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You knew it was coming. But any news about Mass Effect 3 is good news. Earlier this morning a listing on Electronic Arts online store confirmed that the final chapter for the trilogy will be coming out for the PlayStation 3.
The official description in the listing for Mass Effect 3 revealed some details about the plot of the title, reports CVG. The description says, "Earth is burning. Striking from beyond known space, a race of terrifying machines have begun their destruction of the human race. As Commander Shepard, an Alliance Marine, your only hope for saving mankind is to rally the civilizations of the galaxy and launch one final mission to take back the Earth."
The listing has been removed, but a picture is worth a thousand words – and the debut trailer for Mass Effect 3 is worth about a million. Check it out.
Dec 11, 2010


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The Automotive Restoration Market Organization is hosting its annual industry awards reception at the 2016 SEMA Show. The council will recognize top companies and individuals in the automotive restoration industry for their outstanding accomplishments. In addition to the awards ceremony, the reception provides the perfect atmosphere for networking with fellow restoration professionals. Enjoy food and beverages while mingling with industry friends and members of the select committee.
The reception will be held on Tuesday, November 1 from 5:15pm-7:30pm in the Westgate Conference Rooms 7-14.

domain: news


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Last spring, while the world was forced to shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic chaos, new self-care concept, Hydra Studios took that pause as a positive sign to regroup and rethink their soon-to-launch wellness studio. Everything, from their operations, gym, fit-out and exercise concept had been redesigned to align with a new post-pandemic world.
Founded by former Goldman Sachs colleagues Marie Kloor and Dan Nielsen, the concept for Hydra Studios was inspired by Kloor’s use of the firm’s upscale gym locker room as a “second home base, a hub between my work, social, and fitness lives.” Recognizing that access to these types of amenities was generally limited to employees of large companies, she saw an opportunity to create a new platform for a broader client base.
The new space seamlessly combines the highest standards of luxury and cleanliness, featuring private suites or pods that clients can reserve for fitness — including the likes of Peloton, MIRROR workout system, TRX, mats and light weights — meditation, or simply a quiet place to recharge. Each pod is cleaned before and after each session and outfitted with HEPA air filters; since the redesign, the wellness studio has a newly upgraded hospital-grade ventilation system and antimicrobial surfaces, with common area touchpoints eliminated where possible.
In doing so, we aimed to set a new industry standard for fitness and wellness post-COVID said Hydra Studios co-founder Marie Kloor, who serves as the company’s CEO
Step inside their well-appointed locker rooms and you’ll be immediately met with feel-good features such as rainfall showers, steam rooms, infrared sauna, vanity stations, and highly coveted products from their brand partners such as Brooklinen, Verb, Blind Barber, beauty brand Malin + Goetz, Way of Will, and Seed. Whilst outside the studio’s experiential retail area offers a vast selection of predominantly sustainable products from female-founded companies.
However, for those who are still a little cautious in stepping outside — we don’t blame you, Hydra Studio also offers a vast library of on-demand custom classes that are led by renowned world-class trainers. You can stream their classes straight to your device in the comfort of your own home.
Whilst the 2021 horizon does look set to become a promising year, it’s comforting to know that businesses like these are making the safety and wellbeing of their customers their No. 1 priority — and we can’t thank them enough for pivoting in such a fickle and volatile market. So with that in mind, I think it’s safe to say that this new fitness concept just may be the way of the future!


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AT&T has had a mixed bag of successes. And this leaves me wondering if whether or not they ought to be entering the set top market in this latest fashion…
NEW YORK – AT&T Inc. is launching a satellite TV set-top box Wednesday that also connects to the Internet for movie downloads, reinforcing the phone company’s push into video services.
The box, called AT&T Homezone, will be initially available in Ohio and San Antonio to new customers of the cobranded AT&T-Dish Network satellite TV service. It will cost $9.99 a month in addition to Internet and satellite service fees.
AT&T plans to expand the service area in coming months, positioning Homezone as an alternative for those who can’t yet receive its premier service, U-Verse, which transmits video over phone lines.
AT&T launched U-Verse service in parts of San Antonio, where the company is based, earlier this summer. It is upgrading its infrastructure to provide the service elsewhere.
Homezone connects to a television set and a separate Internet gateway with a modem for Internet access via DSL, or digital subscriber line.
The box contains a
TiVo-like digital video recorder, or DVR, that records the satellite TV signal on a hard drive. Recordings also can be scheduled remotely via a Web site…. Source: AP


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Cheshire-based LoveRaw is expanding its popular Buttercups range to meet popular demand.
The independent company say they have enjoyed huge success since launching its pioneering ‘healthy chocolate’ products late last year.
Billed as ‘good for you, good for the planet’, Buttercups are packed with the kind of uncomplicated and sustainably-sourced ingredients modern consumers demand.
The vegan, palm oil and refined sugar-free treats are already available to buy online, in Boots and in Wholefoods and as of this month are appearing on the shelves in Waitrose and Holland & Barrett.
A new, vegan Cookie Dough flavour has just been unveiled and added to the existing Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter and Hazelnut butter options.
Interestingly, Buttercups aren’t being sold as a specialist product – they’re a mainstream snack that just happens to be healthy.
As CEO Rimi Thapar, explains, the company is proud to be leading the way when it comes to creating a new, market-leading ‘healthy’ chocolate brand: “We are delighted that Buttercups have become such a success. We have almost tripled monthly revenue since launching Buttercups and have been selling out online and in shops.
“We pride ourselves on creating original products our customers love – and food that redefines the market.
“We are confident that our new flavour will be our best yet in terms of sales.
“So many other food products have enjoyed a Millennial-inspired makeover – think craft beer and gin – now it’s chocolate’s turn.
“We want to show people that you can still have your treat or afternoon snack, that convenience and indulgence is very much there, but you don’t have to compromise your preferences or beliefs to do it.”


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In a world where technology and health are converging, Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of fitness technology, is on a mission to make fitness accessible and inclusive for everyone. Blahnik and his team are reimagining the way people approach health and wellness, whether at home or in the gym, with a focus on both hardware and software.
Apple’s Fitness+: A beacon of inclusivity
Launched to cater to a wide range of fitness levels and interests, Apple’s Fitness+ streaming service has quickly become the go-to service for people looking for a welcoming and diverse workout experience. From guided meditations to high-intensity interval training, the platform offers an extensive library of workouts designed to help users feel their best.
To maintain consistency and consistency, Apple provides filtering options to highlight trending moments within the service. This approach allows users to easily find workouts that fit their current needs and motivations, and fosters a sense of community and sharing of progress.
Empowering users through innovation
Blahnik’s team goes beyond Fitness+. They also oversee the Activity app on the iPhone and the Workout app on the Apple Watch. With a focus on building features that accommodate users wherever they are, our team is constantly working to encourage healthy habits and encourage active lifestyles.
One example is the Apple Watch’s moving goals, which encourage users to be more active throughout the day. For extreme athletes, Watch Ultra offers advanced functionality and durability, making it the perfect partner to push your limits and reach new heights.
The future of health technology at Apple
As Apple continues to invest in health technology, we’re actively looking for people to join our team. Current open positions include human factors engineer researchers, data collection facilitators, and researchers with a background in human self-motion perception.
The Health Sensing team is also hard at work developing innovative health sensing technology for future Apple products. Meanwhile, the Health Technology team is looking for a data engineer to support data analytics and machine learning workflows to ensure Apple’s health features remain cutting-edge and user-centric.
Under Blahnik’s leadership, Apple is not only redefining the fitness environment, but setting new standards for inclusivity and accessibility in health technology. By combining user-centered design principles with innovative features and products, the tech giant is helping people around the world feel in control of their health and well-being.
As the sun sets on more progress, it’s clear that Apple’s commitment to promoting healthy habits and promoting inclusivity in fitness will continue. With Jay Blahnik and his team at the helm, the future of medical technology will be brighter, more accessible, and more welcoming to all.


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Microsoft Corp. announced on Tuesday U.S. prices for Windows Vista, the long-awaited new version of the operating system that sits on more than 90 percent of the world's PCs.
Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, also reconfirmed its plan to target a general launch of the product in January after making it available to large-volume business customers in November.
Windows Vista, already five years in the making, has been postponed by Microsoft several times.
The software maker set the retail price for Vista at between $199 to $399, ranging from the basic version to the top-end ultimate edition. For customers upgrading from Windows XP, Vista will cost between $100 and $259.
Microsoft released on Friday a test version of Windows, dubbed Release Candidate 1, and made it available to more than 5 million customers worldwide.
Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund said the initial feedback on the test version of Vista is encouraging.
While substantial progress has been made with Vista, the timing is still iffy in our view and feedback over the next few weeks will be critical, said Sherlund in a note to clients.
Shares of Microsoft fell 6 cents to $25.78 on the Nasdaq.


