text: Steve Jennings/Getty Images Mark Cuban compared the cryptocurrency boom to the dot-com bubble, recommended buyers hedge their bets, and warned them about the dangers of debt in a string of tweets this week."Watching the cryptos trade, it's EXACTLY like the internet stock bubble," the "Shark Tank" star and billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks said. Cuban sold his startup to Yahoo in 1999 and managed to protect his billion-dollar windfall when the market crashed a few months later. "My advice? Learn how to hedge," he tweeted."If you are taking on debt that you can't afford to pay back to invest in crypto (or stocks or currencies), YOU ARE A FOOL and there is a 99% chance you will lose EVERYTHING," Cuban added.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Billionaire investor Mark Cuban compared the Bitcoin boom to the dot-com bubble in a flurry of tweets this week, predicting a large number of cryptocurrencies won't survive the coming crash. "Watching the cryptos trade, it's EXACTLY like the internet stock bubble," the "Shark Tank" star and Dallas Mavericks owner said. The cryptocurrency market recently achieved a $1 trillion market capitalization for the first time, as Bitcoin and other digital coins more than quadrupled in ...read more...


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A group of engineering students from Al-Matareya College of Engineering has developed a suit works via air pressure system that can carry weights; it can help to reduce physical burden on workers. This will in turn lead to increasing their productivity and protecting them from work dangers.
Professor Mohamed Fattouh, dean of the Faculty of Engineering, said that this project is working on the development of factories and warehouses, and aims at increasing production and protecting the worker from potential injuries because of heavy weights.
He noted that there are other uses of the suit.
“It can be used to transfer furniture or household appliances,” he added.
He pointed out to the simple design, low cost of the suit but also how it is easy to control; it is designed in a way that enables it to change lengths and sizes of their parts to fit the person’s size.
The students of Al-Matareya Engineering, under the supervision of Dr. Yasser Shaaban, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Design, prepared a preliminary model that raises about 90 kg. They also developed this model to reach the weight of about 150 kg.

