|
|Monthly Rating Incentive should be re-introduced.|
|Stop assignment of order to third parties like Shadowfax and Rapido.|
Partners have also raised security issues during late night deliveries, where a few of them have been subjected to violence and robbery. The 10-minute delivery target set by Swiggy for its grocery delivery service Instamart, has also made them more accident-prone.
“It [The strike with 3,000 partners] was only a symbolic gesture,” Shaik Salauddin, national general secretary of IFAT and a board member of The International Alliance of App-based Transport Workers (IAATW) affiliates in India.
AdvertisementHe noted that IFAT alone has roughly 7,000-8,000 delivery partners associated with them, and the rest would come from other small unions and individual partners who are also impacted by Swiggy’s recent policy changes.
Business Insider India could not independently verify these numbers.
Strike of 3,000 partners too impacted Swiggy’s Instamart
Notably, the company has roughly 270,000 delivery ‘partners associated with it. They claim that even the strike of 3,000 workers deeply impacted Swiggy’s quick commerce venture InstaMart in the last three-day strike. A bigger strike, with a properly developed action plan, could have a much bigger impact, the union added.
The association noted that Bengaluru is one of Swiggy’s biggest markets due to the concentration of tech companies and startups. IFAT claims that there may be a series of strikes in other cities as well, but there needs to be a targeted action plan in that case since the demand of delivery partners in each city is very different.
AdvertisementAccording to IFAT and delivery partners Business Insider spoke to, Swiggy has previously resolved the delivery partner’s issue and may be able to resolve the issue this time too.
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Publishers must stop being led by technology, and start taking charge
Published: 08 Mar 2022
The continuous and rapid technological changes across the digital media landscape have resulted in many publishers feeling like they are constantly playing catch up. In response to rising data regulations, changing consumer habits, and elevated expectations around ethical and diverse practices, we have seen industry tools and processes rapidly evolve over the past two years. But it doesn’t follow that publishing innovation has to be purely reactive to these updates.
In our latest research, we aimed to explore how publishers are feeling about — and reacting to — the increased pace of change. The AOP ‘Meeting the Future’ report gives a snapshot of an industry that is far from behind the curve. Not only do publishers recognise the importance of addressing today’s key challenges such as the loss of third-party cookies, variable media trust and sustainable monetisation, but they also understand the steps needed to thrive in tomorrow’s digital ecosystem.
Now, the key focus is translating this awareness into proactive, collective action. Or in other words: taking the lead on harnessing technology-driven advances, instead of being led by them.
While staying primed for unpredictable change isn’t always easy, the industry has gained useful lessons from past disruption, such as the growth of social media a decade ago. Although the initial explosion of social media left publishers unsure how to tackle the mass ‘diversion’ of advertising spend — especially to platforms subject to fewer checks and costs — they have since found new ways to stay competitive, by innovating and honing alternative revenue drivers.
Today, I’m pleased to say the resulting focus on diversification and looking beyond ad revenue alone remains strong; with creating new streams through product innovation ranking top in publishers’ priorities. Additionally, it’s encouraging to see more than half (55%) of publishers setting their sights on subscriptions as a major growth driver in the next few years, and 31% aiming to tap emerging opportunities in audio and ecommerce, while just 20% are still looking largely to digital advertising. But the need for adaptation is never done.
As third-party cookie deprecation looms, publishers are broadly optimistic about their preparations, ranking their confidence levels at 6.5 out of 10. Publishers eager to keep their competitive edge will need to focus on laying the foundations for future success. This includes regularly assessing their toolkits to ensure they are fit for purpose and nurturing direct audience relationships to enhance stores of valuable owned insight. When asked specifically about collaboration with other publishers in the wake of cookie demise, publishers said they are either already collaborating on alternative data initiatives (20%), discussing collaborating (16%), or are open to the possibility of collaboration (40%).
You can download the full ‘Meeting the Future’ report here for further insights.
Alongside remaining ready to adapt and update their strategic approaches, it’s crucial for publishers to assess areas that could become vulnerable, particularly as they integrate more third-party technologies and partners. If you’ve read my previous blog, you’ll be familiar with our concerns over site trespassing and data siphoning.