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Just five years ago, mobile phone penetration in Myanmar stood at 1%. By 2013, it had already shot up to 13%. The government wants to drive that number north of 75%.
Meanwhile, the price of a SIM card dropped from $3,000 to about $260. This month, Qatar’s Ooredoo, a mobile operator, started selling SIM cards for 1,500 kyat ($1.50). Here’s a picture from outside the Ooredoo store in Mandalay a day after it opened:
Scenes like this are not uncommon when previously closed countries open their doors for the first time. When the first McDonald’s opened in the Soviet Union in 1990, thousands of Moscow residents lined up at the Red Square for hours to taste the mythical Big Mac for the first time. Those scenes repeated themselves six years later when McDonald’s hit India.
Mobile phones are arguably a more useful import than hamburgers, but they similarly bring with them cultural shifts. Ooredoo’s inaugural offer includes a limited amount of free Facebook data with all its internet plans, part of Facebook’s plan to convince new internet users that its platform is the way into the mobile web. Ooredoo also offers chat packs for Viber, a messaging app now owned by the Japanese giant Rakuten. Such packaged plans are common in other parts of the poor world, and are finding their way to Western markets as well (paywall).
Google has also been busy maneuvering itself into Myanmar’s online infrastructure. Indeed, everybody is salivating at the thought of getting into one the last three major unconnected markets (Cuba and North Korea are the others).
Ooredoo rolled out its service in a handful of countries on Aug. 2. Today, it will add another couple of dozen, and cover much of Myanmar’s heartland by the end of the year. Norway’s Telenor will start its services there later this year.


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Spiel Messe 2023, held in Essen, Germany, marked an unforgettable milestone in the world of tabletop gaming.
SPIEL 2021 Day Zero, and here we are again, ready for the biggest board game convention. We have news on Deutscher Spielepreis & innoSpiel!
SPIEL 2021 will be held on 14-17th October this year. After a fully online convention, this year, we will once more have a physical expo!
Tekhenu is a dice-drafting game that takes you to the ancient Egypt. Build around the ancient city while facing the Maat judgement.
Cóatl is an abstract game where players sculpt the ancient beasts to gain points. This game is simple with a touch of strategy.
Castle TriCon 2020 is an online board game convention in a virtual world. Unlike other exhibitions, this one provides a “real” interaction.


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Crocs store in New York City.
Michael Brochstein | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images
Crocs shares shot up more than 11% in Tuesday’s premarket after the shoemaker increased its revenue outlook for the full year and reported record first-quarter sales.
CEO Andrew Rees said demand for the Crocs brand is “stronger than ever” across the world. Some have called Crocs the “it” shoe of the pandemic, as the clog became a closet staple for consumers seeking comfort at home. But it had seen momentum growing even before Covid, thanks to popular collaborations and limited-edition drops with celebrities including Justin Bieber, Post Malone and Priyanka Chopra.
Here’s how the shoemaker did for its…


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Ola Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd (Ola Electric) on Monday announced that Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, has invested in the company as part of its Series A round of funding.
Tata is also an early investor in ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ola’s parent company.
Tata is a global business icon, known for his vision and stewardship of one of the most respected Indian brands globally. In particular, Tata has been a driving force in the automotive industry, with a hands-on contribution to the innovation, growth, and international reach of Tata Motors. His investment in Ola Electric will bring his deep experience and mentorship to the company’s ambitions to make electric mobility viable at scale, said the company in a statement.
Tata’s investment in Ola Electric is a significant endorsement of the company’s approach to developing an electric mobility ecosystem, including innovations in charging infrastructure, swapping models, and market-appropriate products.
Ola Electric is currently running several pilots involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying vehicles across two, three and four-wheeler segments.
Speaking on his investment, Ratan Tata, said, “The electric vehicle ecosystem is evolving dramatically every day, and I believe Ola Electric will play a key role in its growth and development. I have always admired the vision of Bhavish Aggarwal and I’m confident that this will be part of yet another important strategic move into this new business area.”
Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder & CEO, Ola said, “Mr. Tata has been an inspiration and a mentor to me personally in shaping Ola’s journey over the years. I’m very excited to welcome him on board Ola Electric as an investor and a mentor in our mission of building sustainable mobility for everyone on our planet. He is a visionary who has inspired a generation of entrepreneurs and we are privileged to have his guidance and support once again, as we work towards our goal of a million electric vehicles in India by 2021.”
Ola Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd raised a sum of INR 400 crores led by several of Ola’s early investors, Tiger Global and Matrix India and others, as part of its first round of investment.
The company was initially established to enable Ola’s electric mobility pilot program in Nagpur. In 2018, Ola subsequently announced ‘Mission: Electric’ to bring 1 million Electric Vehicles on Indian roads by 2021.


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New York, NY, US – Given the choice, most consumers would like to support environmental sustainability and the well being of farmworkers by purchasing certified products.
But with the proliferation of certification seals over the past few years, it can be difficult to assess the true impact of various systems.
That’s where science comes in. Check out the highlights from our third-party study of coffee farms in the Cundinamarca and Santander regions of Colombia, conducted by the Cenicafe research institute.
The conclusions are a ringing endorsement of Rainforest Alliance certification—and proof positive that our sustainable methods benefit workers, boost productivity and protect the health of the land for future generations.
Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee farms implement best management practices that protect the well being of workers at a significantly higher rate than noncertified farms.
Researchers studied water sanitation, the use of protective equipment for workers, recycling and first-aid training on 72 certified farms and 72 noncertified farms.
They found that certified coffee farms implement best management practices
in these areas at a significantly higher rate than noncertified farms.
Average net revenue ($2029 per hectare) was more than twice as high on certified farms in Santander as on noncertified farms ($813 per hectare) due
to increased productivity
Source: Rainforest Alliance


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Home ComputersLarry Armstrong
By the time the holiday festivities have died down, the last of the decorations returned to the basement, and the Christmas tree put out by the curb, Americans will have plunked down some $9 billion during 1994 to buy nearly 7 million home computers. That's a full 40% of all the personal computers sold in the U.S. this year. And with growth in consumer sales projected to keep outpacing the increases in sales to business, the home will easily become the biggest PC market by the year 2000. Fifteen years after the first anxious parents ran out to get Junior an Apple II or a Commodore PET to put under the tree, PCs have become about the hottest consumer-electronics category around, and one of the biggest--second only to color TVs.
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- Smartphones Are Killing Americans, But Nobody’s Counting
- Stocks Drop, Yen Gains as Investor Jitters Return: Markets Wrap
- Turns Out It Will Be Congress’s Fault When Stocks Crash
- Why a Pub in the Middle of Nowhere Was Named the World’s Best Restaurant
- Facebook and Google Helped Anti-Refugee Campaign in Swing States


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Sharon Vaknin, Donald Bell, and Eric Franklin tackle DIY projects and tech makeovers.
An eagle's breathtaking flight at 180km/h over the City of Light has been captured by a Sony Action Cam attached to the bird's back.
The Air Force says that the almost one-of-a-kind spacecraft "conducted on-orbit experiments" in the the longest-ever mission for the X-37B program.
Internet service providers are getting a new option called G.fast that can extend the lifespan of existing copper phone lines yet again.
Tackle these DIY projects and easy how-tos for a tech-ified Halloween.
This high-end 13-inch Android tablet has a surprise in its rounded kickstand hinge, a built-in pico projector.
The 4K Ultra Short-Throw Projector wowed us at CES. Now, Sony's put a price tag on it -- and you may need to sell your BMW to afford it.
Hendo just launched a Kickstarter promising real, working hoverboards exactly one year from today. If you haven't brushed up on your "Back to the Future" trivia, October 21, 2015 is the very same day and year Marty McFly time-traveled to in the movie. Coincidence? We think not.
Wondering what you would print if you had a 3D printer. Here are the most popular 3D printing projects featured by Thingiverse.
The Creative Cloud now involves some actual cloud computing with a version of Adobe's flagship that runs in Google's browser and its browser-based operating system.
This window, and the scientists who peered through it, witnessed work that changed the history of our planet. Now it can be yours for about $200,000.


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iPhone 7 owners facing connectivity issues are in luck as Apple has launched a Repair Program for a “No Service” issue. The company has promised to fix all affected units for free, though there are some strings attached.
As per Apple, a small percentage of iPhone 7 units might show “No Service” in the status bar even if there’s plenty of cellular coverage around. This usually happens after Airplane Mode has been deactivated and the phone can’t manage to re-connect.
Apple blames a component which has failed on the main logic board for this mess. It seems the affected units were manufactured between September 2016 and February 2018 and sold in the US (including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands), Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Macao.
Also Read: Apple hikes iPhone prices in India again
People can check if their iPhone 7 has fallen victim to this by checking if they have the model number A1660, A1780, or A1779. The information is printed on the back of the device underneath the main iPhone branding.
If the iPhone 7 does come under the purview of the program, they can head to their nearest Apple Store to get their free repair done. The brand is currently getting in touch with users who have already paid to get this fixed and is offering them reimbursements. It’s asking people who haven’t gotten the email by the end of March 2018 to contact it.
It should be noted that any damage which blocks Apple from completing the patch up will have to be resolved first. So individuals might end up paying for fixing their device’s screen before they can get rid of the “No Service” issue.


