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Australia: Keep your eyes peeled for bananas of the future
The news that Panama Disease Tropical Race IV (TR4) has been detected on Australia's largest banana operation was a heavy blow for the industry, and the pressure is on to find a replacement for the predominant Cavendish variety. In northern New South Wales (NSW), an industry and government-funded project acts as an "ongoing revolving door" for trialing varieties from around the world, and some are showing great potential.
"This year for example there are six varieties coming in from the French program put in what we call the "killing fields", the contaminated site, to see how they handle the Race I Panama Disease," says David Peasley of Peasley Horticultural Services.
This earlier strain is actually what sparked the worldwide adoption of Cavendish, replacing the Gros Michel variety that used to be mainstream but has since been relegated mostly to mountainous areas of the Latin American tropics.
Another variety susceptible to the earlier disease strain is Lady Finger, a popular banana in Australia.
"Growers on Lady Finger plantations now are feeling very threatened," says Peasley, who is heading up the project in Duranbah in the Tweed Valley.
"In fact a lot of growers think that in five years there will not be any Lady Fingers left."
Hence the term "killing fields" for the site, which may be far from plantations infected by TR4 in the Northern Territory and northern Queensland, but the first strain's fungus has lingered for decades.
"We've selected this trial block on a farm that had Lady Finger bananas growing on it 35-40 years ago but they were wiped out by Panama Disease Race I," says Peasley.
The researchers put Lady Fingers back in the ground to test whether the disease was still there, and sure enough it bore its ugly head.
The fungus was then isolated and has been artificially placed under every tree planted from overseas breeding programs and domestic one-off selections.
"We know that Race I Panama acts in a similar way to Tropical Race IV, so any variety that’s going to be resistant to Race I is going to be worth testing against Tropical Race IV.
"It’s a matter of when that disease spreads and not particularly if it spreads."
He adds different varieties are being tested in TR4-infected areas in the Northern Territory as well, but it is still early days.
"It's in a commercial plantation. The commercial plantations were eradicated in the Northern Territory, but TR4 actually appeared in nursery banana plants so it’s pretty widespread up there.
"So the only way out for the Northern Territory industry is through the very strict quarantine of vehicles and footwear going into the plantation, but the ultimate test or solution lies in resistant varieties."
The scientist adds the varieties tested in Duranbah have also undergone resistance testing for TR4 in the Netherlands under glasshouse conditions.
"While that’s not definitive about how they’ll perform in the field, it does give us an indication of their resistance levels."
Possible bananas for the future
Out of all the varieties brought to the test plot from around the world - Guadeloupe, Taiwan, Mexico, Israel and elsewhere - four have so far passed the taste test for potential economic viability, and these will be tested in the next phase.
Two are from Honduras, one is from South Africa, and the fourth was found by chance over the border in Queensland.
One of the victims that didn't make it was the High Noon. Peasley finds it "very tasty" but as it's only moderately resistant to TR1, it's "not going to survive under heavy disease pressure".
The first of the selected cultivars is called "FLF", named after Lady Finger banana grower Bill Freeman.
"He’s over 90 years old and I was up there about seven years ago on his plantation when I just noticed this one plant that looked pretty promising," says Peasley.
"I asked old Bill what variety is that?"
At the time Freeman wasn't happy with the plant as he'd ordered ordered Lady Finger bananas and this one was different.
"But it's turned out to be a winner as far as disease resistance goes so he’s quite chuffed about it," Peasley says.
He says the FLF fruit is a "local somaclonal variant" of the Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research-developed FHIA 18, with "extremely good resistance to the disease, very good bunching and resistance to leaf disease".
"It's a beautiful fruit to eat and it’s looking to be a replacement for the Lady Finger variety, and it’s very similar to Lady Finger in flavor," he says.
The second variety is called "PKZ", named after Peter Knight who found it in South Africa, and is primarily oriented towards replacing Cavendish someday.
"They won’t be given marketing names until later, but it’s a beautiful variety - it’s quite shorter than the normal Cavendish, but very cylindrical, with a beautiful bunch and very sturdy plant," Peasley says.
Even in the absence of TR4, the researcher believes a move into potential Cavendish-replacing varieties like PKZ is necessary in his part of the country.
"Here in the subtropics we don’t have ideal conditions for growing Cavendish which is a tropical variety – over the winter time the fruit gets quite dull," he says.
"While excellent eating quality, the appearance is not as good as North Queensland where they can produce the bananas better looking and with longer fruit suitable for the supermarkets.
"But a lot of people are saying there’s more than having a banana that looks good and lasts a long time; it has to taste good."
The other two selected varieties, both from the FHIA, aren't intended for the fresh market.
"The third one we had to look for a variety that suited the processing market for making jams or drying or cooking banana - the plantain types - and it’s a variety from Honduras," he says.
"It’s a FHIA 17 and it’s a very large bunch – it grows up to 65-70 kilos in weight, it’s very resistant to leaf disease, and it’s not bad eating also.
"The last one is called FHIA 25 and we’re looking at that as a replacement for potatoes – its starch qualities are suitable for people with dietary problems – they might be gluten-intolerant people. It has a very big bunch as well."
"Just by keeping your eyes out these things come up occasionally in the field," he says.
"There's another one in New South Wales which a local grower Tim Johnson has found - it's an exceptional banana and he’s called it Little Gem.
"It’s a somaclonal variant of the Goldfinger banana (FHIA-01) and it’s on the market now. There's tremendous interest in that."
He says the Little Gem is smaller, very tasty and doesn't go soft when it ripens.
"It’s got beautiful flavor but there’s just not enough of it on the market," he says.
"There are a couple of growers who are growing it under contract at the moment, so there are some exciting things coming in the future for the Australian consumers, and it’s about time.
He says there was "no infection at all" when Little Gem was put in the killing fields.
"It’s completely resistant to Race I – it’s going to be trialed up in Northern Territory for Tropical Race IV, so it looks pretty exciting from that point of view as well," he says.
More gems on the horizon
The research program - funded by levies paid by members of the Australian banana industry, Horticulture Innovation Australia,and the Queensland, New South Wales and Federal governments - may have three years yet before anything is released commercially, says Peasley.
"They've got to go through the post-harvest research and consumer testing, and we’ve got to work out the plant spacing we recommend to growers and a management program to make sure those varieties are economically viable.
"It’s an ongoing program of testing and release, but as we test that there will be an ongoing revolving door and hopefully we’ll come up with sweeter varieties that are suitable for the Australian consumer market and also economically viable for growers.
"What we want to do with bananas is to provide a greater variety of high quality bananas in terms of flavor, size and appearance that consumers simply haven’t had in the past. Tropical Race IV has forced us into that situation.
"We’ve got a fair range of varieties now to cover for the future but we’re not stopping there."
Related stories: Honduras forging a disease resistant banana future


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Bitcoin was going to change the world until it wasn’t. But now it is again.
Oh sure, you’ve heard this before. Back in 2013, everyone was sure bitcoin was the next big thing.Then the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, imploded, and everyone was sure bitcoin was dead. Pundits tend to think that way: you’re It, or you’re not. The reality of it is a little different.

domain: news


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Standing out among a range of innovative companies and products is no easy feat, but Reactec’s impressive performance set it apart from the competition in the eyes of the judges.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, two million workers are at risk from hand arm vibration syndrome, with over 300,000 workers having been diagnosed at an advanced stage.
A solution to this prevalent, yet still under-appreciated, condition requires sophisticated innovation - which is where Reactec comes in.
The HAVWEAR is a wrist device, like a simple watch, that is able to advise workers of tool vibrations, informing and calculating real-time risk exposure. It will then send that data through to associated web-based service to be analysed by the firm.
The judges were particularly impressed by the personal element of the HAVWEAR, also noting that it was a product that “will influence tool manufacturers and the marketplace”.
The panel appreciated that Reactec had come up with a single innovation that focused on the wellbeing of employees, and that it was fundamentally designed to “change behaviours” within the wider industry.
“Reactec has found a solution to an industry problem, which impacts both the industry market and, importantly, the health and safety of the workforce”
The data received is stored and sent to management via a docking station for analysis, which, in turn, aids firms in reducing and removing risks completely.
Reactec cited the numerous benefits experienced by Willmott Dixon, which provides the tool to both its employees and subcontractors. It found that heightened health and safety awareness through use of the device had contributed to an increase in productivity as well.
The judges said that not only was the tool tackling health and safety, but the productivity benefits were also allowing firms to work out better plans to prevent incidents. The HAVWEAR is not without its financial benefits, either, with Reactec arguing that reducing health and safety incidents means firms are less likely to face HSE fines.
With more than 7,000 units sold in the past year, predominantly in the construction industry, Reactec has clearly started to turn a few heads – and its innovation is proving a real pull-factor for employees.
The firm’s current business development manager moved to the company based on the ease-of-use innovation that Reactec was displaying, specifically within construction.
Ultimately, the judges were swayed by the innovative use of technology to genuinely provide an efficient and cost-effective solution to a significant industry problem – one that goes above and beyond the required industry standard and directly affects the workforce’s health and safety.
Highly commended: Cemar
As a company, Cemar impressed with its approach, which was fundamentally different to that of Reactec’s.
Several of the judges appreciated that the technology on show focused on the company as a whole, as opposed to a single product, and that Cemar was taking an active role in trying to help clients navigate the murky waters of construction contracts.
The business model was developed with the construction industry specifically in mind, rather than being a system that could trickle through any number of sectors beyond construction and engineering - something the judges were particularly keen on.
The panel all agreed that the technology had significant investment had been made into the technology, and they were impressed with the level of dedication and attention the innovation had received from boardroom level.
- Alphatec Software


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One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows will launch on Play Station 4, Xbox One and PC on February 28th, 2020, Bandai Namco revealed today.
The game will see players creating their own custom-made hero and completing missions as they climb the ranks of the Hero Association to become an S-Class hero.
Bandai Namco said that, even during fights, players will always have to be on the lookout for random events that will complicate things. From super-villain interferences to asteroid crashes. It really looks like the game will be literally throwing at you everything it can.
The game’s story-line is based on the first season of the One Punch Man anime and will be set in an alternative-reality Tokyo where monsters are trying to take over the world and heroes are humanity’s only hope.
The news of the release date comes after a closed beta of the game launched last month. Running during the first weekend of November, the beta saw gamers challenging each other and AI-controlled characters.
Together with the date release announcement, Bandai Namco showcased a new trailer today, displaying the characters’ line-up and the hero King’s “special skill”.
According to the Japanese game company, One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows will also include both English and Japanese voice-over.
Players pre-ordering the game will receive early access for Saitama Dream Version – AKA wearing pajamas – who will take damage like a “normal” hero, together with additional outfits for Saitama which include his jersey and black suit, and a Saitama mask.
Here is a link to pre-order One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows. You can even subscribe to a newsletter with news related to the game. What do you think about One Punch Man? Are you going to pre-order the game? Let us know in the comment section down below.