While challenges with web crawlers aren’t new, the AOP remains committed to fuelling and continuing discussions about how to resolve the situation. After all, unauthorised use of meta data and article text is an infringement of intellectual property (IP) for publishers that puts their livelihoods at risk. Too frequently, IP gathered for brand safety analytics is being used by ad tech intermediaries for purposes outside of licensing agreements, such as building contextual advertising segments that rival publishers’ ad offerings. In this instance, activity is comparable to agreeing a deal to buy apples but using them to plant an orchard right next to the farm.
Addressing this challenge requires more cooperation from the buy-side, but there are steps publishers can take to protect their assets. For instance, conversations across AOP members have centred on applying tighter scrutiny and controls when entering relationships with intermediaries, alongside ensuring media companies have the means to effectively enforce the terms of licensing agreements.
At the AOP, we firmly believe individual action needs support from leading forces. This is a big part of why we’ve been involved in efforts to help reduce the confusion created by complex advertising mechanisms. Just last month, I was delighted to share the first output of work by the Cross Industry Programmatic Taskforce on improving financial audit transparency. By introducing three new components — the audit permission letter (APL), data fields list (DFL) and principles — the joint initiative will make it much easier to conduct financial audits of programmatic supply chains, and publishers now must choose to work with responsible partners who have embraced these tools.
Over the next few weeks, we’re due to start consultation with the Internet Adverting Bureau (IAB) on its Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF). Following the European Union ruling of non-GDPR-compliance, deeper consideration is needed. While data authorities don’t object to the concept of building a standard that enables efficient monetisation by providing ways to share and use compliant data along the chain, there is a requirement for key architects to play their part in determining how tools can be accountable and retain their integrity. The AOP is looking forward to collaborating with the IAB and helping it better understand what compliance checks are in place for publishers and move ahead, as well as facilitating further discussions with Google around its latest Privacy Sandbox proposals and what they mean for media companies. Watch this space for updates.
Accepting accountability and bringing viewpoints together are critical to keep the industry flourishing. In an increasingly digital world, every business will come up against challenges that call for collaborative thinking and solutions. What’s most vital, however, is that we don’t look at technological innovation as a game of wait and see. Where there will always be new tools emerging, publishers have the capacity to take the lead on technology advances on multiple fronts; including harnessing the new opportunities they offer and setting responsible setups for fostering the fair, open and productive online environment we all want to see.
Categories: AOP News | Voice of the Premium Publisher
Voice of the Premium Publisher
That’s a wrap: Eight tips from 2021 to continue industry collaboration in 2022
With the end of 2021 fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to gather insights gained from open collaboration and determine which lessons we should be carrying forward. Here are eight of personal picks from our Managing Director, Richard Reeve, to continue building a better collective future through 2022
Published: 02 Dec 2021
Author: Richard Reeves


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BERKELEY, CALIF. — A growing number of companies are making meat out of plants. A Bay Area start-up is making meat out of air.
Air Protein uses a proprietary probiotic process that transforms the basic elements found in air, including carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen, plus renewable energy, mineral nutrients and water, into protein that may be used to make meatless burgers, protein-enriched pasta, cereal, beverages and more.
Air-based meat has nine essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. It is free of pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics.
But what does it taste like?
“Our air-based protein flour is a neutral ingredient, making it wonderful for its versatility because it can be added to many formulations,” said Lisa Dyson, Ph.D., founder and chief executive officer of Air Protein. “This has enabled us to make very flavorful air-based meats. As we develop a range of foods, our focus will be marrying the ultra sustainability and high nutritious content of our novel protein ingredient with flavors and texture to delight consumers.”
The production process, Dr. Dyson explained, is similar to making yogurt and was inspired by a “closed-loop carbon cycle” concept developed in the 1960s to feed astronauts during long space missions. Astronauts eat food and then exhale carbon dioxide, which is captured by a class of microbes called hydrogenotrophs, which, with other inputs, convert it into food. Eat. Repeat.
Air Protein plans to launch air-based foods into the market next year and may pursue partnerships with other companies to incorporate the ingredient into more products, Dr. Dyson said.
“We are most excited to change the way food is made to usher in a new era of sustainability,” she said. “We are already seeing a shift from animal-based protein to plant-based proteins for both environmental and health reasons. Air Protein is the next evolution from land-based protein to air-based protein.