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The new lab, an extension to the existing eLab battery research centre, is run by research institute ZSW and offers industrial partners the possibility to develop, test and optimise battery materials and formulations as well as manufacturing processes and equipment. Currently, first equipment tests are conducted in the lab which offers a space of 3.600 square meters (39.000 square feet) of floor space. According to the current schedule, companies like BASF, BMW, Bosch, Daimler, Elring Klinger, Manz, Rockwood Lithium, and Siemens will launch their trials and developments in January 2015. By end of 2015, the entire manufacturing process from slurry preparation to cell formation will be up and running.
"The number of electric and hybrid vehicles is growing rapidly at the global scale, driving the demand of manufacturing capacity, and the race for the best batteries is on", said ZSW board member Werner Tillmetz who oversees ZSW's Electrochemical Energy Technologies division. He added that the eLab offers world-class conditions for battery research, enabling the industry to develop tomorrow's products.
The equipment in the eLab is designed to produce several hundred battery cells per day at high, reproducible quality. Due to the modular concept of the installation, commercial enterprises and research institutions can assess manufacturing processes and equipment components across the entire value chain in a reliable environment. Materials manufacturers can demonstrate novel cell chemistries, equipment engineering companies can optimise their production technologies in a linked manufacturing process environment.
The research platform comprises all components needed for near-series production of automotive-grade battery cells, like a temperature-controlled mixing station for the production of electrode slurries in 60 litre batches, a machine that applies electrode coatings to both sides of a copper or aluminium carrier foil, and a high-precision calendaring for the compaction of electrodes. Other process elements implemented include assembly, drying, filling and activation, with most of the process steps being highly automatized.
The lab plays an important role for Germany's EV


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Did you know that there are about half a dozen brand new locomotives, valued at $6 million each, sitting in Worcester’s railroad yard right now?
These new locomotives, along with 80 new passenger cars, will be coming online soon thanks to the transportation bond bill signed by Governor Patrick and supported by the Massachusetts Legislature.
The deployment of these locomotives and passenger cars could greatly impact the Massachusetts economy by creating a 46-minute non-stop service from Worcester to Boston.
Currently one of the busiest MBTA commuter lines, the Worcester/Framingham line is crucial to the economic synergy between Massachusetts’ two largest cities. The creation of this express commuter train is essential.


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The global junk mail plague is to get dramatically worse as criminal spammers take control of victims' PCs and use them as anonymous proxies to send email via their ISPs' mail relay.
According to anti-spam organisation Spamhaus the recent increase in this proxy-spam activity is caused by newly engineered versions of stealth proxy-spam software released by spammers.
"New versions of proxy packages released by Russian spammers operating in the US now have a feature which instructs the hijacked proxy to send the spam out via the mail relay of the ISP to which the proxy is downstream," Spamhaus warned.
Before this explosion in proxy-generated spam, most email traffic arriving at ISPs' mail servers came mainly from two sources: sent directly by the spammer, or sent by the spammer through a hijacked computer (proxy).
These two sources have been relatively easy to deal with, as they can both be blocked. But Spamhaus warned that the source of incoming spam is changing, and ISPs are seeing far more spam coming directly from the major mail relays of other ISPs.
AOL, one of the first to notice the change, now reports that over 90 per cent of its incoming spam comes directly from other ISPs' mail relays.
"Spamhaus sees this change and the increase in spam it is producing as a threat to be taken seriously," the company stated.
"At the current pace spam could reach 95 per cent of all email traffic by mid-2006, when we would see the beginning of a slow meltdown of email delivery systems caused by overloaded queues and stressed filters."
The organisation advised ISPs to take protective measures, including throttling the outgoing mail from the ISPs of broadband customers, separating incoming and outgoing SMTP servers and mandating email authentication for all customers.
Some parts of Atacama have not received rainfall for 500 years - but a sudden deluge of water upset the Desert's delicate biological balance
Spitzer Space Telescope could not spot Oumuamua, suggesting that it is actually pretty small
Greenland crater one of the 25 largest impact craters on Earth
This long-sought progenitor star was identified in an image captured by Hubble in 2007


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Coronavirus has hit almost all spheres of business. Two months of downtime, lack of money and the need still to pay employees wages has forced many employers to revise their work. Someone closed the business, someone came up with a new direction, and someone decided to get rid of once profitable asset. what if you catch the moment and start their own business right now? Journalist NGS Maria Tishchenko you’ve found a business that you can buy in Novosibirsk right now. And no millions for this is not necessary — it is enough to have in your pocket from 50 to 300 thousand rubles.
13.6 ° C
There's speculation that many millennials and older members of Gen Z prefer to remain single for the rest of their lives. The main argument...


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Does fashion belong in art galleries?
High-end fashion is cropping up in major art museums across Australia and the world. Michael Cathcart and Anna Frey Taylor investigate the phenomenon of the blockbuster fashion exhibition.
The world of haute couture fashion has descended on Australia's state museums. Across the country, fashion lovers are being treated to a feast of fabrics, sequins and stitching.
We’ve got this artificial programming now happening, and it is about the spectacle, and it is about what’s fashionable, and I totally believe that is ethically wrong.Tony Albert, artist
At the National Gallery of Victoria, viewers can experience The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier. The Queensland Art Gallery is currently showing Future Beauty: 30 years of Japanese Fashion and the Art Gallery of South Australia is hosting Fashion Icons: Masterpieces from the Collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.
As fashion takes hold of the country's major museums, a question is being raised: Should fashion be classified as art and be exhibited in an art context?
Sydney-based artist Tony Albert is tired of seeing fashion exhibited as art. While he appreciates the artistry involved in fashion design, he believes there is a clear distinction between the disciplines.
‘For me, art is challenging and it critiques elements of our society; I don’t see that happening within fashion,’ explains Albert.
He says many of today's fashion exhibitions consist simply of 'mannequins wearing dresses'. The shows do not take the opportunity to reflect on the broader issues that surround fashion such as the objectification of women and the sizing of garments.
Many of the world's top fashion designers agree that fashion should not be called art. In 2001, Jean Paul Gaultier provocatively stated, ‘Fashion is not art. Never.’
Related: Art museums step into the future
‘Marc Jacobs, Lagerfeld, Prada, Yamamoto, the list goes on and on, and they all say fashion is not art,’ explains art critic Maura Reilly.
‘These are major statements by the most renowned fashion designers in the world, so who are we to question them?'
Despite these claims, museums continue to curate fashion exhibitions because they are popular. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's 2011 fashion retrospective Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty was one of the most popular exhibitions the museum has ever staged.
Reilly is concerned the commercial success of fashion exhibitions has unduly influenced the curatorial direction of museums.
‘These museums are making big, big money off of these shows,’ she says. ‘I see the exhibitions as being commercial enterprises.’
‘We’ve got this artificial programming now happening, and it is about the spectacle, and it is about what’s fashionable, and I totally believe that is ethically wrong,’ adds Albert.
Both Reilly and Albert believe fashion should be shown in a dedicated fashion museum, with specialist curators who can put exhibits in context.
‘A lot of people talk about the Alexander McQueen show and how fantastic that was, but what’s missing in the discussion is that that exhibition was actually presented at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum,’ says Reilly.
For the most part, the pair are disappointed to see fashion taking over museum spaces traditionally reserved for art.
‘We have the smallest piece of pie already, and now they’ve taken a big old spoonful out of it,’ says Albert.
Books and Arts Daily explores the many worlds of performance, writing, music and visual arts, and features interviews with local and international authors and artists.


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Rogers Communications unveiled its plan for streaming more than 1,000 National Hockey League games on the Internet last week. Having invested billions of dollars to obtain the Canadian broadcast and Internet rights to NHL hockey, the cable giant pointed to the future of broadcast by embracing consumer demand for making games available online.
As part of the launch, Rogers Media president Keith Pelley responded to questions about the approach by stating “there’s no such thing as too much choice. Let the consumer decide what they want to watch.” Pelley was speaking about hockey streaming, but my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes his comments should resonate loudly this week in a broader context as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission opens its much-anticipated public hearing on the future of television in Canada.
The CRTC hearing has already generated thousands of advance comments from major stakeholders and individual Canadians. It has also unleashed considerable angst from established broadcasters, broadcast distributors, and content creators, who fear that the broadcast regulator will overhaul the current system by implementing changes such as mandatory pick-and-pay channel selection for consumers and reforms to longstanding policies such as simultaneous substitution (which allows Canadian broadcasters to substitute Canadian commercials into U.S. licensed programming).
In fact, the CRTC has left little doubt that change is on the way. In a working document released late last month, it narrowed the likely outcomes to include requiring a mandatory basic cable service at a fixed cost (as low as $20 per month), a mandated pick-and-pay system that would allow consumers to select individual channels rather than being bound by unwanted packages, and the gradual elimination of simultaneous substitution.
While these changes are likely to spur a barrage of horror stories and dire warnings throughout the hearing – broadcasters will claim that the pick-and-pay will effectively kill some unpopular channels and broadcast distributors will warn that increased choice will lead to higher prices – the Rogers hockey streaming announcement signals most of what Canadians really need to know.
First, the CRTC is not forecasting the future of television as much as it is catching up to today’s reality. A broadcast regulatory system premised on limited consumer choice and scarce airwaves has given way to virtually unlimited options and an abundance of delivery mechanisms. With Rogers able to offer nearly the entire NHL season on the Internet, the conventional broadcast system already faces enormous competitive challenges. If the established system does not offer consumers sufficient flexibility and choice, they will go elsewhere.
Second, the Rogers announcement reinforces the importance of existing regulations designed to foster competition online. The company noted that its package would be available to all Canadians, regardless of which cable or wireless provider they use. The broad availability of the service can be attributed both to the economic benefits of selling to a bigger market and to regulatory rules that restrict vertically integrated companies from granting themselves undue preferences.
Moreover, Rogers acknowledged that data used by its wireless customers to stream hockey games would count against their monthly cap. That approach reflects the need to conform to Canada’s net neutrality rules that are designed to maintain a level playing field and represents an about-face from an earlier television streaming service.
Third, as Pelley noted, there is no such thing as too much consumer choice when it comes to the options to watch programs when, where, and on what device Canadians want. The Canadian broadcast regulatory system has long benefited channels with limited viewership and broadcast distributors who forced consumers to purchase unpopular channels as part of expensive packages.
The CRTC hearing is ultimately about shifting away from that model by providing consumers with more choice. That change should force broadcasters to improve their products and broadcast distributors to offer competitively priced services. As the Rogers approach to streaming hockey demonstrates, if they fail to do so, consumers now have other options.