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Bulgaria's Retailers Evade Incandescent Bulb Ban - Report
Stores in Bulgaria have managed to find a way of evading the EU ban on the sale of incandescent lightbulbs after the end of 2012, according to media reports.
Wednesday Bulgarian Pressa daily writes that retailers are labelling the incandescent bulbs as "lights with a special purpose."
In this way, they are attempting to comply with the EU directive, which allows the sale of the old-fashioned lights for the industry and transportation, and bans them only for domestic use.
Starting 2009, the EU imposed a phased ban on the sales of all kinds of incandescent lightbulbs.
According to Pressa, retailers in Bulgaria are consistently reporting that they have significant quantities in stock.
The EU imposed ban intends the mass introduction of more energy efficient lights for customer use.
- » The Chief Architect Offers Two Skyscraper Areas far from Downtown Sofia
- » Environmental Pollution Kills Millions Around the world
- » A Warehouse Hub for Indian and Chinese Goods will be Built near Sandanski
- » Varna will Held International Technology Conference Innowave Business and Startup
- » ECB Chief Mario Draghi says Bitcoin Not Mature Enough for Consideration
- » ‘New frontier’ Bulgaria Attracts Real Estate Investors


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Amazon deletes tweet endorsing Prime Video account sharing
Netflix is launching tools in more and more countries to prevent the sharing of a Netflix account outside of the primary household. The company launched password sharing restrictions in the United States, Germany and several other countries recently and plans to expand these to all regions it is available in.
Netflix argues that about 100 million households use the streaming service without paying for it. To put this into perspective: Netflix has about 233 million subscribers.
Amazon's social media team published a tweet as a response to Netflix's launch of anti-password sharing functionality in Germany, in which the tech giant seemingly endorsed the sharing of passwords for watching Amazon Prime Video.
Amazon was applauded for this, but has deleted the tweet since then. The tweet, fired off from the official Prime Video DE account, simply stated "Wisst Ihr Bescheid", which translates to "you know".
It had an image attached, which showed the Amazon Prime Video profile selection screen. Five profiles were shown, which formed the sentence "Alle Personen Mit Meinem Password", which translates to "All people with my password".
Amazon did not publish a statement regarding the deletion of the tweet on Twitter. German publisher Heise received a statement from Amazon's press office, in which the company stated that account sharing was prohibited in the terms of service.
The full German text of the statement: "Ich stelle klar: Prime-Kunden sind laut Amazon AGB für die 'Sicherstellung der Vertraulichkeit des Kontos und Passworts' verantwortlich. Ein Teilen des Kontos und Passworts mit Dritten verstößt hiergegen."
The English translation: "I clarify: Prime customers are responsible for 'ensuring the confidentiality of the account and password' according to Amazon's T&Cs. Sharing the account and password with third parties violates this."
All major video streaming services prohibit the sharing of passwords and other means of access with third-parties. Netflix is the first major streaming service to block access to the service if its algorithms detect use in different households.
The company expects that subscriber counts drop initially but expects them to rise significantly after an initial period.
Netflix added several options to its service recently that help customers end password sharing. The streaming service's two largest plans support adding non-households slots for a fee. Other options include moving profiles to new accounts, so that current account sharers may keep their viewing profiles in new accounts, and the introduction of a cheaper, but ad-powered, plan.
It is still unclear how the experiment will turn out for Netflix. If Netflix is right, in that subscriber counts will increase in the long term, it is likely that other streaming services will start to implement similar restrictions.
Now You: are you subscribed to Streaming services?Advertisement


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Cost of replacing Huawei and ZTE in U.S. will be $1.837 billionChristian Fernsby ▼ | September 9, 2020
The FCC has released the results of a supply chain data request which lists all U.S. CSPs that have any Chinese gear.
Topics: Huawei U.S.
“It is a top priority of our nation and this Commission to promote the security of our country’s communications networks,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “That’s why we sought comprehensive information from U.S. carriers about equipment and services from untrusted vendors that have already been installed in our networks. ■


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Simply Seeing Coffee May Be Enough to Energize You — But If Not, Shoot for Fewer Than 6 Cups a Day
For most Americans, drinking coffee is as much of an integral part of the workday as setting an alarm, commuting to the office, and quietly cursing your boss for hours on end. Depending on which stats you look at, the average person consumes about two to three cups of coffee per day: its stimulating effects a backbone of our lives. But how much coffee do we really need? And how much is too much? Turns out two recent studies offer up two polar extremes of American coffee consumption.
On the lower bound, a study published last month determined that, in Western societies where coffee consumption is common, simply seeing or smelling coffee is enough to get a buzz going. “Across four experiments with participants from Australia, Canada, and the United States, we found that exposure to coffee, without actually drinking it … may be enough to increase heart rates, increase felt arousal, and gives you the energy to focus more on immediate pressing tasks, thereby reducing your procrastination,” co-author Eugene Chan of Australia’s Monash University wrote for the site Thrive Global.
Hopefully needless to say, however, Chan also points out that this doesn’t mean you can completely think away your costly Starbucks habit. “The effects that we find are short-term and definitely smaller in intensity than actually drinking coffee,” he later adds. “You can’t get the buzz to last all day from seeing just a picture of coffee once.”
This explains why most of us find ourselves on the other end of the spectrum: worrying about how much coffee we can drink while still staying healthy. Luckily, there’s a new study for us too. Last week, researchers at the University of South Australia posted their answer to the question “How many cups are too much to drink a day?” after digging through UK Biobank data of 347,077 people from the ages 37 to 73. In what the school bills as “the first time an upper limit has been placed on safe coffee consumption and cardiovascular health,” the study determined that, after five cups, things can start to get precarious.
“In order to maintain a healthy heart and a healthy blood pressure, people must limit their coffees to fewer than six cups a day,” explained co-author Elina Hyppönen, “based on our data six was the tipping point where caffeine started to negatively affect cardiovascular risk.”
Okay, but what if we combine the two studies? At what point does looking at too many pictures of coffee become a problem? Not that I’m spending too much time on Google Images or anything… Just asking is all.


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New Delhi: Indian Railways achieved a significant milestone of pulling freight traffic ahead of last year’s level amid COVID-19 challenges, said a Ministry of Railways statement on Thursday (August 20).
On August 19, 2020, the freight loading was 3.11 million tonnes which is higher than last year for the same date (2.97 million tonnes). On the same date, Indian Railways also earned Rs 306.1 crore from freight loading which is Rs 5.28 crore higher than last year for the same date (Rs 300.82 crore), the statement said.
Till 19th August 2020, the total freight loading is 57.47 million tonnes which is higher than last year for the same period (53.65 million tonnes), and Railways earned Rs 5461.21 crore from freight loading which is Rs 25.9 crore higher than last year for the same period (Rs 5435.31 crore).
Notably, Indian Railways is going to promote Railways’ freight service, making traders, businesses, and suppliers aware of the benefits associated with transportation through railways.
1. Some benefits of Railway freight transportation includes:
– Economical transportation due to the subsidies provided
– Prompt and efficient delivery of goods
– Safe transportation, ensuring goods reach their destination without damage
– Environment-friendly method of transportation – will reduce the carbon footprint
– Introduction of a special train like Kisan Rail, accruing additional benefits to farmers and keeping perishables fresh for consumption
2. These promotions can be done in collaboration with Industry Associations.
3. Focus on how manufacturers and wholesalers will be benefitted as they will get their stock timely for Diwali
4. Indian Railways will publicise direct contact numbers and website details which can be accessed by traders for transporting freight, enhancing their ease.
5. Indian Railways can share human interest stories, highlighting how the common man is able to easily procure products for his daily needs and benefiting from the efficient services of Indian Railways.
Some of the major novel freight initiatives of Indian Railways are:
1. Business development units set up at all three levels – Division, Zones, Railways Board
2. Doubled the speed of freight trains from 23 kmph to 46 kmph
3. Timetabled parcel trains started from 30th March 2020 – 20 pairs
4. Opening up of export traffic to Bangladesh for Parcels and Containers – 10th July 2020
5. Opening up of Export traffic to Bangladesh for Automobiles – 12th August 2020
6. Kisan Rail introduced from Devlali (Nashik) to Danapur (Patna) – multiple stoppages, multiple commodities, multiple parties-2 trips already run on 7th and 14th August 2020
7. Freight cargo express trains – Vyapaar Mala Express trains
8. Tariff and non-tariff initiatives to make Rail transportation more attractive
9. Good sheds being improved on mission mode – 405 identified
10. Pilot project launched with ‘Department of Posts’ to provide door-to-door service to customers