“Our air-based protein ingredient is sustainably produced from elements found in the air we breathe and requires minimal land and resources. In fact, an Air Protein farm the size of Walt Disney World would make as much protein as a soy farm the size of Texas. Air Protein is positioned to meet growing food demands without the strain on the environment.”


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When browsing through the recent offerings on the Smokoo.co.za online auction site, it would be easy to draw the conclusion that one had lost touch with trends in modern technology.
By now, most South African internet users have been made aware via press releases, newsletters and social networks that Smokoo has a reputation for outrageous discounts and tension filled excitement.
Their new generation pay-to-bid online auction site has captured the attention of thousands of visitors and enabled many of them to buy top-quality branded items for mere lunch money.
In addition to these awesome bargains, however, this innovative new site has been filling its virtual shelves with a selection of some of the most desirable and hard-to-find electronic items ever seen in the country. In fact, you may have never even have heard of some of them!
Take the “Dell Streak Tablet”, for example. First released in May this year in the UK and a month or so later in the United States, it is still something of a rarity in South Africa. This amazing little widget is a hybrid device, that operates somewhere between a smart phone and a netbook and combines the functions of a mobile phone, a video messaging system, a laptop computer, a Gameboy and an MP3 player. Always exploring the cutting edge of technology, Smokoo became the first local auction site to offer South Africans the product and one of its bidders recently grabbed this R9 000 gem for just R14.39.
Flat screen TVs are not exactly new, but LED driven models most certainly are. Claimed to outperform and outlast the more common LCD technology, the LED format appears set to become the new benchmark for high definition TV sets. Once again Smokoo has gone the extra mile to bring their members the latest and best and, tonight at 8.00pm, the clock will begin counting down on a truly amazing SONY LED 40” model. Not only is it compatible with everything but the kitchen sink, this machine can even detect when there has been nobody in the room for a while and switch itself off.
Among the other highly sought-after goods to find their way into the homes of lucky Smokoo bidders was this year’s big double act from Apple. Several of those amazing iPads that combine all the facilities of a Kindle online book reader with the full functionality of a hand-held computer were among the first to be won and these were closely followed by a clutch of iPhone 4 mobiles. Naturally, every one of these still-rare toys was bought for less than two percent of the recommended retail price.
For the electronics fan, Smokoo has positioned itself as a veritable Aladdin’s cave with distinctly modern tastes. However, for those less interested in gadgets, there is still the prospect of a Louis Vuitton handbag for the ladies, a Rolex Daytona for the gents or a relaxing vacation for the couples. At Smokoo, all things appear possible.


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Northwood Honors MEMA CEO Bill Long
The university named Long one of its 2022 Outstanding Business Leaders.
Bill Long Named Northwood Outstanding Business Leader
Long joined MEMA in 2012 to lead its AASA division before taking the top spot as MEMA president and CEO in February 2019.
Northwood Holds Distinguished Women Awards Gala
Among this year’s honorees was Tina Hubbard, president and CEO of HDA Truck Pride.
Northwood University Names Michael Kinney Automotive Chair
Effective Aug. 16, it is the university’s first industry-chair appointment.
Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper Announce Leadership 2.0 Scholarship Winners
Terry Collins, general manager at Auto-Wares Group of Companies, and Nick Prince, director of operations at Dykstra’s Auto (an Auto-Wares Certified Service Center), were selected from several Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper candidates for the prestigious scholarships.
NGK Spark Plugs Announces New Appointments for General Managers in Aftermarket Sales and Marketing
NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.) announced the addition of Brian Lesiewicz as general manager of traditional sales and the realignment of Beth Skove to general manager of marketing.
Alliance CEO John R. Washbish Accepts Northwood University Outstanding Business Leader Award
A 50-year industry veteran described by Northwood as an “icon” of the automotive aftermarket, Washbish has been leading the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance since Jan. 1, 2010.
AASA Announces Promotion of Chris Gardner to Senior Vice President of Operations
“Chris is an outstanding member of the AASA team, bringing his experience and dedication to our mission of advancing the business interests of the automotive aftermarket industry and our valued supplier members,” said Bill Long, AASA president and chief operating officer.