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KNOXVILLE (WATE) – Cruze Farm opened its pop-up shop Thursday.
The shop’s location is at 408 South Gay Street, the former Archer’s BBQ location.
The pop-up shop will be open every day until September 15.
The store will open at noon and close at 11 p.m. on weekdays, close at midnight on the weekend and close at 10 p.m. on Sunday.
Related: Cruze Farm to expand in Summer 2017


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Amazon just released a trailer for "The Grand Tour," the e-commerce company's version of "Top Gear." With its imminent launch, can Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond re-capture the millions of fans they gained from their previous show?
'The Grand Tour' First Trailer
The first full-length trailer of "The Grand Tour" has just been launched, showing how crazy and expansive the new "Top Gear" is going to be. In the video below, we can see the Clarkson, May and Hammond trio playing with fancy and exotic cars alike.
We see the usual sports cars - not much of a big deal. But then we see camels, tanks, and some heavy stuff. Intense, right? But is it something we have never seen before? Not really. But it does confirm one thing - "The Grand Tour" is just a rehash of BBC's "Top Gear" on a grander scale, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
'The Grand Tour' vs 'Top Gear'
First of all, the main selling point of "The Grand Tour" is that the trio takes the audience into different places - four continents, in fact, according to the trailer. We can expect exotic places and perhaps something more that we haven't seen before. With a huge budget of £4.5 million (or about $5 million) per episode, Amazon better show us more exciting adventures with more exciting cars.
But, of course, there's still the familiar feel of "Top Gear." There is a studio with the audience, there's the usual shenanigans of Clarkson, May and Hammond, and lots of vehicles. To reiterate on that last note, about 150 cars and six jet planes will be featured on the opening scene alone, along with a couple thousand acrobats.
"The Grand Tour" is basically "Top Gear" in a different station with more budget and less of Stig. Which means it won't be too far-fetched to say that we'll also love this new show this early.
'The Grand Tour' On Amazon Prime
So when will we see "The Grand Tour" on TV screens? Well, we won't. It is an Amazon Prime show, which means that only subscribers can tune in. According to Daily Star, this may pose a problem in a huge chunk of their fanbase.
Watching via Amazon Prime Video means that the episode will be streamed via the internet. Having slow internet speeds would then be a huge disadvantage. Imagine going through all those buffers while trying to watch Clarkson in his natural habitat? Doesn't really make for an enjoyable show, does it?
What's more is that to catch the weekly episode, you must pay for membership, which falls at $99 per year or $10.99 per month. However, the price includes all Prime benefits and not just video subscription. You can get free two-day shipping and the likes.
'The Grand Tour' Release Date
"The Grand Tour" premiers on Amazon Prime on Nov. 18. It will then be aired weekly with a grand total of 36 episodes of pure crazy motoring antics with none other than Clarkson, Hammond and May.


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NueVue iPhone Cases: Stylish Protection, a Clean Screen + Vegan Options
Pokemon GO surpasses $1 billion in revenue in seven months
Pokemon GO is now estimated to have broken $1 billion in revenues only seven months after launch.
Sensor Tower estimates that the game surpassed this figure on January 31st and is the fastest mobile game to have passed $1 billion in revenue read more...
Nintendo's third mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes lands on Android and iOS
Nintendo and DeNA's third mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes has launched on iOS and Android.
The game is a turn-based strategy RPG that sees players battling with characters from across the history of Fire Emblem. It's a traditional free-to-pl read more...


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Madhvi SallySpecial Correspondent | ET
ETPrime Author Data\nETPrime Author Data\n100%\n11\n\nAgri reporter based in New Delhi, tracking the commodity market, food sector, trends in the hinterland to policy matters.Prime minister awardee for excellence in journalism in agricultural research and development in 2014. Invited to USA and Canada on an exchange program to see their farm and allied sector. In the past 15 years have reported from different geographies- Chandigarh, Gujarat and New Delhi which has exposed me to the highly fragmented Indian farm sector and its regional variations. Have tried my hand at organic farming. Catch me on twitter @MadhviSallyET or email@example.com\nScreen reader support enabled.\n \n \n \t\t\n\nAgri reporter based in New Delhi, tracking the commodity market, food sector, trends in the hinterland to policy matters.Prime minister awardee for excellence in journalism in agricultural research and development in 2014. Invited to USA and Canada on an exchange program to see their farm and allied sector. In the past 15 years have reported from different geographies- Chandigarh, Gujarat and New Delhi which has exposed me to the highly fragmented Indian farm sector and its regional variations. Have tried my hand at organic farming. Catch me on twitter @MadhviSallyET or firstname.lastname@example.org
Covid-19 impact: After being locked down, companies now set to suffer labour pain
Industry leaders said April-June quarter would be a washout even for the high and mighty.
Safer zones running out of non-essentials
More than 250 containers, each with 20 tonne of electronic goods, gadgets, mobile phones and accessories were stuck at various places including ports, wholesalers said.
Companies look for alternative ways to market and store fruits and vegetables during lock down
"We are directly selling fruits and vegetables in the radius of 100 km from our sourcing centres. Apartments and housing colonies are emerging as new market for us," said Shashank Kumar, co-founder and CEO of DeHaat that caters to Big Bazaar, Spencers, More besides app based vendors.
Amul turnover grows 17% to Rs 38,550 crore in 2019-20
Amul Federation has achieved a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of more than 17% since last 10 years because of higher milk procurement, continuous expansion in terms of adding new markets, launching of new products and adding new milk processing capacities across India, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Food, medicine supply still choked; Transport bottlenecks show signs of easing
Prices of potato, dairy items and meat may rise further with cold storages running out of refrigerants. The poultry industry is in distress as they are unable to get feed for birds. Retail chains said customers continued to hoard, leaving very low stocks of staples like atta, poha, rajmaand packaged food like biscuits and instant noodles.
State governments start home delivery of milk, fruits, vegetables and groceries
This is aimed at avoiding panic among consumers for essential food items. Twelve thousand vendors have been approved in Uttar Pradesh to home deliver essential commodities, said Devesh Chaturvedi, principal secretary, agriculture, Uttar Pradesh. In the Delhi NCR region Mother Dairy doubled its supplies of fruits and vegetable in its 310 stores to 330 tonnes.
Trading community should observe 21-day nationwide lockdown religiously: CAIT
"The trading community will not lag behind in extending all cooperation at this hour of critical crisis for the nation," said Khandelwal.
Covid-19 impact: Fearful vegetable mandis threaten to shut shop
In Mumbai and Pune, traders have issued statements that they will shutter their shops on Wednesday, while Nashik merchants said they would do the same. In Delhi’s Azadpur market, supplies poured in normally, but purchase by retailers was down 60-80%. However, government officials have ruled out closure of grain and vegetable markets.
Textile industry body seeks relief package to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic impact
Apart from reduction in the bank interest rate and extension of soft loans, the industry body has asked for a moratorium for repayment of principal and interest amount to the banks for four quarters. The textile and clothing Industry employs over 105 million people and also earn around US $ 40 billion forex, apart from substantial revenue under GST and other taxes.
37 mega food parks and 297 integrated cold chain projects sanctioned under PMKSY
The MoFPI is focusing on building cold chain infrastructure across the country, for seamless transfer of perishables from production to consumption areas, through the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).
39 mega food parks and 298 integrated cold chain projects sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana
The component of the schemes includes integrated cold chain and value addition infrastructure, mega food parks, creation of backward and forward linkages, creation and expansion of food processing and preservation capacities ,agro processing clusters and operation greens.
Punjab Agro to provide traceability and transparency to organic produce
The state government has started working with farmers to bring traceability of organic produce growing in farms and expects the proposal to boost farmers’ income and help e-commerce companies like Amazon, Tata Mjunction and Grofers and retailers like Walmart maintain steady and quality supply of these food items.
Food processing ministry to push investment in J&K and Ladakh
Currently, there are nearly 50 processing units in J&K and Ladakh and a mega food park in J&K.
Amul object proposal of industry to import SMP at zero percent duty
The proposal was given by industry body -CII in the backdrop of firm SMP prices at Rs 280-300 per kg, compared to last year prices of Rs 150 per kg.
Food processing industry seeks 20% export sop
The high taxes on branded food products has led to an increase sale of food in loose form which is unsafe and unhealthy. This has also reduced consumption of packaged food, said Jindal. The association has also recommended that new units be provided with a five-year tax holiday irrespective of the location of the unit.
DeHaat ties up with Coca Cola to work with litchi farmers
With this venture growers will be provided with complete end to end support right from setting demo orchards to rejuvenating existing orchards and creating transparent supply chain for the fruit, they said.
Cabinet may clear food processing scheme soon
The World Bank will be giving 1,500 crore, while 1,000 crore will be provided by the Centre. State governments will put in 500 crore.
Government exploring mini food parks in Jammu and Kashmir
The minister said that businessmen from the state of Jammu and Kashmir have approached him with proposals to set food park.
FreshToHome expands to UAE, Mumbai and Pune
The company has a wide array of products ranging from antibiotic-residue free chicken, tender mutton, 150 varieties of fresh chemical free fish and ready-to-cook products.
Textile companies seek tax incentives, DBT for farmers
Players hit by sluggish exports & rising imports from Bangladesh and Lanka, one-third of production capacity lying idle.
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The typical United states spends over $120,000 over his / her life time on matchmaking, according to new research. Unsurprisingly, seventy percent of daters think internet dating is simply too high priced.
On line financial company Easy.com combined with OnePoll to review 2,000 People in america about their expenditures in relation to dating and discovered an average of it prices folks $168.17 each month. Per Fox Information, additionally they unearthed that dating expenses actually increase when the couple gets hitched â typically to $185.65 per month – because they would like to do what to “keep the spark live,” based on the document.
Almost a quarter of this respondents stated why they don’t date is really because they don’t really feel they’ve adequate cash and they’ren’t at ease with their own existing existence scenario â such as their particular financial predicament. Indeed, 51 per cent said they’ve terminated a night out together if they were all of a sudden secured for money. However, 28 percent stated they might enter into financial obligation so that dating.
Interestingly, the vast majority of â 62 percent â advertised their finances keeps all of them right back from having a “more robust” online dating existence, per Fox News. Virtually 50 % of respondents said it really is cheaper to-be unmarried because when you are out on a night out together with someone brand-new or your lover, you tend to dispute over whom will pay the check. (Sixty-six per cent of men said they choose the tab, while 42 per cent of females said they feature to pay for the bill on basic date, and 25 % of females supply to split the check).
“talking about who can pay the check is usually the very first times a date or new few navigates an econo madsmic decision,” stated Steph Reiley, Director of item administration for Easy.com.
Some participants stated they get imaginative with regards to purchasing a date, including phoning a friend to acquire some money, acting they’ve lost their particular budget, and/or attempting to sell high priced private things like a wristwatch.
Still, cash is apparently a demanding topic when it comes to matchmaking, particularly in the start of a commitment. The majority of think they should spend money to impress their dates. However, 37 per cent believe after five dates, they loosen up plus don’t feel they have to spend much. Thirty-six % of participants said they unwind about investing after they’ve had sex using their dates, and thirty-five % said its after the basic kiss.
Just about the most well-known matchmaking tasks is what you’ll count on â supper and drinks â relating to three out of 5 participants who asserted that is the go-to dating task.
Respondents had a tendency to feel stretched with regards to investing in dating, but overall, they are however contemplating seeking really love regardless of the prices.