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After OYO, ZO Rooms raises fresh funding of Rs 192 crore from Tiger Global, Orios Venture
The New Delhi-based startup will use this latest round of financing, which closed last week, to expand its presence across the country said two people with direct knowledge of the developments.
Budget accommodation aggregator Zo Rooms has raised fresh funding of Rs 192 crore ($30 million) from existing investors, Tiger Global Management and Orios Venture Partners, weeks after rival OYO Rooms bagged $100 million (Rs 641 crore) in fresh financing from Japan's SoftBank.
The New Delhi-based startup will use this latest round of financing, which closed last week, to expand its presence across the country said two people with direct knowledge of the developments. In July 2015 itself, ZO Rooms had raised $5 million from the same investors.
No statement has been released officially by the company yet. However, the raised fund will be employed towards expanding its presence across the country. “They (Zo Rooms) are addressing a big gap in the market, and have managed to scale very rapidly. But there is competition, and every company needs capital to counter that, while continuing to grow at a certain pace,” confirmed one of the sources associated directly with the matter.
As per sources, “Fidelity Investments is one of the investors that Zo Rooms is in talks with for a further round”, reports ET.
The online budget hotels marketplace has its presence in 35 cities across the country, and has about 500 hotels listed on its marketplace, which cater largely to leisure and business traveler segment.
Zo Rooms, which started in 2015, is currently battling it out with OYO Rooms to grab pole position in the still-nascent online-led, budget accommodation marketplace sector,


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Find out what’s happening in the property investment arena both in the UK and internationally
Brazil cruises in to become a top year-round holiday destination
June 3, 2011Article by Ray Withers
Brazil’s potential to become a top year-round holiday destination could be further boosted by cruise tourism according to experts, as long as technical concerns around South America’s cruise tourism policy are overcome.
Speaking at South America’s first ever Seatrade Cruise Tourism Convention held in Sao Paolo this week, Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC Cruises stated:
“It is critical that dialogue be strengthened between the cruise sector, national regulators and decision makers to ensure the future of the continent as one of the fastest growing source markets for the industry.”
South America’s cruise industry has set new records during the last season with six cruise lines operating 20 vessels and carrying almost 800,000 guests. Abremar (the Brazilian Association of Maritime Cruises) also recently released an Economic Impact Study highlighting that the cruise sector is playing a significant part in Brazil’s economy, accounting for a total economic output of US $814 million during the 2010/11 cruise period.
Experts believe that addressing issues surrounding the clarity of rules and regulations, competitive incentives in the operation of passenger terminals and port infrastructure would significantly increase Brazil’s appeal as a cruise destination.
Ray Withers, Director of leading property investment agency, Property Frontiers who markets popular residential developments in Natal, the established cruise port in north east Brazil, comments,
“Tourism has and will play a significant role in the growth of the Brazilian economy. Over 5.1 million foreign nationals visited Brazil in 2010, an impressive 7.8% increase over 2009 figures and forecasts for 2011 are set to be even higher. Cruise tourism can be highly lucrative for port cities such as Natal and so any action undertaken to improve the industry is most welcome.”
A boost to Natal tourism would also prove positive for the city’s property market with demand for accommodation both from domestic and international tourists remaining strong. Residences such as Edificio Dr Geraldo Furtado, an exclusive development of splendid 2 and 3 bedroom apartments starting at just $57,650 with a guaranteed 4 year 6% NET yield are proving popular as is the luxurious Natal Ocean Club on the eastern side of Natal with designer beachfront villas and apartments set in 20 acres of tropical gardens from just $138,000.


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Share price plummets as Whittaker withdraws
Intu has been jilted for the second time in a year as the consortium led by deputy chairman John Whittaker has withdrawn its offer to take the company private. The share price crashed 36% from 192p to 122p on the news. Whittaker and his backers, the Canadian investor Brookfield and the Saudi-based Olayan Group, had indicated they were prepared to offer 210p a share for the company.
The consortium had completed its due diligence after being granted three extensions to the offer deadline under the Takeover Code. In a Stock Exchange statement the bidders said: “Given the uncertainty around current macroeconomic conditions and the potential near-term volatility across markets, the consortium is not able to proceed with an offer within a timeframe which is manageable within the confines of the Code timetable.”
The stock market now values intu at £2.6bn, although the company maintains its property portfolio is worth £9.6bn. In a bid to calm the market’s jitters intu issued a statement of its own. “Whilst market sentiment towards retail and retail property remains negative, intu is confident of its commercial prospects which are underpinned by market leadership in UK regional shopping centres, clear focus on the highest quality assets and resilient operational performance in a challenging market,” it said.


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An article today in the Daily Vox begins: The truth about the chocolate industry might leave a bitter taste in your mouth.
Indeed. The chocolate industry is a billion-dollar business, yet it is not one that is always just. Modern day slavery, especially child labor, is becoming a growing and serious issue. The Daily Vox explains that the product is produced form cacao beans that grow in hot, wet regions. Nearly 70% of the all chocolate in the world comes from West Africa. Côte d’Ivoire, the biggest producer in the world, accounts for more than 30%.
“In 2014 the total global retail value sales of chocolate was $100 billion. Many farmers and workers on cacao plantations, however, survive on just $1.25 – or R16,50 – a day.
Besides the usual tale of capitalism, there’s a darker side to chocolate production. Close to 1.8 million children in West Africa are used as labor – many of them trafficked to work on cacao farms as slaves.”
The article goes on to explain why child labor is so detrimental to children. The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines it as as “work that deprives children of their childhood, dignity and potential; and is physically and mentally harmful to their development. It also often interferes with their schooling.”
Cacao harvesting spans the entire year, making it difficult for children to attend school.
Freedom United is interested in hearing from our community and welcomes relevant, informed comments, advice, and insights that advance the conversation around our campaigns and advocacy. We value inclusivity and respect within our community. To be approved, your comments should be civil.
A few things we do not tolerate: comments that promote discrimination, prejudice, racism, or xenophobia, as well as personal attacks or profanity. We screen submissions in order to create a space where the entire Freedom United community feels safe to express and exchange thoughtful opinions.


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"Despite commendable efforts by countries and partners to control tuberculosis, impact on incidence has not been significant and the epidemic has now reached unprecedented proportions. Urgent and extraordinary actions must be taken." - Luis Gomes Sambo (World Health Organization's Director of African Operations)
On June 14, 2011, the British Dairy Industry officially requested a ban on the sale of raw milk.
http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Food-Safety/Dairy-UK-calls-for-unpasteurised-milk-retail-sales-ban Fearing adverse publicity from future milk-related disease outbreaks, England's milk industry insiders (Dairy UK) petitioned Great Britain's Food Standards Agency to ban the sale of raw milk. On this side of the Atlantic, politicians like Ron Paul support the sale of raw milk as a means of population control. We at Notmilk applaud Ron Paul's creative vision.
Three months ago (March, 2011), the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report which predicted that there would be two million new cases of a multi drug-resistant form of tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Three years ago (1988), WHO last estimated that the number of MDR-TB cases would number some 440,000 victims. WHO also estimated that 34 percent of those tuberculosis infections would result in death.
According to Virgil Hulse, M.D. (Author of Mad Cows and Milkgate), half of the dairy herds in America have cows testing positive for bovine tuberculosis. One cow infects another cow with tuberculosis and humans become infected by drinking pus-filled milk.
On January 10, 2005, America became aware of a Michigan hunter who contracted bovine tuberculosis from a deer. The deer most likely ran out of the woods onto the cow's turf and became infected. This story should act as a warning to both hunter and dairy consumer. Eat body parts or drink body fluids from diseased animals and suffer the consequences.
We have been aware of the Tuberculosis/milk connection for more than 75 years. "Infected raw milk is the chief means by which milk-borne tuberculosis is transmitted to man." - Journal of Dairy Science, 19:435, 1936
"Many diseases such as tuberculosis are transmissible by milk products." - Journal of Dairy Science 1988; 71
"Some strains of mycobacteria, similar to those that are associated with tuberculosis, have been found to survive pasteurization." - The National Mastitis Council, Inc. 1970 Washington, D.C.
"A Mycobacterium bovis-infected
dairy herd of 369 Holstein cows with lactation duration between 200
and 360 days was tested... 170 cows had positive tuberculin test results,
and 199 had negative results."


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Whitney Houston items sell at auction
A BUSTIER worn by Whitney Houston has fetched $18,750 at auction in Los Angeles.
The item was among 13 pieces from the collection of the late 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' hitmaker - who died at the age of 48 in February - which sold for a total of $80,187 at the Hollywood Legends series on Saturday (31.03.12).
A grey velvet gown worn by Whitney at a pre-Grammy part in 1996 went for $11,250 and pearl drop earrings she adorned on the set of 'The Bodyguard' sold for $2,812.
Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien said people who purchased the goods wanted to have a connection to her.
He said: ''What we have now is all we're going to have from Whitney Houston. That makes her memorabilia sought after by high end collectors and fans.''
More items belonging to Whitney will be auctioned in June.
Whitney's mother Cissy Houston recently revealed she had not fully accepted her daughter's tragic death in a bath tub at the Beverly Hilton hotel.
She said: ''I have my moments ... I'm not there yet. I am a true believer in God. If I could bring her back I would, but that's not possible.''