domain: news


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Rappler's latest stories on Jack Ma
'We have blurred the line between being a benefactor and being a legislator'
The Philippines is among the countries which will benefit from donations by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma
Manny Pacquiao says Floyd Mayweather should come see him for a 'real fight' as they have yet to square off in a rematch 4 years since their first clash
The number of richest Chinese – with holdings worth at least 2 billion yuan ($281 million) – fall to 1,819. Alibaba founder Jack Ma remains at the top of the list.
Ma plans to put his vast fortune – among China's biggest at $41 billion – into initiatives serving his first love, education
The hot topic in the hour-long talk between Elon Musk and Jack Ma is artificial intelligence, which has provoked increasing concern among scientists
We’ve rounded up everything from Elon Musk’s Twitter antics to disinformation campaign in social media
Chinese President Xi Jinping leads a ceremony at Beijing's imposing Great Hall of the People to mark the anniversary of the launch of 'reform and opening up'
Watch Rappler’s evening newscast with Chito dela Vega
The billionaire’s Communist bona fides are revealed by the People’s Daily, the party’s official mouthpiece, in an article praising contributors to China’s development
'Trade is to form ... peace. Trade is to communicate...nobody can stop free trade' says Jack Ma, the Alibaba e-commerce tycoon
(UPDATED) China minted two new billionaires a week in 2017, says Swiss banking giant UBS and auditors PwC
With the announcement of his retirement, we compile some of Jack Ma’s most famous quotes
The company finally confirms earlier reports from the New York Times and Bloomberg TV
(UPDATED) The South China Morning Post, owned by Jack Ma's Alibaba, quotes a company spokesman as saying that 'Ma remains the company's executive chairman' and will only 'provide transition plans'
(2ND UPDATE) The Chinese business magnate retires on Monday, September 10 as he devotes his time to philanthropy focused on education
Executives of one Chinese company even got to present their proposed reclamation project in Manila Bay during a full Cabinet meeting, Rappler learned
The country's conglomerates have acquired everything from digital payment tech to coal power plants this year, as they acquire the tools they hope will shape the economy’s future
The Department of Finance is looking into building a logistics backbone for MSMEs and popularizing China's 3-1-0 online loan initiative in the Philippines
The self-made billionaire and former English teacher is the founder of China's biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba Group
Kung susuriin ang kontribusyon at impact ng internet sa pag-unlad ng mga ekonomiya at pagbuti ng kabuhayan, dapat seryosohin ng pamahalaan ang pagpapabuti nito
Hello! Here are the stories you shouldn't miss this Friday.
PLDT and Globe say they're working to improve services, while the Philippine Competition Commission describes Jack Ma's disappointing experience as a 'wake-up call' for the telcos
Hello! Here are the stories you shouldn't miss this Thursday.
The Chinese business icon manages a packed schedule while experiencing Metro Manila traffic and the country's notorious slow internet
Rather than pointing fingers, the Chinese tycoon urges the private sector to grasp the opportunity and invest in better internet infrastructure for guaranteed returns
(UPDATED) 'The Philippines has the opportunity to develop the best fintech services in the world because you have so many mobile phones,' says the Chinese tycoon
Globe invites Chinese billionaire Jack Ma to the launch of its new mobile payment technology. On the same day, PLDT relaunches its scan-to-pay service.
The Chinese business icon reiterates Alibaba's long-term commitment to the Philippines, where it plans to build up e-commerce through partnerships with Lazada and Globe Telecom
Hello! Here's a roundup of news you need to know this Wednesday.
The decisions to be made by the Philippine Competition Commission in coming months, as it fully implements the Philippine Competition Act, will set the tone for competition regulation in Philippine markets
Wapres Jusuf Kalla mengatakan dengan menjadi penasihat e commerce Indonesia perusahaan Jack Ma Alibaba bisa melebarkan sayap di Tanah Air
The investment is part of a larger strategic partnership to connect Ant Financial s 450 million users worldwide with Kakao Pay
Hello Here s a roundup of news you need to know this Sunday
The deal represents the Alibaba group s first investment in the Philippines and gives Mynt access to the digital payment giant s technology to improve its GCash service
Apa dampak kebijakan roadmap e commerce terhadap pelakunya di Indonesia?
Perencanaan e commerce antara pemerintah dan perusahaan tak kunjung jadi
Pemain e commerce lokal mengatakan perlunya pemerintah segera mengeluarkan aturan terkait industri e commerce
Direktur Urusan Publik Alibaba untuk kawasan Asia Pasifik Rico Ngai mengatakan Jack Ma merasa terhormat bisa membantu Indonesia tetapi mereka tetap menanti dokumen penawaran resmi dari pemerintah
Will Jack Ma take the offer to promote growth in the e commerce industry?
UPDATED Revenue for the e commerce giant soars to 4 83 billion in the June quarter
The problem is that the fake products today they make better quality better price than the real product than the real names says Ma
Alibaba defies China s economic slowdown and tougher competition in the e commerce market
The VinItaly wine trade fair in Verona is already on its 50th year and the future looks bright for Italian wines
Alibaba signs an agreement with Singapore based social networking firm YuuZoo to run the firm s e sports events in China including the AliSports World Electronic Sport Games WESG kicking off at the end of April
The Chinese billionaire now owns Chateau de Sours which produces 500 000 bottles of wine a year


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Nasty Nas went to Instagram Friday with a few rare Aaliyah moments including a shot of himself and the iconic singer.
In early 2017, digital giant Apple Music yanked the late singer’s Ultimate Aaliyah album off its streaming service.
Ultimate Aaliyah has been removed from both Apple platforms, suggesting that the longtime legal dispute that has kept the popular ’90s R&B singer’s music from being available through online retailers is still ongoing. This is reportedly due to Aaliyah’s uncle Barry Hankerson, who managed the singer, and his refusal to release her music digitally, as explained in a Complex magazine feature just one month prior to the digital appearance of Ultimate Aaliyah. (Billboard)