Northwood University Names Alliance CEO John Washbish a 2019 Outstanding Business Leader
Washbish is a 50-year veteran of the automotive aftermarket.
‘Aftermarket 101’ Class Scheduled for October
The program is specifically designed to help employees better understand how the automotive aftermarket is structured and operates.
Obituary: Freddie Bunting II of Auto-Wares Group of Companies
Bunting passed away surrounded by family on Aug. 7 after a long, hard-fought battle with melanoma cancer.
Northwood University To Honor Seven Aftermarket Professionals With Automotive Aftermarket Management Education Award
The Northwood Automotive Aftermarket Management Education Award is given to individuals in the automotive aftermarket field who have made noteworthy contributions to education, on any level, inside or outside of the industry. MIDLAND, Mich. – Northwood University will honor seven automotive aftermarket leaders with its annual Automotive Aftermarket Management Education Award on Tuesday, Nov. 5


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Across sub-Saharan Africa, energy poverty disproportionately affects women and girls.
Simultaneously, women entrepreneurs face far more barriers to running sustainable businesses in rural communities.
However, it has been shown that women are key change-makers in providing energy access to rural communities and we recognise that having women at the forefront of our work is essential to achieving our mission.
‘Mayi Walas’ means ‘Shining Mothers’ in Chichewa, Malawi’s national language. In 2021, SolarAid launched the Mayi Walas programme, to recruit, train and support women entrepreneurs to run solar light businesses across rural Malawi.
This programme combines access to training, financing solutions and long-term business support to enable women entrepreneurs to break through the barriers they face in launching, growing and scaling successful businesses.
To recruit Mayi Walas, we work closely with Village Savings and Loans groups (VSLs), which operate as small, informal credit unions – where community members deposit savings and take out small loans.
Once recruited, SolarAid, through our social enterprise, SunnyMoney, trains the Mayi Walas in financial management, marketing and the benefits of solar products and conducts ‘market-activation’ activities within the community to boost the Mayi Walas’ businesses by building trust and demand for solar products.
To enable the Mayi Walas to scale their solar businesses, we provide solar lights on interest-free loans funded through our partnership with Lendwithcare.
After 12 months of selling solar lights, Mayi Walas are then invited to become members of FEBCO, the micro-finance institution established by SolarAid, where they will have access to larger loans and long-term business support.
With a network of ‘Shining Mothers’ across Malawi lighting up their communities we are closer to achieving our mission. With women at the forefront of rural energy access programmes we can light up every home, school and clinic in Africa by 2030.


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New details have emerged about the all-electric Q6 e-tron concept that Audi will introduce this September at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Q6 e-tron will be presented as a close-to-production concept that will accurately preview a new crossover aimed squarely at the Tesla Model X. The dark teaser image published by Audi a couple of months ago reveals precious little, but the German car maker has confirmed the Q6 will usher in the design language that will influence all of its upcoming EVs over the next few years.
The concept will take the form of a BMW X6-sized and -shaped crossover that will look a lot sportier and less utilitarian than the next Q5. It will be built largely out of aluminum in a bid to partially offset the weight added by the bulky battery pack.
Power for the Q6 e-tron will come from an all-electric drivetrain built using components sourced from the R8 e-tron parts bin. Although full details are still being kept under wraps, sources close to Audi have revealed the electric motors will zap all four wheels with about 500 horsepower and over 500 foot-pounds of torque.
The Q6 will offer a maximum driving range of about 310 miles, meaning it will be able to drive 40 miles further on a single charge than the Model X, at least on paper. Additionally, it will inaugurate the futuristic inductive charging technology that Audi has developed to make charging cables a thing of the past.
Full details about the Audi Q6 e-tron concept -- assuming that's what it's called -- will emerge in the weeks leading up to its public debut in Frankfurt.
Car & Driver reports the Q6 concept we'll see in Germany in a few weeks will be toned down and added to the Audi lineup as a regular-production model. It is tentatively scheduled to go on sale in early 2018 as a 2019 model with a price tag that will lie in the vicinity of $100,000.