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Sunny Jung recently opened Everleigh Garden, a gift and housewares store in downtown Barrie. – Chris Simon/Metroland
When Sunny Jung moved to Barrie just over a year ago, she immediately saw the potential for a successful business venture.
The former Newmarket resident fell in love with Kempenfelt Bay, the downtown core and the friendliness of the city’s residents. So she opened Everleigh Garden, a gift and houseware shop on Dunlop Street nearly two months ago. She found the perfect location with a good lease and easy access to Heritage and Centennial parks.
“I just wanted to do something different,” she said, wearing a grey apron and standing behind the store counter as her mother-in-law tidied the shelves nearby. “I saw the potential. I didn’t see any true gift store, so I did some research. The city is putting money into the waterfront and condos are going to go up.”
Recent media reports indicate the Greater Toronto Area housing market may be cooling off. But that sudden shift shouldn’t translate into the commercial and industrial side of real estate in Barrie.
While it’s often more difficult to get an exact handle on the non-residential side of the real estate market — commercial and industrial properties aren’t tracked on MLS in the same manner as housing sales — industrial property sales are often a key indicator of the strength of the local economy, Sutton Group Incentive Realty real estate broker and Barrie and District Association of Realtors board member Stephanie Maye said.
In the first quarter of 2017, the average price of vacant employment land was $294,056 per acre, up from $205,150 in 2016. Meanwhile, the average lease rate per square foot was $5.72 in Q1 of 2016, compared to $8.64 during the same period this year.
“There are some ties to the residential real estate market in that when values are up there is more equity for entrepreneurs to invest in what they know and understand — the buildings in which they operate,” Maye said. “But for the most part the decision making happening in this market is still pragmatic, coherent and not based on speculation.”
There’s plenty of reason for optimism in the commercial and industrial market in the months to come. Online retail sales are increasing, meaning there’s a much greater demand for warehouse space.
“Increased pressures in cost of land are driving demand for buildings with higher ceilings because you can increase your usable space for each square foot,” Maye said. “We saw over 28 acres of industrial land in the built city boundary purchased last year which I anticipate will translate into a couple hundred thousand square feet of new product in the next two years.”
Higher lease rates also push developers to build, she said.
“Developers are ready, which will allow Barrie to see some good growth in the coming months,” Maye said.
Other potential growth areas in the coming years will include the city’s annexed land area, Innisfil, which is now viewed as an innovation hub thanks to creative ideas like the Uber partnership, and Oro-Medonte, due to the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport linkage to the Southern Ontario Airport Network, she said.


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The next iPod nano is to feature a tiny camera in the back of its case, if a new series of photographs of a prototype are to be believed.
Taiwanese website Apple.pro has posted a series of photographs showing the case of a metallic green iPod nano but, unlike the model currently on sale, the prototype features a camera on the back, while still keeping the nano's clip design.
As MacRumors explains, photos of a similar prototype were first spotted by the Apple.pro website back in April 2011, and while no new iPod nano was announced at the annual iPod media event in September, the nano prototype cropped up again in November.
These new photos show the iPod nano's assembly with a camera in place and clearly shows how the clip still functions by operating around the edge of the camera.
Apple had previously included a camera on an older iPod nano model but it could only shoot video and no still photographs; the camera was then dropped when Apple radically changed the nano's design to more closely resemble the much smaller iPod shuffle.
A patent filed for by Apple back in late 2009 also suggests that the company had designs on including a camera in the current iPod nano design.
Apple usually holds a media event in September to showcase new iPods, so if this tradition is to be adhered to then an iPod nano with a camera will not be seen for many months yet.


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The Coronavirus pandemic is a big cause for global concern and its effects are already visible on various economies and industries. The smartphone OEMs are no exception to its ill effects either, as Huawei already reported on a sizeable loss of revenue growth earlier today (22nd April 2020). Now, Samsung Display is expected to reveal its own operating losses for the first quarter of 2020.
According to a new report, Samsung Display, the smartphone display manufacturing leader, will reportedly see a significant loss in the Q1 of 2020. For those unaware, the South Korean company makes panels for PC monitors, laptops, smartphones, and TVs. However, their operating loss is calculated to be around 378 million US Dollars, while their overall revenue during the same period is around 5 billion US Dollars.
Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi hands out the Mi 10 Youth Edition invitations in China, features a Doraemon Mini-Claw machine
The dominating reason for this massive loss is undoubtedly the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. In the company’s home country, South Korea, various production lines and manufacturing sites had to be closed downSamsung Display recently announced that it is effectively shutting down its LCD manufacturing lines completely, which could be one of the leading areas where the company was seeing losses.
According to an official statement, Samsung is moving over from LCD and investing in the upcoming quantum dot technology for displays. Similar to Samsung Display, the smartphone division is also facing the same predicament, with its latest flagship series launching on the onset of the global outbreak. So, it can be expected that most OEMs will incur losses for the next few months.


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According to a recent report from Yes Marketing, more than half of the consumers surveyed cite that they’ll pay more to purchase items from a retailer they frequent.
The report entitled “The Retail Shopper’s Journey to Loyalty”, was derived from surveying more than 1,000 retail shoppers. The goal was to analyze and identify consumer priorities and motivations.
The report found that 41 percent of consumers consider the quality and value of a product to be the number one reason they’ll be loyal to a specific retailer. The price of a product came in as the second top consideration, according to 35 percent of those surveyed.
While the report did illustrate that new customers are more likely to connect with a retailer due to free shipping or other incentives, long-term consumers are more likely to stick with their favorite retailer. Only 3 percent of consumers said free or expedited shipping was a consideration in terms of loyalty to a retailer.
The report highlights how brands can leverage this to drive more revenue for the long term from loyal customers.
The president of Yes Marketing, Jim Sturm, commented “The seamless and personalized consumer experience, which is a critical component of loyalty, has become a table stakes. It takes so much more to deliver on the different expectations customers have for retailers at each stage of their journey. Smart brands must differentiate between effective acquisition tactics and effective loyalty strategies. This distinction can help brands increase lifetime customer value and create truly successful lifecycle programs.”
The report also had some other interesting findings of consumer priority and motivation.
For instance, 39 percent of consumers place a significant priority on rewards programs. These consumers said cash incentives are more likely to motivate them in terms of loyalty. Early access to products and exclusive promotions were also driving factors (23 percent and 18 percent respectively).
A surprising 73 percent of consumers reported that they were satisfied with the level of rewards for the royalty they give retailers.
The least influential drivers towards loyalty were seamless return policies, social responsibility, and marketing campaigns. A mere one percent of consumers ranked these as a priority.
Michael Iaccarino, the CEO of Infogroup which is the parent company of Yes Marketing, said “Given the significant impact customer loyalty has on business results, retailers need to find a service and technology partner who can enhance and execute their marketing strategies to adapt to changing consumer expectations.”


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Today honorable supreme court said that no need to link your Aadhar card to bank accounts and mobile phones. But the court said for social welfare scheme and govt subsidies the Aadhar card is mandatory. The dead line of March 31 to link Aadhar card has extended till the final judgment come. Tech experts are raised their concerns about the privacy of people and misuse of public data.
Apart from eating Pakhala(ପଖାଳ), the source of my affinity for all things digital solutions. I believe that anyone can write code that a computer can understand, but only good programmers write code that humans can understand. I'm a troll hunter.


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If you’re looking for a 360 camera for a beginner, here are the ones I would recommend for ease of use. I’ve also linked to among the most...
Tag - 360 camera
Here is an update on Vuze, the first affordable 4K 3D 360 camera: – Vuze was featured on a major TV network news show, – there’s a video...
The Guru Air 360 will have a price increase. But for now it is still available at the original price.
Z Cam’s Kinson Loo showed comparison videos between the Z Cam S1 and the Z Cam S1 Pro!
Kodak PIXPRO posted a new video highlighting the features of its highly-anticipated Orbit360 camera (also called the 4KVR360).
Here is the video!
At NAB Show, Yi Technology launched the Halo, a 360 camera capable of shooting at 3D 360 video at 8K. Check out the sample 360 video!
Here are unconfirmed details about the Z Cam V1 Pro, Z Cam’s flagship 360 video camera with nine Micro Four Thirds sensors.
Kodak PIXPRO has created a minisite for the Orbit360 4K that shows the Orbit360’s unique features and the available packages.
The first 5.7K sample from the Yi 360 VR camera has been posted! Check it out! Also, B&H is now accepting preorders!
More updates about the Xiaomi Mi Sphere 360 camera! – a low light video sample – a long exposure shot (well, you’re already looking at...