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This is a guest post.
Having a home of your own can be immensely satisfying, even if you haven’t come close to paying off your mortgage, but it’s not without its problems. Although it’s not quite as costly as renting somewhere to live, it can be expensive to run even the smallest home, especially with the cost of living rising ever higher, as new figures calculated by a variety of insurer. They estimate that it costs on average around £10,000 to run the average home, with anywhere between 50-60% of that amount going on mortgage payments.
Mortgage payments can be hard to keep up with, especially if money’s tight, so getting helpful tips from emortgagecalculator.co.uk might prove to be useful. However, the total payments made on mortgages have fallen, which is sure to be welcome news for hard-pressed homeowners looking at keeping a tight grip on their finances. While the cost of mortgages has generally fallen, any discounts have been effectively wiped out by a rise in the cost of essentials such as energy and council tax.
The cost of gas, electricity and water has skyrocketed in the past couple of years by around 15%, which has resulted in the average household paying an extra £200 per year on utilities. This has hit many households hard, as is the case with the rise in the cost of home insurance, which has gone up by several percentage points, although savings can be made simply by shopping around for the best deal. However, many people have looked at cutting out some form of insurance such as buildings cover or content cover to ease the strain on their finances.
One of the largest expenses involved in owning any home is home improvement and maintenance. The average home in 2012 is expected to spend £1,100 on this, which can be attributed to a rise in VAT, with the cost going up by 8.2% compared to 2011. This includes painting and decorating, electrical and plumbing work and flooring. The fact that running a home can be so costly has given homeowners an excuse to cut costs wherever they can, which, providing it doesn’t come at a price, is well worth doing.


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Vodafone is aiming to keep Londoners connected and fully charged with a new fleet of branded taxis which for the first time will allow all passengers to recharge their phones on the move.
Customers of the mobile giant will also be able to pay for their journeys with their phones – at no extra charge – making those last minute stop-offs at the ATM a thing of the past.
In one of the biggest ‘wrapping’ advertising campaigns ever seen in the capital, the cabs' bold Union Jack design - made up of over 2000 London street names - will make them an easy spot for anyone running low on juice.
There are further plans for a fleet of Vodafone-branded Heathrow Express trains.
Vodafone's Guy Laurence said: “We are committed to offering London the best possible network. Now with our fantastic fleet of Union Jack cabs and their on-board chargers which anyone can use, all Londoners will be able to see our continuing commitment to the capital.”


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Tokyo-headquartered Isuzu Motors has increased its stake in joint venture (JV) partnership Isuzu Truck South Africa (ITSA) to 70% by buying an additional 20% interest from General Motors South Africa (GMSA) for an undisclosed amount.
Isuzu Motors, which formed the 50:50 JV with General Motors seven years ago, viewed the move as the “next logical step” in increasing its presence in the South African market.
Speaking at the Truck and Bus Show, held in Nasrec this week, COO Craig Uren said GMSA would continue to hold on to the remaining 30% stake in ITSA to maintain the strong relationship fostered between the two parties.
He stressed that General Motors remained an important partner for Isuzu Motors and that the group was not phasing out its relationship with GMSA.
“We are going to aim to enhance the Isuzu sales volumes, provide better customer satisfaction, enhance life cycle business and stabilise the business in South Africa by strengthening the connection between Japan and South Africa.”
Isuzu also planned to focus on, and increase capital into, ITSA’s midterm business plan and would continue to leverage GMSA’s infrastructure, resources for parts ordering and receiving, transportation of completed vehicles and vehicle assembly outsourcing.
The deal would provide ITSA with increased experience, efficiencies and skills and would enable ease of access to products, as the JV “takes more responsibility for the sub-Saharan African territory”, he said.
ITSA, while on the surface remaining unchanged, would renew efforts to expand operations in, and boost exports to, the rest of sub-Saharan Africa - which was previously done on an ad hoc basis through various distributors and dealers.
He pointed out that a truck assembly operation had been established in Kenya and that discussions were under way regarding the best options for operations in West Africa.