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Torched market's worker won't be tried
There is not enough evidence to prosecute an employee of a West Oakland corner market on charges that he set fire to the store just days after it was allegedly vandalized by a local Black Muslim group, an Alameda County judge ruled Thursday.
Oakland police had accused Abdul "Tony" Hamdan of torching New York Market at 3446 Market St. on Nov. 28, 2005. Hamdan, a relative of the market's owner, told police that he was kidnapped during his shift as a clerk and locked in the trunk of a car.
The alleged kidnapping, he said, happened shortly after the store was set on fire that day.
Judge Rhonda Burgess ruled after a preliminary hearing that there was insufficient evidence to hold Hamdan over for trial.
The store has been closed since the blaze, which happened five days after a group of men affiliated with Your Black Muslim Bakery allegedly vandalized the market and a second corner market.


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It has been a busy year so far for Europe’s creative industries. Increasingly aware of the potential of the creative economy, policymakers are vigorously pumping out initiatives to help the industry meet the challenges of the online era. But the rapid pace of development of digital platforms and technologies leaves regulators forever playing catch-up.
The internet changed everything for the sector, creating new audiences, overturning cosy business models and generally shifting the balance of power in the industry. Faced with dwindling revenues from traditional outlets, the music and film industries have been obliged to bend to the demands of the digital age. In doing so, however, they are discovering new opportunities.
The music and film industries have usually worked on a top-down basis with straightforward and sequential distribution channels. Films, for example, opened in cinemas, then were released as DVDs and, finally, licensed to television networks. These days, hundreds of millions of demanding and tech-savvy consumers are exerting a downward pull on the industry, forcing distribution and marketing departments to adapt.
“The internet puts the consumer in a position to determine when and how material will be consumed,” says Christopher Marcich, president of the European branch of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). “It is affecting business models in ways we still don’t really understand.”
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The creative economy, with a €654 billion turnover in 2003, is changing so rapidly it is difficult to keep track. Last year, for example, one new video-on-demand service was set up every third day in Europe, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory. Recording industry lobby the International Federation of the Phonographic industry (IFPI) reports that digital music sales accounted for an estimated 15% of the global music market in 2007, up from 11% in 2006 and zero in 2003. (That figure would probably have been higher were it not for the tens of billions of illegal files swapped in 2007. IFPI estimates that for every legal track sold online, 20 more are downloaded illegally.)
The music industry is undergoing a particularly dramatic revolution. The need to stem losses from piracy has yielded new services ranging from ‘all you can hear’ subscription services to online jukeboxes that stream music to the listener. “Digital revenues are growing and diversifying, as our business model changes from primarily the CD format in the physical world to hundreds of digital channels and products,” says Frances Moore, executive vice-president at the European division of IFPI.
New ways of working and selling will require new regulation. EU policymakers are chasing trends, trying to smooth out differences between national markets and fill regulatory gaps. Viviane Reding, the commissioner for information society and media, is currently working on recommendations for the creative content market with the aim of quadrupling its value by 2010. In April, the European Parliament will vote on an own-initiative report on the cultural industries with recommendations on competition- and trade-related issues.
Helen Smith, secretary-general of Impala, an organisation representing Europe’s independent labels, welcomes the new emphasis on the creative economy. “We now have, for the very first time, a special agenda for culture through which creative industries will be prioritised. Unlocking the economic potential has now become a top political priority,” she says.


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The hardcore version of the Discovery, which was unveiled by Land Rover at Frankfurt this past September, wasn’t the first SVX model it’s done – and it won’t be the last.
The question is, which of the British sport-ute manufacturer’s products should be the next to get the SVX treatment? Well, here are a few ideas.
Rendering artist Nikita Aksyonov recently gave us a speculative preview of what the flagship Range Rover would look like in SVX spec, and has now followed up with more.
In the gallery below, you’ll see similar takes on the Defender, Freelander, Evoque, Evoque Convertible, and Velar, along with the aforementioned Range Rover as well, all done up with similar equipment to the Discovery SVX.
Now some of them seem more likely than others. The Velar? Maybe. The Evoque? Probably not. The Evoque Convertible? Even less so. The Freelander won’t happen since it’s already been phased out, replaced as it has by the new Discovery Sport, but the latter could make a good basis.
As for the Defender, well that’s already spawned an SVX version – or, more accurately, two: the first back in 2008 (which was 10 years ago now, if you can believe it), and those jacked-up, roped-off Defender 110 short-bed, double-cab pickups in Spectre that were crafted jointly by JLR Special Vehicle Operations and the company’s longtime off-road racing partner Bowler.
Making another one, then, would hardly seem like much of a stretch. As always, we’ll keep an eye for it, so you might want to watch this space.


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Fuming over a proposed ban on the sale of all tobacco products within town limits. A town meeting was held Wednesday evening in the small town of Westminister Massachusetts Â to discuss the proposal. The meeting ended after barely 20 minutes when attendees refused to stop clapping and shouting. The chairwoman and a local man had this to say.
Board of Health Chairwoman Andrea Crete told The Boston Globe ” It was going to get out of control”
Jonatho Aho manager of Vincent county’s store told Newsweek that only 4 of the 70 people got to speak before the meeting was called off!
0n October 27 the towns Board of Health proposed a draft of the ban that says it would prohibit the sale of any tobacco or nicotine product whether it is intended to be â€œsmoked, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means.â€ That includes, but is not limited to: cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, blunt wraps, pipe tobacco, snuff, or electronic versions of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah, and any other products that vaporize tobacco, according to the proposal. According to the American Lung Association the ban would be a first of its kind in modern times.
I personally applauded these patriots for standing up for what they believe and protecting our freedoms. We are at war as Cigar smokers trying to keep our rights ,while bills are trying to be passed to ban what we love. What would you do if they tried to ban tobacco in your home town? Â We will be sure to bring you all breaking news as we get it.


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SOUTHBORO — A Rhode Island man has been charged in the November theft of $20,000 worth of comic books from Hall of Comics.
The break-in at the Turnpike Road business, discovered Nov. 27, involved the theft of 175 comic books, police said.
Officer Keith Nichols, a Southboro detective, and Lt. Sean James learned that several of the comics were sold to another comic book business in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Corey Cheshier, 31 of West Warwick, Rhode Island, was charged in the theft. Some of the stolen comic books were recovered at his house. He is expected to be arraigned in Westboro District Court on charges of breaking into a building in the nighttime to commit a felony, larceny over $250, and trespassing.
Police have also issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Cheshier's brother Tyler, 20, of Coventry. He is also expected to be charged in connection with the theft.
This story has been corrected from a previous version.