The Q6 will launch with an electric drivetrain, but Audi will quickly expand the lineup with a gasoline-electric, plug-in hybrid model and, possibly, a fuel cell-powered model. However, it sounds like the Volkswagen-owned company has ruled out gasoline- and diesel-powered variants of the Q5's slinkier sibling for the time being.


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76th annual Spirit-Hill-Ogema 4-H Fair
- Friday, August 10, 2018 - Saturday August 11, 2018
- 12:00 am
- Spirit Town Hall
The 76th annual Spirit-Hill-Ogema 4-H Fair will be held Friday and Saturday, August 10 & 11. The fair is held at the Spirit Town Hall, located 10 miles east of Ogema on State Highway 86. More than 30 4-H members from the Wilson Workers, Happy Hoboes, Hillbillies and Hamburg Hawks will be exhibiting over 400 entries at this year’s fair.
Friday evening the dog and pet judging will be at 6:00. Saturday morning judging begins at 9:00 with all indoor exhibits and rabbits. Poultry judging will begin at 9:30; beef and sheep will be judged following the poultry (at approximately 11:45).
Grampa’s Farm Petting Zoo will be on location from 10:00 to noon.
A buffet lunch will be available Saturday in the basement of the town hall from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Additional food items including ice cream, soda, popcorn and candy will be available for purchase throughout the day.
Outdoor games including the egg toss and tug-of-war will begin at 1:00 p.m. A silent auction of a variety of merchandise ends at 2:00 p.m. Exhibits leave the fairgrounds at 3:00 p.m.
At 7:00 p.m. a program featuring entertainment by the participating 4-H clubs, presentation of trophies, and announcement of the 2018 Spirit-Hill-Ogema 4-H Fair royalty will be held in the Spirit Town Hall.
Please visit https://sites.google.com/site/spirithillogema4hfair/ for more information.


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Xbox Design Lab — Microsoft’s custom Xbox controller design service — is set to expand to almost a dozen more countries, the American giant revealed on Thursday. The service was temporarily disabled last week ahead of today’s announcement. It has now been updated with four new pastel colour choices, as well as customisation options, including five new Camo Top cases accompanied with matching side caps. Microsoft’s recently announced Pride-themed Xbox controller will also be available for purchase starting today in countries where Xbox Design Lab is supported.
Microsoft announced on Thursday that its Xbox Design Lab controller customisation service will be available in 11 new countries. Gamers in Australia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, and Switzerland will be able to access the company’s service and design their own controllers. Meanwhile, Taiwan will join the list of supported countries in the coming months, Microsoft said.
Last week, the Xbox Design Lab website was temporarily taken down and a message on the company‘s website read “wait until you see what we’re working on,” implying that the Xbox Design lab would soon be back. As part of the updates to the service, gamers can now pick from an expanded range of colours and customisation options, Microsoft has revealed.
The updated Xbox Design Lab will offer users four new pastel colours — Soft Green, Soft Orange, Soft Pink, and Soft Purple. Meanwhile, five new Camo Top cases with matching side caps are now available — Arctic Camo, Blaze Camo, Forest Camo, Mineral Camo, and Sandglow Camo. The Xbox Design Lab was previously available in Canada, the US, and several Western European countries. We continue to wait on an Indian launch.
Last week, Microsoft had revealed that the Pride-themed controller will go on sale in regions where Xbox Design Lab is supported starting today. The custom shell for the controller is inspired by 34 LGBTQIA+ community flags and can be customised with a broad colour palette, with metallic finishes, rubberised grips, and custom engravings. You will be able to customise the controller according to your preferences.
Ahead of the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on Sunday, Microsoft also announced that it would expand Xbox Cloud Gaming to Argentina and New Zealand, allowing gamers in both countries to stream hundreds of games from the cloud on iOS and Android smartphones. The company also said it will bring the Xbox app to select Samsung smart TVs launched in 2022, and is updating Microsoft Edge and Windows 11 with features and optimisations geared towards gamers. Microsoft also took the wraps off its upcoming Project Moorcroft programme, that will let Xbox Game Pass members try curated demos of upcoming games.
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1 December 2020
iCandy Interactive Ltd (“iCandy” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its new game, Rocky Rampage is named a winner at Google Play Best of 2020 award, in which Google selects and gives awards to the top mobile apps available on Google Play.