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ArabFinance: Rubex International incurred a net loss of EGP 7,732,927 in the first nine months of 2020, according to the company’s November 15thfinancial statements filed to the Egyptian Exchange.
In the July-September period of 2019, the company posted a net profit of EGP 4,504,699.
The company’s board of directors ratified the subscription outcomes as the issued capital increased by EGP 43.949 million.
Rubex is an Egypt-based joint-stock shareholding company engaged in acrylic and plastic products manufacturing. The company manufactures and distributes household plastic and acrylic products that include acrylic bathtubs and corner bathtubs, acrylic shower trays, acrylic bathroom panels, and others.
Copyright © 2020 Arab Finance Brokerage Company All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).


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If marijuana sales are so bad and businesses are struggling so much, then why are new dispensaries opening all the time?
Two things can be true at the same time. Marijuana sales are bad, but business owners still believe in the power of pot. Dispensary revenue is down across Colorado
, thanks to fewer out-of-state customers and a year-long drop in wholesale prices. This has pushed a handful of dispensaries to sell, close up shop or, in more than one case, get shut down because of failure to pay sales taxes
. At the same time, dispensaries still present lucrative opportunities for investors with deeper pockets than mom-and-pop operations trying to pay bills week to week.
Green Valley Dispensary is open at 4650 Tower Road.
Google Maps screenshot
We’ve seen several new dispensaries open
in the place of former stores while new pot shops have sprouted up on their own over the past six months. In cannabis epicenters like Denver, there will always be competition and new areas ripe for the picking, even if a few stores can’t make it. Expect more of the same going forward.
Send questions to [email protected]