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The Government continues to insist that there will be no sea border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, even as it prepares to build Border Control Posts (BCPs) to check food and animals at Ulster’s ports and designs computer systems to deal with new customs paperwork. Almost daily, detail emerges about how complex it is likely to be to move goods between these two parts of the UK, come January.
This week, an email from an HM Revenue and Customs official, setting out the challenges faced by road haulage companies, was leaked to journalists. A source from the industry told the Belfast News Letter that he and his colleagues “are panicking and we are really angry” about the level of support they are receiving from government agencies, as they prepare for the changes ahead.
In response to the paper’s questions, the Northern Ireland Office and HMRC released a joint statement saying: “We have been consistently clear about our unequivocal commitment to delivering unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods to the UK market.” This is a familiar refrain from government departments, which does not address the fact that the most serious barriers to trade across the Irish Sea will affect products coming into the province from Great Britain.
In August, Michael Gove announced a £355 million ‘Trader Support Service’ to help companies from the mainland navigate the new rules. The BBC reported that the TSS will “effectively see the Government acting as a customs agent on behalf of businesses”. However, the service is not run directly by the Government, it will not deal with food imports, animal products or agricultural goods and it is in a state of unpreparedness, according to my source in the freight industry.
Northern Ireland’s Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, claimed after its launch that the TSS would “ensure that businesses of all sizes can have import processes dealt with on their behalf, at no cost”. The organisation is not part of a government department, but a private consortium, comprising the consulting firm McKinsey, Fujitsu and a number of Irish hauliers. The HMRC email recognises that the involvement of haulage companies creates “a competition issue” for other freight carriers, which will be required to provide the TSS with sensitive information.
This data will include new EU VAT numbers, or EORIs, with the prefix XI, that companies need to move goods in or out of Northern Ireland. This is only one item in a slate of information that hauliers will need to compile that they do not currently collect and, predictably, the numbers are not even ready yet. Indeed, many of the crucial computer systems that they will rely upon are not available for freight company staff to test either.
When these are eventually online and operational, the hauliers are required to input data that will, in theory, spawn a plethora of paperwork. According to the HMRC, an ‘ENS’ safety and security declaration, required by the EU, will generate a ‘Simplified Frontier Declaration’. In turn, the user will receive a ‘Movement Reference Number’ and a ‘Goods Movement Record’, that must be presented at ports. A final customs declaration is completed after the goods have arrived.
It’s worth remembering that these processes, loaded with jargon and acronyms, are required merely to move goods from one part of the United Kingdom to another. HMRC admits that freight companies will require “an experienced customs intermediary able to support trade and supplement any shortfall in the customs brokerage sector”. It describes this as a “significant opportunity for hauliers…. to provide value-added services either independently or alongside the TSS”.
To translate that into layman’s terms, HMRC is telling hauliers that they can charge their clients in Great Britain more to bring goods into Ulster, because navigating the new border will require expertise that only they are likely to be able to provide (if they can hire the correct people). It’s a very different vision from the Secretary of State’s promise that “import processes” would be dealt with on businesses’ behalf at “no extra cost”.
If the HMRC email is accurate, the TSS is, in any case, only likely to provide assistance to companies for a short time. An official statement to the News Letter claimed that its existence will be “reviewed” after 24 months, but the email states baldly that it will “exit the market after a two year period.” Perhaps this is understandable, as its help seems to be more limited than was originally understood, but the government sold the agency as a guarantee of seamless trade within the UK’s internal market.
Experts think agri-food products will be the most complicated loads to move across the Irish Sea, and, perhaps even more significantly, the TSS will not provide any help for importing food, animals or agricultural goods.
Most of Northern Ireland’s food arrives in shipments from Great Britain, destined for major national supermarket chains. These retailers believe that the health certificates required to move goods into Ulster will cost them thousands of pounds extra for each container. Sainsbury’s chief executive, Simon Roberts, recently told the Guardian that a “substantial number of products and quite key, everyday products” could disappear from shelves in Northern Ireland altogether, without clarity from the Government and the EU on how food products will move across the Irish Sea.
When Boris Johnson introduced the Internal Market Bill, supposedly to mitigate some of the more serious aspects of the Northern Ireland Protocol, he was criticised fiercely for endangering the Belfast Agreement. If that legislation is enacted, despite opposition from the House of Lords, it will remove the requirement for export declarations on goods travelling from the province to Great Britain, but leave in place the most obnoxious features of an internal trade border that effectively divides up the UK’s economy.
It is that extraordinary situation that makes a nonsense of the Belfast Agreement and its promise that Northern Ireland’s integral place in the United Kingdom will not be changed without its people’s consent.
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Netatmo looks to make smart homes even smarter. I’m Fred Fishkin with technology BootCamp, a report on gadgets and gear. There are lots of me too types of companies in the smart home category. Netatmo, based in France, isn’t one of them. It makes devices packed with style and technology, and keeps products current with updates. The Netatmo Welcome camera for instance has been updated with new advanced artificial intelligence that helps it recognize the faces of people who belong in your home…and alerts you when it sees faces that aren’t recognized. Beyond that, Marketing Product Manager Janina Mattausch says Welcome now analyzes sound in a room…
“So it will recognize the patterns of different alarms, such as your CO alarm, security alarm or a fire alarm. And it will actually tell you through the app that an alarm is being heard at home.”
No subscription needed. An outdoor camera is in the works as well. You can find us at BootCamp.com. I’m Fred Fishkin.
|Categories:||Gadgets | Consumer Electronics|


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The new anti-fraud law no 16 / 2016 announced this week is an important affirmation of the UAE’s determination to maintain the high standards of public trust in the honesty of any commercial transaction that is essential for any modern economy. It is incumbent on the government to enforce a process that allows buyers to know what they are buying and if they are fooled then they have the right to seek redress as well as to take the criminals to court. And any such fraud covered by the law is not restricted to goods only, because the new law makes a welcome advance by making it clear that it also covers fraud in contractual jobs and services. Such a distinction is important in the UAE as the sectors of the knowledge economy expand and become an increasingly important part of the planned diverse and sustainable economy in the UAE.
The new law takes a significant step forward in combatting fraud by increasing the penalties to be more fitting to the present age. But more importantly, the law also enhances legal protection over a wider range of activities that have grown in importance since the first Commercial Fraud Law was drafted in 1979, as it has enhanced the protection for intellectual property rights, including brand owners. In addition, the new law to combat counterfeit and commercial fraud has taken particularly stern measures on any fraud to do with food or pharmaceuticals, where public health and safety are at risk, by reserving the maximum penalties for offenders in these sectors. It is also a significant advance in the law that it makes it a crime to promote any fraudulent or deceitful products through any media.
The enforcement of the new law will be backed by a federal committee to combat commercial fraud, with the authority to close down offending businesses, including any that might be in one of the U.A.E’s many free zones. The legal clarity that the new law applies to both onshore and offshore businesses is important and it will stop any confusion that may have existed in the past and allows any person or business that feels defrauded to enforce action against the offending party, wherever they maybe in the U.A.E. The federal committee will also set up sub-committees in the various emirates with powers to close down businesses and instigate a variety of penalties, as well as referring cases to courts.
We are among best criminal law firms in U.A.E & Egypt in applying anti-fraud law, money laundry, anti drugs, anti-human trafficking law, and our results are our witness, Just call 00971503159583


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Micro delivery (aka milktech :-)) space has been talk of the town ever since Swiggy acquired Suprdaily in all-cash deal and BigBasket trigger consolidation by acquihiring smaller startups. Following the interest of deep-pocketed players, early evangelist – Milkbasket has been on a lookout to grab a larger round (beyond $30 million).
While the Gurugram-based firm is yet to win a larger cheque, it just announced $10.5 million fresh fund infusion from existing backers – Unilever, Mayfield Partners, Kalaari Capital and Blume Ventures including several family offices.
The faith of existing backers in Milkbasket comes at a time when it’s facing heightened competition from well-capitalised firms. “This funding – our largest fund infusion till date – is a testament to our robust execution, the team and continued trust of our investors in the growth of Milkbasket,” said Anant Goel, Co-founder and CEO Milkbasket to BusinessLine via PTI.
Last December, the company raised $7 million Series A round led by Mayfield Advisors. Two months ago, Milkbasked had cornered Rs 20 crore debt from Sachin Bansal’s BACQ.
So far, Milkbasket has raised around $25.5 million total risk capital across three institutional rounds. Apart from milk delivery, the startup enables customers to order from a selection of grocery items and daily essentials that get delivered to their doorstep using its own fleet every morning.
According to the company and RoC filings, the company is growing at 7X and closed FY18 with Rs 35 crore in revenue. With 400,000 plus customer base, Milkbasket claimed to deliver over 10 million orders in the last 4 years.
On average, Milkbasket claims to receive 20 orders per customer in a month that reflects the stickiness and loyalty factor of the online milk and daily essential delivery segment. It claims 70% revenue from non-milk items.
This is a much-needed round for Milkbasket that had forayed into Bengaluru and Hyderabad, Noida and parts of Delhi. While it competes with BBdaily everywhere, Dailninja and Suprdaily are core competitors for Milbasket in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.


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Latest Motorcycle Stories
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Allstate Insurance is sponsoring Nate Hudson's ride as he visits all 50 state capitals and logs more than 17,000 miles to generate awareness for motorcycle safety. NORTHBROOK, Ill.,
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The Motorcycle Helmet Laws App, Created by Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C., Motorcycle Accident Attorneys Allows Riders To Access Important Helmet Law Information for Bike Trips Across U.S., Canada,
SPRINGFIELD, N.J., April 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- With a fresh start to the spring, May 1(st) officially kicks off Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, an initiative supported by the National
Diluted EPS, Net Income Improve Year-Over-Year MILWAUKEE, April 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Harley-Davidson, Inc.
Personal injury lawyer, Matt Powell (mattlaw.com), pens a guide to motorcycle accident procedures. Tampa, FL (PRWEB) April 20, 2015 Attorney Matt Powell,
- A young chicken: also used as a pet name for children.


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Troops will be receiving a little extra holiday cheer this Christmas, thanks to a gardening store in Fairview.
Plantscape Greenhouses will once again be sending thousands of Christmas cards to soldiers and troops around the world.
More than 43,000 cards have been sent to troops since 2011.
To keep the tradition going—plantscape is asking you to send a card. All you have to do is write a personal note with words of affirmation and drop it off at Plantscape Greenhouses in Fairview.
Claudia Urda, Owner of Plantscape Greenhouses, says troops look forward to the cards every year.
“We want them to feel loved and thought of and we wanted them to know how much we appreciate them for the sacrifices they make to keep us safe,” said Claudia Urda, Owner, Plantscape Greenhouses.
The last day to drop off your cards will be on December 1st.