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Give a gift, get a gift at Laurel Park
From a Maryland Jockey Club release
In the spirit of the holiday season, the Maryland Jockey Club will reward generous-minded fans as part of its ‘Give a Gift, Get a Gift’ program Saturday, Dec. 1 at Laurel Park.
Everyone that drops off a new, unwrapped toy or makes a cash donation at the gift exchange table will receive a special gift from the MJC. All proceeds will benefit the Maryland Horsemen’s Assistance Foundation.
Fans are asked not to bring stuffed animals. Laurel will open its doors at 11 a.m. and the exchange will take place from noon to 4 p.m. in the grandstand entrance.
Laurel will host a full card of live racing Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Live racing returns to Laurel with a nine-race program Thursday, Nov. 29 starting at 12:30 p.m. and offering carryovers of $5,225.08 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 4-9) and $1,985.61 in the $1 Super Hi-5 (Race 1).
Laurel will have a special noon post on Friday, Nov. 30 to accommodate a 10-race program whose final three races (Races 8-10) will be part of the weekly national $1 Stronach 5 wager. This week’s Stronach 5, which includes Races 2 and 3 from Golden Gate Fields, features a carryover of $88,149.41 from Nov. 23.


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New lease of life for fire ravaged town centre store
- Credit: Sportstore
An historic fire ravaged building is set to get a new lease of life with the relocation of a town centre business.
Sportstore opened their Beccles store in Blyburgate in early December last year, but have already set their sites on expanding into the former Bartram's shop on New Market, with manager Charlie Nevitt eyeing an "ambitious" opening in May.
The store has been vacant since a devastating fire caused significant damage inside and to the roof of the historic store in June 2015.
Mr Nevitt said: "With lockdown, we are in a situation where we are not allowed to have customers inside, so we thought we would jump on this opportunity to renovate 33 New Market.
"It is going to be ambitious, and we can't pin a date on it yet, but hopefully we can be ready in May by the earliest.
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"Our website has been up since the start of December and we have been doing a lot of sales through there, but when it comes down to the bricks and mortar this is an opportunity to move into a bigger shop and provide a fun experience for customers.
"It is the old fashioned sports shop mentality where we want to be a fun place, not just somewhere to get socks."
- 1 Family of cardiac arrest victim donates defibrillator in mother's memory
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- 4 Is this one of the best jobs in Norfolk and Suffolk?
- 5 Covid infection rates plummet in Norfolk
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- 7 Vaccine centres offering walk-in jabs across East Suffolk this week
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As well as selling sports equipment, the store is planning to expand their offering beyond their stock.
Mr Nevitt said: "We want to offer services as well as products to sell, from paddle boarding to skateboarding.
"I'm thinking of bikes and kayaks for people in the summer, and possibly a café too.
"Nothing is for certain yet, but we are trying to make it a fun place to be."
Bartram's opened as a pet food and garden store in 1929, before moving to New Market in 1934, where the shop remained open until the fire forced the closure of the family business in 2015, with the new store aiming to honour the building's heritage.
Mr Nevitt said: "We are hoping to get some memorabilia from the old shop on the walls to mark the history.
"It is a massive job but the landlord is very hands on to get it renovated."


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San Luis Obispo seeking Styrofoam container ban
August 30, 2014
By KAREN VELIE
The San Luis Obispo City Council is scheduled to discuss the banning of Styrofoam products on Tuesday evening.
In March, the city council asked staff to look into banning Styrofoam products. In California, 80 cities and counties have regulations against Styrofoam products, the staff report says.
Styrofoam is not recyclable or biodegradable. Because of its foam structure, it breaks down easily, is expensive to remove from the environment and can be harmful to fish and wildlife if mistaken as food and ingested.
City staff has come up with four possible bans. The first would ban only Styrofoam food and drink containers while the fourth and most restrictive would ban much more including foam ice coolers and pool toys.
Some restaurants have voiced reluctance to switch from Styrofoam to another type of container because of the increased cost, lack of insulation, and issues with durability.


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Whilst there is much to celebrate after years of campaigning to shift farm subsidies to better support environmental goods, the Agriculture Bill offers too little in terms of health or harmony. Read our updated comment.
Vicki Hird, food and farming policy co-ordinator at Sustain said:
“There is much to welcome in the Agriculture Bill, such as the emphasis on allocating public money for public goods such as protecting the environment, supporting public access and protecting the health of animals. But given the title of the consultation was ‘Health and Harmony’, we’re disappointed that Michael Gove didn’t take the opportunity to link farm payments to public health and food – for example, targets to increase fruit and vegetable production or rewarding the farm systems that reduce the use of antibiotics or pesticides. We also lament the lack of legislative powers to set up much needed new training and advice resources for farmers.
"It is disappointing that the Bill fails to identify targets for public and productivity goals or the means to secure budget to deliver them beyond the initial phase."
“We welcome the proposed powers to tackle unfair dealing in the supply chain in response to considerable lobbying by our alliance and farmers. The Bill gives the Secretary of State powers to create more fair trading conditions between farmers/producers and organisations who buy their produce directly. If implemented for all sectors and in the whole supply chain this would fill the huge gap left by the Groceries Code Adjudicator and the current Code. Written contracts that limit after-the-fact dirty dealings are also to be welcomed – although we would like to see more explicit referencing of unfair practices and to have clear information about how these contracts will be enforced and by who.
Ultimately much will depend on a realistic budget after 2020, the final duties and accountability the Act confers on government and on the final EU and global trade deals. ”
The following is our first comment and a more detailed response to the details Defra published on the 11 September on the new Agriculture Bill.
Vicki Hird, farm Campaign Coordinator, Sustain, said: “There are welcome measures in this new agriculture bill. Paying farmers for public goods like air and water quality is much preferable to simply rewarding land ownership. However, we would have liked to see a much more explicit link to tackling public health challenges and creating a fit for purpose food system. It sounds like Michael Gove has missed the chance to create new powers to tackle unfair supply chains, bad trade policies or ensure workers are protected. We’ll be calling for the bill to be amended.”
Last night DEFRA issued a briefing on the Agriculture Bill to be published today. We will be looking at the detail of the Bill about to be pubished in the House of Commons by Michael Gove but here is our initial reaction to some of the details that emerged last night:.
On the new public goods approach to farm support
We support the new basis for supporting farmers in delivering public goods and welcome that it will be based on a farm plan approach. It makes clear, in policy, the fundamental link between the environment (and high animal welfare) and good food production.
We want to see public goods rewarded - including climate mitigation, nature and environmental enhancement - on a whole farm basis where possible, for instance via supporting farm systems like organic, pasture based farming and agroforestry. We need in-field biodiversity and environmental protection not only edge of field habitats protection and enhancement.
We have major concerns about whether the budget will be there to deliver the goods the nation will identify as vital. Will the Bill ensure the treasury must deliver the budget required? This also means knowing what the aims are and without targets it is hard to know what will be prioritised.
We also see a great need to include public health goals such as replacing antibiotic use with good husbandry and management supported by government. Why is there no mention of the huge link to healthy eating via a boost for fruit and vegetables on production and marketing? More public access will be crucial also and is a welcome element in the Bill.
We welcome efforts to make the scheme flexible and adaptable to local conditions and priorities which should ensure better outcomes as will funding for farmer collaboration on research.
But there is a huge issue of enforcement and lack of capacity in the environment agencies to oversee the changes and provide the advice, training and regulatory enforcement required. We need to boost the capacity of government agencies like Natural England and the Environment Agency and ensure a strong regulatory baseline via the Environment Bill.
We need to see some greater emphasis on providing affordable or free training, advice and guidance including farmer to farmer training.
The supply chain
We are pleased to see the detail of the fair dealing with agriculture producers section of the Bill which suggests considerable new powers, new codes and enforcement with powers to impose civil penalties. A broad coalition of groups have said consistently that we need far stronger regulation of the market so all sectors of farming can get a fair reward in the market place which is not the case currently. We need a new statutory codes of practice for all supply chains enforced by a regulator with powers to impose penalties and to liaise with the existing, limited, Groceries Code Adjudicator.
Efforts to deliver transparency and collecting data across the supply chain may be useful but lack detail and should not add undue burden and risk to farmers and growers. The setting up of sector producer organisations to boost marketing capacity will also help but again is not enough.
Smaller farms and farm diversity
We support an approach that helps smaller farmers to survive and thrive so the tapering of the farm payment reductions is welcome as is the emphasis on a whole farm plan. We need farm diversity for landscape, rural livelihoods and new entrants.
The delinking of farm support with a requirement to farm will be of concern if there is potential for abandonment or amalgamations of farms. There is a question of whether that is good value for money for the taxpayer and whether we may see lost food production capacity. An emphasis on sustainable diversification to produce new products or public goods would be preferable.
Ultimately the final deal with the EU and the potential future deals will be far more influential in farm survival so we need to see in the Bill a reference to the public goals and high standards being maintained whatever the final deals.
There is no commitment to help farm workers in England to have parity with Scotland and Wales through powers to introduce a joint negotiation board for workers. This leaves 140k English Farm workers out in the cold and some subject to on going unfair wages and treatment.
We can see nothing to suggest they will benefit from new skills development and training - this needs allocation of budget and resources – reflecting the new skills needed to deliver public goods alongside food.
There appears to be a risk food production may fall as farmers will not need to farm in the transition. They can take the money and do nothing. We could find ourselves importing more – to what standards? - instead of growing more of what we need (such as fruit and vegetables and plant and feed protein).
The public health element is weak overall as there is no target to specifically boost availability and consumption of healthy food such as fruit and vegetables although they benefit from the productivity measures and research grants.
We'd like to have seen specific measures for getting sustainable healthy local food into in public procurement like schools and hospitals and more emphasis on infrastructure needed to support shorter supply chains.
For contact call Vicki HIrd, Farm Campaign Coordinator 07903478249
Food and Farming Policy
Food and Farming Policy: Sustain encourages integration of sustainable food and farming into local, regional and national government policies.
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With the start of the new year, papers and magazines are full of trends and predictions for the coming 12 months. The travel industry is no different. The NY Times Travel section recently published their list of 53 hot places to travel in 2008.
I guess Canada can count itself lucky that it got featured at least once (New Zealand didn’t even make the cut), with a trip through the northwest passage. The top destinations were Laos, Lisbon, and Tunesia. Goes to show that we have a lot of competition out there. And for established destinations, it’s out-of-the-way places that are attracting attention. For Norway, the fiords, or even the Lofoten, don’t make the cut anymore, It’s Svalbard where you have to go.
Interestingly, for Indonesia, Lombok made the list. Bali is getting crowded, so they move over one island. They mention quieter beaches and a bigger volcano (Rinjani is indeed bigger than Gunung Agung on Bali). Good thing that there are lots of islands further east, in case Lombok gets over-crowded.
Prediction for 2015: Sumbawa will be the hot place to go. It used to have the biggest volcano of them all, Tambora, until it blew itself to bits in 1815 in the biggest volcanic explosion in recent history.
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Robotic devices help paralyzed become more independent
The first generation of wearable robotic devices is here to help paralyzed people walk and regain independence.
It straps around people so they can stand upright and walk with a walker. The device is propelled by electrical impulses and robotic sensors that help keep users upright and gently propel them forward, a step at a time.
The device -- a forerunner of what the company says eventually will be lighter and more adaptable systems for private use -- currently is limited to centers like the rehabilitation institute participating in the company's study.
It is federally approved for sale and expected to be available later this year for consumers buying the devices for their personal use, according to a spokeswoman for the company, based in Berkeley, Calif.
The Rehabilitation Institute plans to offer the technology to other patients by spring.
For now, six are testing it, including Brendan Milewski, a Detroit firefighter paralyzed in 2010 in an arson.
"I'm hopeful" it will help, said Milewski, 32, of Washington Township, an 11-year member of the Detroit fire force who was injured along with six others at a cellphone shop on East Jefferson.
His life has been dominated by doctor visits and therapy since the accident.
The therapy is arduous, three hours at a time, three days a week. But he'd have it no other way.
Like many younger patients with paralyzing injuries, he yearns to be more independent and wants to regain the strength and abilities he once had. A 1997 graduate of Cousino High School in Warren, he had been an avid hockey player.
Any technology like the exoskeleton holds hope, if nothing else, of what's ahead.
"I'm ready," he said.
Milewski said he already has seen the benefits of his therapy. He couldn't move his arms after the accident, and his entire upper body was weak. Thursday, he looked strong. Tattoos covered his muscular arms, strong from therapy and wheelchair use.
Ekso physical therapist Darrell Musick compares the evolution of the device over the next decade with that of smart phones with dozens of extra functions far beyond the limits of the first cellphones.
"The opportunity in the next 10 years should be endless," Musick said. The devices "should be lighter, faster, more fluid, better turning and more functional."
The device currently costs about $100,000 and is unlikely to be covered by insurance. It is limited to people with some upper-body strength and designed for people who weigh no more than about 220 pounds and who are 5 feet 2 to 6 feet 2.
Still, the technology has benefits for both patients and therapists when compared with other types of electrical stimulation devices for spinal cord recovery, the company and Detroit rehabilitation specialists say.
Other devices often are limited to stationary exercises such as bike pedaling or require several therapists to help move people's feet while walking.
By comparison, the exoskeleton is "a purely passive robot that does the work for you," said Paula Denison, director of special services at the Rehabilitation Institute.
Suited up and strapped in the device's black belts around his legs, Milewski looked like an astronaut awaiting takeoff or an actor in an action movie.
The half-hour trial session he and Max Faistenhammer, 29, went a bit slowly for both men. Faistenhammer was injured in a March 2010 motorcycle accident. Like Milewski, he is young and muscular from hours of aggressive therapies to regain his strength and abilities.
For now, it's more wait and see on just how many gains they will make with the robotic device.
Maybe some day ahead, they'll be able to take steps on their own. "It would be great to get in a car, strap this on and go somewhere," Milewski said.