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Thanks to our love of online shopping and a rise in self-employment, there are more vans whizzing along British roads than ever before, and over half (2.5m) of these 4.1 million registered vehicles is the prevalent white van. With the Ford Transit van maintaining the lead as the ‘King of the Road’. Despite the growing popularity of white vans, 69% of Britons still believe the selfish, aggressive, laddish stereotype behaviour of the ‘White Van Man Driver’ from the 90’s is still pervasive in our modern culture.
A third (33%) of British adults believes that white van drivers are the worst drivers on Britain’s roads and 42% report they are arrogant and rude.
Interestingly over half (55%) of white van drivers report that this out-dated ‘White Van Driver’ stereotype behaviour was scrapped a long time ago and the modern driver is a lot more conscious and invested in their health, wellbeing, reputation and career. These findings have been revealed in a new study out today by Travelodge.
With UK construction making a solid return and with the rise in e-commerce making delivery drivers the new front of house, Travelodge has experienced a surge in blue collar workers and delivery drivers staying at its 578 UK hotels this year. Interestingly these Road Warriors like to drive a white van and as the white van has become the backbone of the UK economy Travelodge has conducted research with 1,000 white van drivers and 2,000 British adults to obtain an updated perspective on British ‘White Van Drivers’
Key findings from the research revealed although the traditional ‘White Van Man Driver’ first coined in 1977 has been symbolic for four decades for being selfish, inconsiderate and aggressive, 55% of white van drivers feel this stereotype image associated with white van drivers is totally out-dated, and Britons are completely out of touch on how these van drivers have changed over the years.
The report also revealed that 57% of Britons don’t know that a 34% of van drivers in the UK are actually women.
Research findings also revealed that writing on a dirty white van is a thing of the past as 75% of white van drivers report taking great pride in their van and that a clean van makes them more productive and a better driver. Over a third (35%) of drivers also reported that they have the upmost respect for their work vehicle and a third of van drivers treat their van to a monthly valet.
A fifth (20%) of respondents also reported that the harsh “white van man’” stereotype only exists in the UK.
The research also revealed that the modern white van driver has ditched their stereotypical lifestyle of greasy spoon and junk food cuisine in favour of healthy eating and regular trips to the gym. Over a third (37%) of white van drivers take a healthy packed lunch to work with them every day. The top breakfast for white van drivers is cereal with fresh fruit and a salad for lunch.
However one thing that has not changed is a strong builder’s brew with 60% of white van drivers drinking on average four mugs of tea during their working day. Over a third (37%) of drivers also reported that they stay hydrated during the working day by drinking bottled water and a quarter like to have a Diet Coke moment during their day. Whilst one in ten white van drivers likes to drink green tea during the day.
With more than half of British white van drivers spending on average 10 hours a week in their vans and clocking nearly 10,000 miles annually (Which equates to driving the length of the UK 12 times). More than half of white van driver’s tune into the radio to keep them entertained whilst driving, with BBC Radio 2 being the top channel to listen to followed by Heart, Capital, Classic FM, Rock and Jazz.
A quarter of white van drivers enjoy listening to a book whilst driving and 20% relish an interesting Ted talk or podcast.
With white van drivers sending so much time on the road, taking regular exercise is key, on average (45%) van drivers will exercise up to four times a week.
During the working day, a quarter of white van drivers still prefer to get their dose of news via reading a newspaper. Nearly half of van drivers have alerts set on their mobile for news alerts from news websites and a third (33%) regularly check their social media channels for updates.
Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: “We have been providing accommodation to Road Warriors since we opened our first UK hotel on the A38 in 1985. Over the last three decades, we have experienced different trends and variations of Road Warriors staying at our 578 hotels. However the white van driver customer has been consistent and grown from strength to strength in line with market trends. We have also seen the customer profile of the white van driver gradually change over the decades and in response we have added healthier food options to our Bar Café menu. This year with the solid return of construction and our love for on-line shopping we are seeing more white van drivers staying at our hotels.”
Further research findings revealed that 36% of white van drivers who regularly stay away for work like to leave their hotel room clean and tidy. A quarter (25%) of drivers carry framed images of their partner, children or pet and 16% of drivers always pack their teddy bear to keep them company on trips away from home.
The table below details how the white van driver has changed over the last three decades
The 1990’s Stereotype
The 2021 Reality
Nasty and Neglected
Pristine and Proud
Male Drivers Only
Male and Female Drivers
Fast Food Addict
Health Food Guru
A Coach Potato
A Gym Junkie
A Brick Layer
A Key Worker
Lazy and Part Time
A Business Owner and A Boss
For further information, please contact the Travelodge Press Office on:
T: 01844 35 8703


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”الذكاء الاصطناعي“ يصبح أكثر ذكاء
March 17, 2023 - ChatGPT، تطبيق الإنترنت الأسرع نمواً في العالم، تلقى تحديثاً برمجياً رئيسياً يسمح له بإجراء الاختبارات والكتابة عن ما يمكنه فك تشفيره من الصور
OpenAI, the tech firm behind the hugely popular ChatGPT app, has released a new software update for it that makes it much smarter than its younger sibling.
The latest iteration, GPT-4, is a more “intelligent” and powerful version of the technology behind the viral chatbot, making it able to ace tests such as the U.S. legal system bar exam.
The improved AI can also now analyse the contents of photographs and write about them – such as looking at an image of an open fridge and then telling you recipes of what you could cook from the food stored in it.
GPT-4 is currently locked behind OpenAI’s “ChatGPT Plus” $20-a-month subscription service, but Microsoft has revealed it’s been powering Bing’s chatbot for the last six weeks.