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Natural Provisions to open on Harvest Lane
By Greg Elias
With poisoned pet food and tainted meat making headlines, it seems an especially good time to open a health food store. Mark Grenier is certainly bullish on the business.
Grenier, who operates the Natural Provisions health food store in St. Johnsbury, plans to open a second outlet in Williston. It will be located at 329 Harvest Lane, in the building that formerly housed Boise Cascade, an office supply company.
Grenier said he has seen sales steadily increase since he purchased the St. Johnsbury store three years ago.
“It’s getting bigger and bigger,” Grenier said. “And people are tending to eat healthier.”
So Grenier recently began looking to open another outlet in Chittenden County. He ruled out Burlington, and South Burlington, which each have stores – City Market and Healthy Living, respectively – that offer health foods.
Williston seemed far enough away from those stores yet central for many area residents. The location he found a short distance from Wal-Mart and other large retailers seemed ideal.
“Williston is an attractive area of course, with all those big-box stores,” he said.
The store will occupy 10,000 square feet on the ground floor of the sprawling Boise Cascade building. Though it will have a fraction of the space of a conventional grocery store, Natural Provisions will offer most of the types of products available at such stores, Grenier said.
He said he will squeeze many different types of items in the smaller space by limiting the number of brands of each product.
The store will have a selection of organic products such as vegetables, fruit, coffee and spices. Meat and fish will be offered. The inventory will include vitamins and nutritional supplements as well as wine and beer.
Grenier said he will carry well-known natural food brands such as Desert Essence, Nature’s Plus and Newman’s Own. He will also offer Vermont-made New Chapter vitamins.
Natural Provisions will have a small cafe that will have coffee, snacks and deli items. Grenier said he also hopes to offer a juice bar.
Organic and natural foods are increasingly available, not just in natural foods stores but also in farmers’ markets and conventional grocery stores.
In Williston, a pair of farmers’ markets are scheduled to open for their inaugural seasons in July. And both the Hannaford and Shaw’s grocery store chains have greatly expanded their organic offerings.
Hannaford announced this week that it had won recognition as a certified organic retailer. The grocery chain said the store now stocks more than 3,500 organic and natural products.
Grenier said he is currently working with a company to fit up the Harvest Lane store. He said Natural Provisions is scheduled to open in August.


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SongPop developer FreshPlanet has released its newest game on iOS: BoxPop. The company’s newest ‘pop’ game is a puzzle title that asks players to pop boxes in L-shaped paths. Inspired by the movement of a knight on a chessboard, each level challenges players to remove every individual square from a shape on the board, one L-shaped jump at a time.
Bandai Namco Games has released Pac-Man Friends on Android and iOS devices, introducing a new action puzzle game to fans of the franchise. In Pac-Man Friends, players complete levels by guiding Pac-Man through 95 mazes, using one of two control schemes (tilt or touch). Along the way, players rescue eight of Pac-Man’s friends, each with their own skills.
DeNA has announced the launch of Pirate Bash on iOS and Android devices. Developed in partnership with Kung Fu Factory, the game offers a “full 3D adventure” set on the high seas, as players build a crew and take to battle against other pirates, including other real-world players.
GREE, Ubisoft and PlayNext have launched Assassin’s Creed Memories on iOS devices. The game mixes card battle with RPG and strategy elements, as users collect and interact with characters from the Assassin’s Creed universe, and will level-up over time by completing missions. Cards come in three categories, for weapons, armor and allies, with allies having special abilities while in combat.
Last July, DeNA launched Super Battle Tactics on iOS and Android devices. The tank battle game throws players into a television show on Tank TV, and asks them to annihilate their competition for the sake of ratings. During battle, each user’s team of tanks is represented by action bars and attack values. On each round, the tanks spin for a random number, and like a roll of the dice, this determines the amount of damage they’ll do to an enemy unit.
Disney Interactive and Lucasfilm have today announced the launch of Star Wars: Commander on iOS devices. The base-building combat game sees players traveling to Tatooine, where they’ll create a base and join either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire. The choice impacts the characters and military units players will have access to, as well as the game’s storyline and overall goal.
Foodmento has announced the release of its mobile app on iOS devices, which aims to give users a one-stop-shop for organizing, discovering and sharing the best dishes around, while also connecting people with similar tastes. Using Foodmento, users can search for and recommend dishes around the world, or stick close to home via location tracking. Each restaurant has its own information page, while each dish can be rated, added to lists, and so on.
Toronto-based Lucky Mask Games has announced the release of its first game on iOS devices: Fishy Feathers. The game follows Larry the Bird on a quest to move up the food chain after the Earth is flooded. To do so, Larry will need to eat fish in order to grow larger, while avoiding larger fish that wish to eat him.
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EU rules that will ban powerful vacuum cleaners in the UK will come into force on Friday
It is predicted that buyers will want to snap up more powerful models before the legislation kicks in. Imports of machines which operate at more than 900 watts will be stopped from Friday.
It is the second blow in a round of regulations brought in three years ago to curb household energy use.
Initial legislation slashed 2,000 watt motors to 1,600 watts, with the latest drop set to render the motors of some weaker than those of food blenders.
Retailers have stocked up on powerful machines ahead of the ban.
Currys PC World spokesman Freddie Dare said: “When the legislation first came into effect in 2014, we saw a sudden rush of customers coming in to pick up a powerful vacuum cleaner.
“We’re predicting a similar demand in the lead up to the legislation coming into effect on Friday.”
It is predicted users will want to snap up models before the legislation comes into force
This is of course absolutely bonkers and has nothing to do with energy, climate or saving the planet
Popular models used in millions of homes will have a considerably reduced ability to suck up dirt.
Britain will fare worse than most of our European neighbours as carpets are more common here.
There is even a potential health risk as lower powered cleaners will struggle to pick up allergy-provoking dust.
Similar Brussels diktats over the years have contributed to huge support for the Daily Express crusade to get Britain out of the EU.
Ukip energy spokesman and MEP Roger Helmer said Britain must fight to break free of European regulations after Brexit.
He said: “By all means let’s make pathetic under-powered vacuum cleaners for export to the EU.
“But we must retain the right to make and use sensible full-powered appliances in the UK. This shows why we must not agree to be bound by EU rules after Brexit.”
Dr Benny Peiser, of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, said the move will simply force people to use less-efficient machines for longer.
Retailers have stocked up on powerful machines ahead of the ban
He said: “This is of course absolutely bonkers and has nothing to do with energy, climate or saving the planet.
“I suspect it has more to do with businesses in Europe wanting to compete with successful industry in Britain. All that will happen is appliances will be less efficient and people will have to use them for longer.”
The rules apply to upright and cylinder vacuum cleaners.
Other “wasteful” gadgets which have become the target of EU energy saving regulations include kettles, toasters and washing machines.
Jayne Adye, director of Get Britain Out, said post-Brexit the UK will have the power to ditch EU regulations once out of the single market.
However she highlighted the ongoing blight of nonsense Brussels legislation on the lives of UK citizens.
She said: “This is yet another reminder of the negative impact of the EU in our daily lives. “Restricting the wattage of vacuum cleaners only serves to make vacuuming more arduous and time-consuming.
“This bizarre war on the best vacuum cleaners shows why it is so important Brexit means leaving the EU’s Single Market.
“Once we are outside the EU, and outside the Single Market, we will be able to repeal these pointless regulations, and replace them with common-sense rules.”


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5 major announcements made by Nitin Gadkari after taking charge as MSME Minister
Two months into Nitin Gadkari's tenure as MSME Minister, the BJP veteran has announced a series of measures which could go a long way in galvanising the MSME sector.
After the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won the General Elections 2019, BJP veteran Nitin Gadkari took charge of the Ministry of Small, Micro, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He also retained charge of the Ministry of Road Transports and Highways.
In early June 2019, just a few days after, Gadkari said he would work with full strength to increase job opportunities in the MSME sector.
This [MSME] portfolio is associated with the most important issue - the country's growth rate and employment potential. And it is the PM's expectation that employment should increase from this sector, which is very low now, and there should be creation of employment".
And over the next few weeks, Gadkari announced a series of measures for MSMEs which could go a long way in galvanising the sector.
Here are some of Gadkari's major announcements since he became the Union Minister for MSME:
50 percent GDP contribution from MSMEs
Gadkari has frequently said his mission is to raise the contribution of MSME sector to the country's GDP to 50 percent from the present 29 percent, and ensure that it give employment to at least 15 crore people against the 11.1 crore at present.
His first step is increasing the number of MSMEs in India on a sustainable basis through various schemes and programmes.
To do this, Gadkari said the ministry is providing better credit facility, technology upgradation, and skilling to boost the entire MSME ecosystem in India.
He also said that there is an urgent need to encourage research and innovation in the sector, collaborate with global entities to bring in the latest technology and best practices, and also promote marketing. For this, he has proposed creating a new website where people can post new ideas, suggestions, and innovations.
Ecommerce portal for MSMEs
Nitin Gadkari has also been talking about starting an ecommerce portal for MSMEs and the Khadi industry-one that is inspired by Alibaba from China and Amazon from the US.
Set to be launched in a month, the government portal is meant for selling products manufactured by small industries. Citing an example, he said that through this portal, even a beekeeper can sell his/her product to any part of the world.
Gadkari also expressed confidence that it will generate a turnover of Rs 10 lakh crore in two years after its launch.
“It will provide a good opportunity to the MSME sector which contributes significantly in job generation and promoting growth of the country,” Gadkari said.
"For this portal, we have also talked to GeM (Government e-Market place) and I have also discussed with Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry Minister)," Gadkari added.
Import-substitute policies and products
The minister has also publicly said that the MSME sector offers huge potential and the government is ready to come out with special policies to promote import-substitute products.
In this context, Gadkari said, "One of the most important things is that we have to raise the employment potential and it is my priority, both in rural and urban areas.”
"There are a lot of products in MSMEs. My suggestion is to identify import-substitute products and then, we can make special policies. This will reduce imports," he said.
This is in keeping with his announcement that the MSME Ministry will work alongside the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in looking at the possibility for MSMEs to locally manufacture goods which are currently being imported by India.
No ban on entry of corporates in MSME sector
Nitin Gadkari in June announced that the ban on entry of corporates and private players in the MSME sector has been lifted to pave way for the formation of 700 clusters in order to reduce dependence on imports as well as for job creation.
He also urged Indian industry to join hands in bringing innovative ways of financing, adding that there was no "trust deficit" between industry and the government, which has been constantly doing away with "red-tapism".
Additionally, the MSME Ministry is planning to set up enterprise facilitation centres across the country to make MSMEs more competitive and help them integrate with big enterprises.
These centres are planned to be set up at block levels, and will help disseminate information to micro and small enterprises and detect issues faced by them.
MSME employment scheme for SC/ST groups and tribes
In early July, Gadkari announced that a new scheme is being worked out to encourage employment generation by MSMEs in the country, with special focus on scheduled castes and tribes. He added that the "policy will come within a month."
The credit limits of World Bank and Asian Development Bank will be used to provide loans to SMEs, which would help provide employment opportunities to the poor.
"The government was evolving such a scheme that would lay emphasis on creating more employment opportunities, with special focus on scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Emphasis will also be laid on tribals and rural agriculture related activities," Gadkari said.
More honey production by MSMEs to boost job creation in rural and tribal areas, says Nitin Gadk...