Rocky Rampage was named the Best Casual Game of year 2020 in the award, for the category of games made in the Southeast Asia region. Launched in April 2020, Rocky Rampage is a casual action game in the endless run genre.
iCandy Chairman Kin W Lau commented “We are pleased that that Rocky Rampage is recognized as the top mobile game of 2020. We will continue to work hard to bring our customers the best gaming experience.”


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While motor vehicles have become very sophisticated the last few years, none can reach out, grab consumers, plop them behind the wheel and force them to write out a check to take the machine home.
At least that's the message Ron Zarrella, head of GM's North American Operations, tried to pass along at a recent European enclave called to update the troops on the state of the business.
Zarrella took Oldsmobile dealers to task who think vehicles sell themselves.
"We think Olds has strong top-to-bottom line potential, and GM has to put more energy and resources behind doing a better job of marketing those vehicles, but dealers need to put more effort toward selling those vehicles," a source said. "A lot of Olds dealers are dualed with other products, and Zarrella is saying that those dealers need to give Olds as much time and attention as their other brands."
Zarrella also made it clear GM will focus even more on producing trucks and truck derivatives or hybrids because the profits there.
A few such vehicles are here or coming soon. The Pontiac Aztek out now and the Buick Rendezvous arriving next spring are sport-utes built off mini-van platforms, and the Chevrolet Avalanche, another hybrid due out next spring, combines a Suburban sport-utility in front with a Chevy Silverado pickup in back.
Zarrella said that in keeping with the hybrid theme, GM's joint-venture plant with Toyota in Fremont, Calif., soon will start producing a "lifestyle" sport-ute-type vehicle with a Pontiac nameplate on it. Reportedly, the Pontiac will come out for the 2003 model year, and GM will drop the Chevy Prizm sedan, built at Fremont, after the 2002 model year to make room. Toyota produces the Corolla at the same plant. Rumor is that Toyota might get a version of the Pontiac sport-ute.
As evidence of GM's commitment to trucks and truck derivatives, Zarrella said trucks will account for 50 percent of GM vehicle output for the first time in the 2000 calendar year and will rise to 54 percent of total vehicle output for 2001 and 57 percent by 2002.
- Lincoln has a shot at capturing the title of best-selling luxury car nameplate for calendar 2000 without having to place "*" after the feat.
You may recall that in calendar 1998 Lincoln was leading Cadillac for the luxury sales title by a wide margin going into December.
Lincoln was icing the champagne to celebrate taking the title away from Cadillac for the first time in what some say would have been more than 50 years, when the December sales were tallied.
Miraculously, Cadillac ended up outselling Lincoln for the year by about 200 units. Not that Lincoln had sore feelings, but it pointed out that for Cadillac to catch and pass it in the last month of the year, everyone living east of the Mississippi would have had to buy a Cadillac, and everyone west of the Mississippi would have had to buy two.
Turns out that Cadillac fessed up to setting its calculator to multiply rather than add, and admitted Lincoln won the contest by 187,121 units to Cadillac's 182,570.
But since it was too late to hold a victory party in February, Cadillac and Lincoln simply shook fists . . . oops, shook hands, and vowed to fight it out again for 1999.
Of course, good intentions don't win sales contests, good sales do and when the final numbers were in for calendar 1999, Mercedes-Benz had toppled the U.S. automakers by a 189,437 units to 178,507 for Cadillac, 176,493 for Lincoln. In fact, even Lexus outsold the two U.S. automakers with sales of 185,890.
But 2000 may again be Lincoln's year. At the halfway point at the end of June, Lincoln was in the luxury sales lead with 101,024 units, slightly ahead of Mercedes with 100,399 and Cadillac at 97,739.
It's a safe bet, however, that after earning enough bad publicity to fill GM's headquarters from basement to penthouse over the 1998 sales championship gone sour, Cadillac will be more than happy to let Lincoln and Mercedes fight it out for first while it settles for a strong third-place finish--though Cadillac is only 4,100 units ahead of Lexus and could slip to fourth.
While the luxury car sales title is up for grabs, Ford holds a healthy lead in the full-size pickup segment. First-half sales of its full-size F-Series stand at 472,349 units to 334,591 at Chevrolet, 196,356 at Dodge and 101,067 at GMC. Toyota is far behind at 48,313. The F-Series has been the industry's top-selling truck for 23 years and the best-selling vehicle, car or truck, for 18 years.