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Top pick for pier developer
Published 4:00 am, Saturday, January 8, 2000
The Port of San Francisco has endorsed a partnership led by Lend Lease Development U.S. over its competitor in final bids to design and build The City's new cruise terminal at Piers 30-32.
The Port Commission plans to vote on the selection at a 3:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday at the Ferry Building.
In a staff recommendation made public late Friday, Lend Lease, managing partner of the San Francisco Cruise Terminal partnership, won the nod over developer LCOR Public/Private.
The Lend Lease plan proposes less square footage in almost every segment of the plan, from retail and parking space to the cruise terminal itself. The port staff report favors Lend Lease's less-is-more approach.
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Following a commission vote, the port would then pursue exclusive negotiations with the developer of choice, with intentions of completing the James R. Herman International Cruise Ship Terminal as early as 2003.
Commissioners have honored the port staff's endorsements of developers for recent projects such as the Ferry Building renovation and Broadway hotel development, said Commission President Denise McCarthy, although she would not comment on specifics of the cruise terminal proposals.
"I think it's fair to say that the commission relies a lot on a combination of the staff and consultants," because they have more time and expertise to scrutinize the plans, McCarthy said.
The port staff's report noted that the Lend Lease team had "a proven track record" in urban and waterfront developments, while LCOR's experience is limited mostly to office and residential projects.
The report further cites shortcomings in LCOR's berth designs and, similarly, cites shortfalls in Lend Lease's baggage-handling and storage areas. Details of either plan, including the design, would be subject to change in negotiations.
Following several months of public hearings and presentations before commissioners, Lend Lease emerged the clear favorite among South Beach neighborhood advisory groups. Lend Lease moved several months earlier than LCOR to garner support from established local groups like the Delancey Street Foundation.
The new cruise terminal is destined for the port's largest remaining undeveloped waterfront site, a move made possible in 1997 when the Planning Commission lifted a 7-year-long ban on waterfront development.
A 13-acre expanse on Piers 30-32 will house the terminal. A hotel and time share units are planned across the Embarcadero on what is now a parking lot between Bryant and Brannan streets.
Both proposals include passenger service and U.S. Customs areas that dwarf the antiquated facilities currently used at Pier 35. Each plan also includes restaurants and retail tenants, conference space and parking on both the pier and the seawall lot.
Lend Lease officials declined to comment before this Tuesday's commission meeting.
An LCOR official said he was not giving up.
"We believe that our proposal has a tremendous amount of merit," said John Infantino, LCOR vice president. "We thought that when we submitted it. We still believe it (does) for the community and The City, financially and design-wise."
LCOR Public/Private is a Los Angeles subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based LCOR Inc.
Lend Lease's parent company, Lend Lease Corp., is based in Australia. <


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In the wake of COVID-19, the shortages of certain raw materials and products have revealed the shortcomings in European supply chains, as well as the dependency implicit in the open nature of its economy. The EU has more to lose than other parts of the world with these shortages, interruptions and bottlenecks in its supply chains, which have an impact akin to greater global protectionism.
One of the victims of this age of scarcity seems to be the just-in-time approach to industrial and retail processes, which did so much to enhance the reputation of the ‘Toyota way’, by reducing the storage of components and parts to a minimum. It is a system that enables savings to be made but, as the pandemic has shown, that also increases manufacturers’ and countries’ vulnerability. Warehousing will again become a fact of life for factories and retailers. The World Bank claims that for many goods sold worldwide, a delay of one day is the equivalent of levying a 1% tariff. Despite all this, economies are generally buoyant, even though supply cannot keep up with the accelerating pace of demand. Globalisation starved of fuel? This is how the economist Paul Krugman seems to interpret it when he refers to ‘a world running on empty’.
Let us start with some significant facts about these European shortages and dependencies. According to the European Commission, there are 137 products in the most sensitive ecosystems where the EU is highly reliant on imports from third-party countries. The EU is acutely vulnerable in 34 of these, owing to the difficulties of diversification and replacement within the Union. This applies above all to computers and electronic components (which includes microchips), chemical and pharmaceutical products, basic metals, electrical equipment, mining, paper, machinery, plastics, textiles, motor vehicles and petroleum activities. By value, 52% of this product dependency is accounted for by China, followed by Vietnam (11%), Brazil (5%), Singapore (4%), South Korea (3%), the US (3%) and the UK (3%) (Figure 1 and 2).
One cause for concern is that, amid a failure to anticipate this phase of the post-pandemic crisis, there has been a lack of political and economic analysis, and of the automation of processes that had burgeoned in the previous decade, even more so with COVID, and of industrial management itself. Few saw these shortages coming. The pandemic has led to manufacturing chains being severed, new workers in certain fields not being trained (lorry drivers for example), and maritime shipping becoming more expensive –80% of freight is transported by sea (although these prices have been falling since the beginning of October, according to the benchmark Baltic Exchange Dry Index)– and the shortage and rising cost of containers. According to the engineer and consultant Fernando Rodríguez, raw material prices are falling in line with falling freight costs, just as they rose when freight costs rose. From his viewpoint, therefore, it is not a matter of raw material shortages so much as of scarcity of ships and, fundamentally, scarcity of crews. This goes back to the general problem involving strenuous, poorly-paid jobs, which many people made unemployed during the pandemic now reject, another interesting issue that has received insufficient academic explanation.
In the context of these supply shortages, an analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, The Manufacturer’s Dilemma) sets out two types of solutions for manufacturers: either bringing some production back or closer to Europe (or to the US or other countries –so-called reshoring and nearshoring–); or an increase in resilience. With reshoring, suppliers reduce their dependency on global supply chains by moving production within or close to national borders. This is no easy task and requires time and resources. As far as some needs are concerned, such as the manufacture of advanced chips, there is not enough investment in Europe to compete with Taiwanese and South Korean ‘fabs’ in the short term, although there is the Important Project of Common European Interest, which is being developed for micro-electronics and goes some way to redress this.
According to the European Commission, resilience is ‘the ability not only to withstand and cope with challenges but also to undergo transitions in a sustainable, fair and democratic manner’. And this is precisely the situation we are in, because we are creating a paradigm shift, owing above all to the digital and green transformations. Supply change resilience is defined as its ability to withstand and respond to interruptions, minimising the time needed to restore operating capacity. In other words, resilience gauges the capacity of a supply chain to re-establish the output levels preceding the interruption.
Trade as a proportion of GDP grew between 1999 and 2019 from 31% to 54% in the Eurozone, whereas in the US it grew from only 23% to 26%. As the President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde argued recently when she quoted these statistics, while protectionism was on the rise in other parts of the world there was relatively little in Europe. A study conducted by ECB researchers concludes that if it had not been for the supply-chain bottlenecks caused by the pandemic, Eurozone exports would have been 7% higher in the first half of 2021. For the rest of the world the figure is only 2.3%. Europe is not only more dependent on external supplies but also on foreign trade.
Hence the importance that all the proposals made on strategic autonomy and sovereignty (including but not limited to the military domain) should be open. Europe needs to safeguard its supply chains, but in an open manner. The European gameplan should be posited on interdependence –not dependence or independence– internally and externally. This is the basis of its existence. And of its growth.
Image: Empty German motorway in Cologne. Photo: Florian Schmetz @floschmaezz