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Hotel Communication Network
The most impactful innovation in guestroom technology is now rolling into the US. HCN is now installing tablets into 20,000 rooms in 3 major US markets!
HCN is establishing an e-commerce platform in the travel industry through the installation of tablet computers into hotel rooms with an innovative monetization strategy, lowering the cost to the hotelier, allowing HCN to capture the industry's top properties. HCN's industry-wide rollout is now underway, establishing a transaction platform and network, first used in the room, then taken onto the guest's mobile. "Win the Guestroom, Win the Guest'!


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Does your social media policy violate labor laws?
Jonathan Sweet, Editor-in-Chief
January 22, 2013
Filed under Jonathan Sweet
One of the most important things you can do for your business is have a social media policy in place. It should govern who can speak for the company through official social media profiles, what employees can say on those official channels and who approves content.
(Check out this gallery of the worst company tweets of 2012 for some particularly egregious examples of bad business tweets.)
On the other hand, recent rulings from the National Labor Relations Board severely limit a company’s ability to regulate what employees say when they’re off the clock using personal social media accounts – even if it affects your company.
In the precedent-setting ruling in December, the NLRB ordered the reinstatement of five employees fired by a Buffalo nonprofit. The agency had fired the employees had after they posted comments about another employee, citing its anti-harassment policies. The NLRB, though, said the communication was protected speech.
From the Riverside, Calif., Press-Enterprise:
The 3-1 decision by the labor board is probably going to be used as a legal precedent for similar cases in the future. The board has issued opinions in other cases where social media came into play, but in this the board specifically pointed to workers’ protections.
“This is the first one where they decided a firing was illegal,” labor board spokesperson Nancy Cleeland said. “This will be the one people cite when they claim they were illegally fired.”


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ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS.MW) – The summer is the worst possible time to visit Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and yet Americans by the millions make that pilgrimage.
"Historically, our number one guest dissatisfier is lines."
Popular rides can bring waits of up to an hour long in the peak season. Even the fantasies conjured by "pre-show" exhibits for line dwellers can't eliminate the reality of extended periods of tedium.
Anyone who visited the country’s premier entertainment parks in recent weeks endured the perpetual problem that Disney (DIS) recognizes and struggles to remedy. "Historically, our number one guest dissatisfier is lines," said Walt Disney World publicist David Herbst.
But shorter lines are right around the corner as theme parks move into their off-seasons after Labor Day, affording consumers the chance to squeeze more bang from their entertainment bucks, experts say.
And while the parks’ ticket prices remain the same year-round -- now $41 a day in Anaheim and $46 in Orlando for those10 and older --the slow periods coincide with some of the cheapest times of the year to book airline tickets and hotel reservations.
Going to the parks early in the day, midweek instead of weekends, and during the slower months can increase the number of attractions people can see, though it can come at the price of entertainment shows offered during extended summer hours. A new computerized reservation system known as Fast Pass is helping consumers manage their Disney days more efficiently.
When and how
"In terms of attendance, the best time to go anywhere in Florida is the fourth quarter," said Ed Perkins, a consumer advocate for the American Society of Travel Agents in Ashland, Ore, noting that October, November and the first two weeks of December are optimal.
"Sunday is always half the attendance of Saturday, and the Sundays after a holiday are the absolute slowest."
"You're going to do better in price and in terms of less crowds than at any other time of the year."
For its part, Disney is no help about when consumers might best arrange scant vacation time to visit on the slowest traffic days of the year. Herbst declined to disclose attendance data, though he pointed to data in "Birnbaum's Walt Disney World" that says the first week after Labor Day through Thanksgiving, the week after Thanksgiving through Christmas, and the second week of January through the first week of February are the lightest days in terms of crowds.
While Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida differ in their off-seasons, some general rules apply to both places, experts say.
- When possible, go during the week instead of the weekends. At Disneyland, the highest traffic days bring in 70,000 to 80,000 people, with 50,000 to 60,000 typical for peak summer months, according to Al Lutz, vice president of content for Mouseplanet.com, a family vacation planning resource. Busy weekends the rest of the year, however, draw a mere 30,000 to 40,000 visitors. Officials at Disneyland would neither confirm nor deny these numbers.
- If you must go on a weekend, go on Sunday, Lutz said. "Sunday is always half the attendance of Saturday, and the Sundays after a holiday are the absolute slowest."
- Go early. If you arrive when the gates open, you can get a couple of rides in before the crowd starts to appear later in the morning.
- Leave early afternoon and return around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. to avoid the busiest time of day. This strategy is particularly useful in peak season when it's hot and guests can swim and rest up at a local motel for the Disney nightlife, Smith said.
- Understand the trade-offs and ask whether a favorite attraction will be open if you go in the off-season. In months with shorter open hours and less crowds, "you'll find less live entertainment, no fireworks, and no night-time parade," said Mouseplanet columnist Michelle Smith, a self-described “Disney dweeb.” Some rides also are closed for maintenance for a week or two at a time.
- Ask about special promotions. Since Disney is trying to spread its attendance evenly, it often offers special discounts to targeted groups in its slower times, Lutz said.
- Use the Fast Pass for attractions with long waits. The kiosks allow consumers to pop in their park entry tickets and receive a free ticket that allows them to go to the front of the line at anytime within a one-hour window. Fast Pass is available on six of Disneyland's 60 attractions and 16 of Walt Disney World's more than 100 rides.
"People who are using Fast Pass are seeing 20 to 25 percent more attractions a day, they're staying in the parks longer, … and they're rating the quality of the experience higher," Herbst said.
While there's no guarantee that the line for the Fast Pass will be consistently speedy, "the goal of the program is that people will be entering the pre-show within five to seven minutes," he said.
Freeing people up to move about the park -- and spend money on concessions -- is a win-win situation, Perkins said. "Consumers don't have to wait and ultimately people spend more so everybody's happy."
- Get the lay of the land with a map and make a game plan. Disney is one of the leaders in promoting good “guest circulation,” the navigation systems that help people save time by locating bathrooms, rides, and other needs inside the park, said Wayne Hunt, principal of Hunt Design, a Pasadena-based environmental graphic design firm that's worked on such public spaces as Walt Disney World and the Mall of America.
"Theme parks have the highest percentage of posted communication with visitors than any environment because they have so many choices and so many rules," Hunt said. "A map gets you oriented, but signage gets you around."
Disneyland has hosted 400 million guests since its opening 45 years ago, while Disney World has drawn about 700 million visitors since its inception in 1971.
Although close-mouthed about the slowest days of the year, Disney officials have a vested interest in reducing the time consumers spend in line.
"If they have a positive experience, they'll tell their friends and they'll come back, too," Hunt said.