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SAN DIEGO – Jan. 16, 2017 – Rank17, a VR-focused publisher with a development team in Southern California, is set to deliver a number of innovative VR titles in 2017. The year starts with the retro-themed Super Pixel Smash (due this month) — followed by the monster sim Monster Crush Online and “alien boxing” sports game Planetary Punchout. Finally, an all-new sniper-focused first-person shooter is currently in production and due later this year.
Super Pixel Smash
Wield pixelated paddles to smash powerful shots across colorful interactive walls. Target power-ups for increased scoring, leverage the ever tricky “multi-balls,” or even unlock charged shots to rake in the points. Above all, be sure to avoid the dreaded “death panels”… and race against the clock to secure an impressive high score!
Monster Crush Online (working title)
Play as a giant monster crushing everything in its path. Choose from four capable creatures — Carl Cthulhu, Demon Dave, Gorzilla Greg, and Randy Rockford — and lay waste to fully destructible cityscapes in this entertaining monster sim. In multiplayer mode, compete against friends or go co-op for some shared VR mayhem.
Planetary Punchout (working title)
As an unwilling competitor in the Intergalactic Boxing Federation (IBF), the only choice is to face antagonistic alien creatures in a series of out-of-this-world boxing matches. Winning is far from easy: Each alien race has developed unique fighting styles — and defeat is not an option. Win enough bouts … and live to fight another day!
“This is shaping up to be a standout year for Rank17. After building on the positive reception of our previous games — including the well-received BladeShield — we’re charging full speed ahead with a new generation of ‘pick up and play’ VR titles,” says Steve Iverson, Studio Head, Rank17. “Breakout fans will find much to love in the nostalgic Super Pixel Smash. I’m sure that even meekest among us would be up for some city stomping fun in Monster Crush Online. Boxing is already fun, but punching aliens in face in Planetary Punchout is even better. Finally, FPS fans will soon get the VR game they always wanted in our upcoming sniper game. There’s much more to come throughout 2017!”
2017 Slate of VR Titles
– Super Pixel Smash
– Monster Crush Online (working title)
– Planetary Punchout (working title)
– Sniper (working title)
– More to come!
Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
More by Jonas Ek:


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Konami are proud to confirm that they will exhibit at the Amusement Trade Exhibition International 2009, held in Earl’s Court London from 27th to 29th January 2009.
Based at stand 2140, on the right side of the first floor of the location, Konami have taken a bigger stand than in recent years. Product Planning Assistant Michael Goodburn said that he is “excited about the show and the prospect of showing so many new titles”.
On display you will find a variety of products catering for different markets. In the ever-evolving amusement industry, Michael believes that “diversification is the key”. The 2009 ATEI stand upholds this ideology with machines serving street locations (pubs, bars etc) and also family entertainment centres; with more surprises to come.
It has been over 10 years since Konami launched their phenomenally successful BEMANI music simulation products into the global markets. What better way to celebrate, than to showcase the latest advancements from the BEMANI team at ATEI 2009.
Konami is renowned within the amusement industry for their innovative prowess in new product development, this year is no exception. The re-release of some classic Konami titles as well as some brand new developments, has ensured that there is something for everyone at stand 2140.
About Konami Digital Entertainment B.V.
Established in Osaka, Japan in 1969 by Kagemasa Kozuki, Konami is one of the video game industry’s biggest success stories. Konami continues to be recognised as a leader in innovative and entertaining games, and is always looking to the future. Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. is located in Chiswick, London and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Konami Corporation in Japan. Throughout its operations in Europe, Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. has been dedicated to meeting the needs of its home markets whilst keeping the global Konami branches in touch with the European Pulse. Global in outlook, at the forefront of information technology and always investing considerably into R&D, it is natural that Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. continues to develop some of the most cutting edge video games for its players. Pan European hits such as Silent Scope and Dancing Stage continue their popularity with new hits arriving all the time. Konami will continue to keep its eyes open for the future demands of the market and only present products meeting the requirements and wishes of its customers. For more information visit konami.co.uk or contact Mr Michael Goodburn – email@example.com (phone: +44(0) 208 987 5733).