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BEIJING, Dec. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China's Diplomacy in the New Era (chinadiplomacy.org.cn):
Dialogue with China | Embracing Chinese fashion trends
The term "Made in China" is no longer associated with poor quality; instead, a new consumer trend is emerging, Guochao. What exactly is Guochao, and how was it developed? Why is Guochao consumption on the rise in China? What makes Gen Z consumers in China embrace this "China chic?" And how will it impact the Chinese market?
Dialogue with China
About Chinadiplomacy.org.cn: The website for China's Diplomacy in the New Era was jointly built by China Internet Information Center and China Institute of International Studies (Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Center). The website offers the latest news and information about Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, as well as China's foreign affairs and diplomatic policies, in both Chinese and English.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dialogue-with-china---embracing-chinese-fashion-trends-301710158.html
- China National Silk Museum Opens New Fashion Exhibition in Hangzhou Reflecting on the Development of Chinese Fashion Design Over the Past 30 Years
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While Samsung has been releasing smartwatches with Tizen OS for the past many years, word has it that the company may have plans to reintroduce models with Google’s wearable platform, now known as Wear OS.
Samsung's new watch will use Android to replace Tizen.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) February 19, 2021
Trusted source Ice Universe had mentioned this information last month that the company “will use Android to replace Tizen”. We aren’t sure if it means Samsung will use the proper Wear OS, or that the company could simply develop their own version of Android with Samsung customizations. Samsung is already known for making amazing smartwatches but with Tizen OS, and adding Wear OS to the mix is a great advantage.
Interestingly, a new report mentions that ivan_meler, a Recognized Developer from XDA Forums, found references of Wear OS, alongside a new device codenamed “Merlot” in the WiFi driver when he was exploring through the latest kernel source code releases for Exynos based Galaxy S20. This could indicate that Samsung is working on a new Android wearable.
While the Tizen OS experience is already good, having Wear OS on a Galaxy smartwatch means users will get better seamless integration with Google applications. However, there is no indication when the new Wear OS-powered Galaxy smartwatch will be launched. It would be interesting to see if Samsung would also introduce the rotating bezel functionality with Wear OS.


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GM: Navigating the Road Ahead
In the ever-evolving landscape of the auto industry, General Motors (GM) finds itself at a crossroads. As investor eyes keenly watch the looming auto strike, LikeFolio delves deeper, not to predict the outcome of negotiations, but to gauge the pulse of consumer demand and sentiment.
Here's GM's current standing amidst its peers and the challenges on the horizon.
GM's Financial Drive
The second quarter saw GM cruising with a net income of $2.54 billion, a commendable 52% YoY surge. The wind beneath its wings? Stellar vehicle sales, aggressive pricing, and strategic cost-cutting. Paul Jacobson, GM's CFO, underscored that consumers shelled out an average of $1,600 more per vehicle than the previous quarter, with the average U.S. sale price hitting the $52,000 mark.
Consumer Sentiment: A Mixed Bag
LikeFolio's data paints a picture of cautious optimism. Mentions have revved up by +12% YoY, even as GM's stock takes a pit stop.
The engines driving this buzz?
The iconic Chevy and the luxurious Cadillac brands.
But the road isn't entirely smooth. When it comes to the digital highway, GM lags behind the EV maestro, Tesla, and other premium auto giants.
A -3% YoY dip in web traffic places GM alongside traditional counterpart, Ford.
While some argue that GM's clientele might favor the tactile experience of a dealership, this digital decline could also flash warning lights for future growth.
Electric Dreams or Nightmares?
GM's electric ambitions, embodied by the Chevy Bolt, have hit a few speed bumps. Recent recalls, including one involving a shocking 9,423 power cords posing electric shock risks, have dented its image. Add to this a previous recall of a staggering 140,000 Bolts due to fire hazards.
These roadblocks have forced GM to reroute its journey for the Bolt, signaling its discontinuation by 2023's end. However, whispers in the industry hint at a potential revival, powered by cutting-edge battery tech.
Labor Pains and Potential Strikes
The threat of worker strikes looms large. The United Auto Workers union, in its negotiations with Detroit's Big Three, has dialed down its wage hike demands. While Stellantis stock has revved up, GM and Ford remain in neutral gear. The crux lies in bridging the chasm between UAW's demands and the manufacturers' offers.
The clock is ticking, with union contracts expiring on Sept. 14.
The real test? The duration of any ensuing strike and its ripple effect on sales.
The Macro View
Broad data sketches a decline in new vehicle sales, aligning with seasonal patterns. August 2023 saw sales decelerate to 15.04 Million from July's 15.75 Million. While there's been a rebound from the 2020 slump, numbers still lag behind pre-pandemic figures. The culprits? Supply chain hiccups and climbing interest rates. Forward looking projections skew to the downside (sales charted below).
GM showcased its prowess in cost optimization last quarter, and the consumer buzz is undeniably on the rise. Yet, challenges loom. Its digital presence is trailing peers, and its electric dreams seem more turbulent than triumphant. Any positive turn in negotiations could turbocharge its shares, especially given the recent 11% dip over three months, contrasting its robust Q2 performance. Our stance? Cautiously optimistic, with a keen eye on GM's evolving product arsenal.
Landon talked about this in detail on the Schwab Network: Check it out.


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The university’s National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering (NCEFE) is one of 13 industrial and academic partners in India and the UK involved in the £1M project funded by Innovate UK – the government’s scientific research funding body – aimed at improving rice processing and rice waste minimisation in India.
Success in this project would place the UK at the forefront of rice processing capability, as well as significantly improving the economic situation of those involved in rice growing and rice milling at a local level in India, the researchers claimed.
Optimise rice milling
The project aimed to optimise the rice milling process with innovative technology in order to reduce rice breakage – and therefore waste. It wanted to develop new uses for rice bran and rice husk, which were currently two major waste products from the milling process.
By addressing these challenges, it was anticipated that the project would develop a lower energy milling process that would reduce rice broken during the milling process from 28% to 8%. It also aimed to increase total rice output by up to 12%, resulting in an additional 10.6Mt of rice production every year in India, using significantly less energy.
The project would also investigate the processing of rice bran into nutritious food ingredients, providing potentially 7.72Mt of additional food, and the processing of rice husks into 5Mt of rice husk ash for building materials.
An overall aim of the project is to improve health outcomes of the Indian population by increasing the nutritional quality of rice output in India, where 65% of the population derive 40% of their daily nutritional intake from rice consumption.
Problems of malnutrition
It was hoped that the nutritional properties of rice bran could help tackle the problems of malnutrition, since phytonutrients – chemicals that provide health protection– in rice bran help with blood sugar control, enhanced immune system function and cholesterol reduction. Researchers will produce a higher specification of bran by-product for use in high protein and fibre-rich food products for the local and national population.
In addition, the project will investigate the opportunities to recycle rice husk into ash with high silica content for the manufacture of sustainable materials for the construction industry.
“This research has the long-term ambition of helping to solve two serious issues in India – food waste and nutrition,” said Martin Howarth, director of the NCEFE.
“At present, there is a lot of wastage in rice harvesting and milling in India and other rice growing regions in the world. This project aims to review and improve this process in order to create value and function from rice husk and bran.”
• Develop a lower energy milling process
• Increase total rice output by up to 12%
• Process rice bran into nutritious food ingredients
• Process rice husks into ash for building materials