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Civil rights groups are calling on Amazon to permanently ban use of its facial recognition software, as an approaching deadline looms on the future of the technology.
In an open letter addressed to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and incoming CEO Andy Jassy, 44 civil rights groups pointed to ongoing instances of police violence against the Black community as evidence that Amazon should stop selling facial recognition technology to law enforcement. “As a company, Amazon has a choice to make: Will you continue to profit from selling surveillance technology to law enforcement? Or will you stand for Black lives and divest from giving law enforcement these harmful tools?” said the letter, which was published Monday.
After national protests that followed the death of George Floyd last year, Amazon followed Microsoft and IBM in stopping the sale of its facial recognition technology to law enforcement. However, unlike IBM, which abandoned its program, and Microsoft, which indefinitely suspended police use of its facial recognition until a federal law is introduced, Amazon opted to impose a one-year ban to “give Congress enough time to implement appropriate rules” to govern the use of the technology.
While some cities have imposed bans on facial recognition technology being used by police departments, the technology isn’t regulated by federal authorities. Amazon has yet to say whether it will continue its moratorium after it expires next month, or lift the ban and sell the technology to law enforcement.
“They did share that they are committed to standing with the Black community and standing for racial justice,” says Jennifer Lee, technology and liberty project manager at the ACLU in Washington State, where Amazon is headquartered. “If they’re going to do that they need to permanently divest from selling facial recognition technology and cease involvement with police and law enforcement.”
Amazon didn’t respond to requests for comment. However, the Seattle-based giant is pushing against shareholder calls for more transparency around the use of its facial recognition software, called Rekognition.
Ahead of the company’s annual general meeting on May 26, one shareholder proposal is calling for an independent third-party audit on the risks linked with government use of Rekognition, citing calls of more than 70 civil rights organizations to stop selling the technology, who said it contributed to “government surveillance infrastructure.” Another shareholder proposal is calling for an independent report on how Amazon conducts due diligence on its customers, including law enforcement agencies that use Rekognition.
In a proxy memo filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Amazon said that it has “conscientiously acted to review and address the concerns expressed in the proposal and transparently provided information regarding our actions to the public” and that it is actively engaged in policy debates around facial recognition regulation.
Amazon introduced Rekognition, a cloud-based technology that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify people and objects in photos and video, in 2016. But the technology became a lightning rod for civil rights groups and anti-surveillance advocates after researchers at MIT found it identified gender of certain ethnicities less accurately than similar products made by Microsoft and IBM.
(Amazon said the MIT findings were “misleading and drawing on false conclusions” and asserted that its own tests had found no such inaccuracies.) After it was revealed the company pitched the software to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, hundreds of Amazon employees sent an internal letter to CEO Jeff Bezos stating that they “refuse to contribute to tools that violate human rights.”
The heightened awareness around racial equality and concerns about police surveillance are making such shareholder proposals harder to ignore for institutional investors. Glass Lewis, a proxy advisory firm, issued a report last week recommending investors vote in favor of both shareholder proposals about Rekognition, given the previous controversies linked to the software, and the fact that no federal regulations appear set to pass before the moratorium passes.
“We have to draft these proposals in a way to get them on the ballot, so we go with a softer approach,” says Brianna Harrington, shareholder Advocacy Coordinator at Harrington Investments, which is bringing the proposal calling for an audit of risks linked to government use of Rekognition. “In a perfect world they’d stop selling the technology.”
I’m a staff reporter at Forbes covering tech companies. I previously reported for The Real Deal, where I covered WeWork, real estate tech startups and commercial real estate. As a freelancer, I’ve also written for The New York Times, Associated Press and other outlets. I’m a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, where I was a Toni Stabile Investigative Fellow. Before arriving in the U.S., I was a police reporter in Australia. Follow me on Twitter at @davidjeans2 and email me at email@example.com
In July 2018, the A.C.L.U. ran a study that it said matched the headshots of 28 members of Congress to mugshots of known criminals. A secondary test performed by the M.I.T. Media Lab in January 2019 and reported by The New York Times found that Recognition had a hard time identifying female faces and the faces of dark-skinned individuals. Representatives from Amazon, however, pushed back against those claims, saying both the A.C.L.U. and M.I.T. Media Lab studies didn’t use the Recognition technology properly.
The company also issued a lengthy response statement on how it uses Recognition. Lawmakers and other tech companies, though, are calling for greater oversight over the technology. The response to facial recognition Ahead of Amazon’s shareholders meeting, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to ban the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement groups, while Massachusetts currently has a bill seeking to put a moratorium on the tech in committee.
Microsoft (MSFT) President Brad Smith has said that his company rejected the sale of its own facial recognition technology to a police department out of fear that it would disproportionately impact women and minorities. Smith said that the technology had primarily been trained with white males, and, as a result, wouldn’t have been accurate. The company also denied the sale of its tech to a foreign country. Google (GOOG, GOOGL), meanwhile, has chosen not to sell its technology at all. For more on Yahoo Finance’s and Dan Howley’s coverage of this story please click: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon…


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If you have plans to drop by your local hobby shop on Friday, be prepared to participate in or witness something of a wrapper-ripping frenzy. Indeed, with both 2019 Elements Football and 2018-19 Opulence Basketball releasing on Friday in conjunction with 2019 Donruss Optic Baseball dropping today, there promises to be lots to like in the way of new Panini America releases.
We offered a revealing Quality Control Gallery on Elements Football earlier today and we showcased Donruss Optic Baseball earlier this week. Now, we turn our previewing attention to the high-end Opulence Basketball. On average, most hobby boxes (eight cards per box, three boxes per case) will deliver either seven autographs or six autographs and a memorabilia booklet.
While the nastiest of the memorabilia booklets (including the epic NBA Finals Booklets) promise to command the collective attention of collectors, there are also Team USA Jersey Autographs that featured game-worn USA Basketball jerseys. To be sure, 2018-19 Opulence Basketball is a thrill ride of a release featuring rich autograph content devoted to the game’s hottest rookies, biggest vets and greatest legends.
The Quality Control Gallery that follows details just some of the goodness in store. Enjoy the preview and stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for continued coverage.


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Chrysler recalls 14,800 2013 Dodge Darts
Updated On: Jun 12 2013 06:21:15 AM EDT
Chrysler Group is recalling 14,800 2013 Dodge Darts due to a potential stalling issue.
The recall was prompted by internal testing that found a Dart that had been parked in a 20 degree F chamber for eight hours stalled moments after it was started up. Dealers reported similar incidents to the company. As a result, Chrysler plans to recalibrate affected cars' powertrain control modules at no cost to customers, according to a Chrysler press release.
The recall includes 2013 Dodge Dart models equipped with a 1.4-liter engine and a dual-clutch transmission.
Customers with questions can call 1-800-853-1403.
Troopers: Elderly driver hits 3 children at bus stop
PCSO: Grandma killed toddler with oxycodone in sippy cup
Car believed to be involved in fatal hit-and-run identified, police say
SCDNR: Clemson DUI attorney arrested on boating while intoxicated charge
Teacher facing child porn charges located, in custody


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Tulalip Resort chefs prepared to dazzle at wine auction
- Glenn Drosendahl
- Contributing Writer
Those chefs—easy to spot by their black coats — are from Tulalip Resort, a tribally owned hotel and casino complex about 25 miles north of Seattle, and you’re likely to be seeing them at more area events in the future. They represent a growing food and beverage juggernaut.
Tulalip Resort has five restaurants and roughly 675 food and beverage workers. Executive chef Perry Mascitti has a kitchen staff of nearly 150. Pastry chef Nikol Nakamura by herself has 11 assistant chefs.
They are planning quite a show at the Wines of Washington picnic and barrel auction. Tulalip Resort will have five tents showcasing different chefs. One tent, nearly 1,000 square feet, will house the Adult Sugar Ride, an elaborate Willy Wonka-themed dessert extravaganza.
“It’s whimsical, it’s fun, it’s chocolate. It’s just amazingly sweet,” said Lisa Severn, Tulalip’s director of food and beverage.
It’s also a big stage to show off the resort’s powerhouse potential.
A fundraiser for Seattle Children’s, the Wines of Washington Auction involves 25 vintners and is expected to draw about 1,000 wine growers and distributors, restaurateurs, chefs, sommeliers and consumers ranging from social drinkers to serious collectors. It includes a gala dinner under the banquet tent with Mascitti doing the entrée.
Wines of Washington executive director Sherri Swingle gives high grades to the Tulalip crew, based on its performance at last year’s event.
“They’re quite phenomenal,” she said. “Their food is exceptional. Their commitment is phenomenal.”
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Posted on March 11, 2013 10:30:45 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
PROPERTY DEVELOPER Robinsons Land Corp. expects to increase its leasing portfolio to over one million square meters by yearend after opening four new provincial malls worth a total of P6 billion in the fourth quarter, the company said in a statement yesterday.
Robinsons Place Isabela in Santiago City, Isabela will open in October, while Robinsons Place Roxas in Roxas City, Capiz will open in November, the statement said, adding that Robinsons Place Butuan in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte and Robinsons Place Malolos in Malolos City, Bulacan will both open in December.
All in all, the four new malls will bring the firm’s network to 36 establishments and add approximately 102,500 square meters to the company’s gross leasable area (GLA) to accommodate over 780 new tenants.
In comparison, Robinsons Land opened three malls in 2012 (Robinsons Place Pangasinan, Robinsons Place Palawan, and Robinsons Place Magnolia), redeveloped Robinsons Metro East, and expanded Robinsons Place Bacolod and Robinsons Place Tacloban.
“We have a ‘first-mover advantage’ as the markets there have growing consumer markets and have been underserved for years. Business growth is also strong there,” Frederick D. Go, Robinsons Land president and chief executive officer, said during the malls’ launch at Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Quezon City yesterday, citing the new malls’ strategic locations.
Mr. Go told reporters on the launch’s sidelines that the four malls are expected to cost “at least P6 billion” and will push the company’s total leasable area to “over one million square meters.”
The company’s Commercial Centers Division, which handles malls, contributed P1.8 billion or 48% of Robinsons Land’s revenues in the first quarter ending December of its October-September fiscal year.
Incorporated in 1980, Robinsons Land is the property arm of listed conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, Inc.
As of end-September last year, the company had 32 shopping malls, 34 residential projects, eight office buildings, and nine hotels.
Robinsons Land and its subsidiaries are engaged in the business of selling, acquiring, building, developing, leasing and disposing of real properties such as land, buildings, shopping malls, commercial centers and housing projects, hotels and mixed-used property projects.
The company earned P1.189 billion in net income in the first quarter of its fiscal year ending September, up 3.12% from P1.153 billion in the same three months in 2011 on the back of improved revenues across business segments.
In the same comparative periods, revenues -- consisting of real estate and hotel operations -- climbed by 9.75% to P3.726 billion from P3.395 billion, while costs expanded by 10.61% to P1.783 billion from P1.612 billion.
Shares of Robinsons Land lost five centavos or 0.20% to close at P24.35 apiece yesterday from P24.40 on Friday last week. -- F. J. G. de la Fuente