The New Revolution Has Begun!


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PHOENIX — Arizona is cracking down on scrap-metal dealers who may be accepting stolen copper.
Gov. Jan Brewer has signed into a law a bill that requires the dealers to register with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. They are also required to keep a record and picture of all of the material they take in. Those who fail to register could face $1,000 fines.
In turn, police will set up a website where dealers can check to see if the materials have been reported stolen.
Valley commercial real estate developer Michael Pollack liked the plan. “What used to happen is that is you could just set up a big truck on the side of the road and call yourself ‘I’m buying scrap,’ ” said Pollack. “Who’s regulating that? Well, it wasn’t being regulated so good.”
He said copper thefts are costing Arizona residents and businesses a lot of money. “It’s a very serious matter,” Pollack said.
Pollack has been a victim of copper thefts himself. He said thefts at his construction sites have cost him over $400,000 since 2009.
He said honest dealers who don’t take the stolen copper have nothing to worry about with the new law.
“There’s exemptions in this for licensed contractors,” he said. “This is not to stop licensed contractors from doing business, or to stop scrap-metal dealers from doing business. This is meant to stop thieves, because this is what this is all about. Stopping thieves.”
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Llangollen’s new World Cup graded DH track
17 July 2017 | By billy1979
A brand new downhill track is set to open at Llangollen in North Wales and is designed for riders as a stepping stone up to World Cup standard tracks.
The new Ride Portugal Track has been built by Brian Mundy (owner of Ride Portugal) and is designed as a stepping stone up to World Cup standard tracks. The track, which will be opened officially in July 2017 is steep, technical, fast and includes some big jumps and steep chutes.
The track will be opened officially to the public on the weekend of 29th and 30th July. There will be two days of uplifts, camping, food and live music. You can book online at One Giant Leap Llangollen's website.
Credit: Wideopenmag MTB magazine


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Facebook News, a personalized destination for news within Facebook, initially launched in the US, is expanding internationally to more countries tentatively including India.
The platform aims to launch Facebook News in multiple countries within the next six months to a year and are considering the UK, Germany, France, India, and Brazil. In each country, Facebook will pay news publishers to ensure their content is available in the new product.
Consumer habits and news inventory vary by country, so they’ll work with news partners in each country to tailor the experience and test ways to deliver a constructive experience for people while also considering publishers’ business models.
The platform says it will continue to focus on growing engagement of Facebook News in the US and is committed to the partnerships developed with US publishers to make Facebook News a valuable asset over the long term.
Also Read: Facebook & Instagram Shops get major updates
The platform claims over 95% of the traffic Facebook News delivers to publishers is incremental to the traffic they already get from News Feed. Facebook will also be building new products and making global investments.
To view News:
- Log in to the Facebook app on your mobile device
- Tap the three horizontal lines on the top right corner
- Find “News” in the menu
- Tap “News”
- Users can also access News by typing “Facebook News” into the search bar on the Facebook app and tapping the Facebook News shortcut
News is currently only available on the Facebook apps for Android and iPhone in the U.S. You won’t be able to access News on your browser.


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- Apple awards Corning the tech giant's first Advanced Manufacturing Fund investment.
- The money will support Corning's R&D and capital equipment needs.
- Apple committed to investing $1 billion
U.S.-based companies. with
The announcement came a week after Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC's Jim Cramer in an exclusive interview about the $1 billion fund to spur jobs. (Read the full interview here.) Corning is the first recipient of the fund.
The fund is the tech giant's latest effort to show how it is creating jobs as President Donald Trump pressures American companies to hire U.S. workers.
Apple said the investment will support Corning's research and development, capital equipment needs and glass processing. Corning has manufactured touchscreens for Apple's iPhones.
"Corning is a great example of a supplier that has continued to innovate and they are one of Apple's long-standing suppliers," Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said in a statement.
"This partnership started 10 years ago with the very first iPhone, and today every customer that buys an iPhone or iPad anywhere in the world touches glass that was developed in America," he said. "We're extremely proud of our collaboration over the years and we are investing further with Corning who has such a rich legacy of innovative manufacturing practices."