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The Tour Merch trend continues, with Justin Bieber and Forever 21.
If you couldn’t afford to go to the Purpose Tour or cop the merch, fear not. Justin Bieber is releasing a capsule collection of limited edition Purpose Apparel in collaboration with music merchandise label Bravado, to be stocked at Forever21.
The eight piece capsule collection won’t break fans banks either with prices ranging from $17.90 – $34.90, a very different price tag to the items sold at his Barney’s Pop-Up which were as much as $1,600. The Forever21 collection includes oversize sleeveless T-shirts and short-sleeve T-shirts, all featuring a bleach blonde Justin graphics, as well as hoodies and track pants.
Bieber, who has recently run into difficulties with fans due to his potential new relationship with Sofia Richie and has subsequently deleted his instagram, has not made any comments regarding the collab. However Forever21 vice president of merchandising Linda Chang said this of the upcoming release in an interview with WWD: “We are pleased to partner with Justin Bieber and Bravado to celebrate one of the most influential musicians of this generation. This collection will give our customers and Justin Bieber fans access to one of the most in-demand merchandise lines in the world.”
The collection will be available online at forever21.com from Monday, and instore a week later on the 29th August.


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BlueRock Diamonds PLC (LON:BRD) has recovered a 16.28 carat diamond of gem quality from its Kareevlei mine in South Africa.
The stone is 4.58 carats larger than the largest stone hitherto extracted from Kareevlei by BlueRock.
READ: BlueRock Diamonds says exceptional 8.97-carat diamond recovered from Kareevlei mine in South Africa
BlueRock is now arranging to have the diamond valued and will provide further updates in due course.
"This discovery follows hot on the heels of our recovery of an exceptional 8.97-carat diamond on Friday 1st February,” said BlueRock chief executive Adam Waugh.
“The quality of these diamonds is a reminder of why we are so confident about the potential of the Kareevlei mine and the outlook for 2019."
The 8.97-carat diamond was the third stone BlueRock has mined from Kareevlei which is independently valued in excess of US$50,000.
The two previous record value stones were a 7.76 carat stone recovered in 2017 and sold for US$10,070 per carat and a 10.58 carat stone recovered in 2018 and sold for US$7,047 per carat.
Separately, BlueRock has raised £575,000 in a placing of shares at 0.3p each. The money raised will be invested in mining operations and in an associated plant.


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“Launch OnePlus 9T Cancelled”
According to the latest rumors, OnePlus is not planning to launch the OnePlus 9T this year. The cancellation would have to do with the worldwide shortage of chips, which means that not enough smartphones can be made.
Since 2016, OnePlus has been releasing a flagship smartphone every year in both the spring and autumn. That will not be the case this year. According to the well-known rumor spreader Max Jambor, there will be no OnePlus 9T this year. There are two possible reasons for this decision.
The global chip shortage seems the most likely reason for the cancellation of the OnePlus 9T. Because chip manufacturers have stopped production during the pandemic, almost all smartphone manufacturers are facing problems. Now that production is starting up again, various manufacturers are ordering extra chips to end the shortages. Because of this, some manufacturers still do not have enough chips.
Another, less likely option is that OnePlus wants to skip the OnePlus 9T to avoid having too few differences between the new models. By waiting, OnePlus can ensure that the OnePlus 10 is a clear upgrade compared to its predecessor.
Even though Jambor is a reliable and well-informed source, the original release date of the OnePlus 9T is still a long way off. It may be that OnePlus will come up with a solution before then to still launch the OnePlus 9T.


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The forecasters are sticking to their story that the Canadian economy grew in the last quarter of 2019 but every set of numbers that is coming out suggest it could be hard to meet that expectation.
Now, there’s no doubt that all the forecasters are also downgrading their projections. They started the quarter with an idea that we’d see expansion of 1.3 percent. By the end of the quarter they were saying growth – less than half a point but growth. Barely…but growth.
The latest challenge to that assumption though is on the trade front. Canada’s trade deficit was smaller in October as exports declined. About the only category seeing real strength was precious metals as buyers in the UK and Hong Kong were hedging against Brexit and political unrest.
Agriculture also a boost – interestingly canola exports rose but all to Europe. The China market – which accounted for 40-percent of the demand – remains blocked.
A recession is when the overall economy delivers two consecutive quarters of negative numbers. If you look only at trade….that part of the economy is already in recession.


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Outdoor living items
Remember that fire pit or outdoor living set you really wanted a few months ago? Pick it up now, and you can really get a bargain, says P. Allen Smith, author of "Living in the Garden Home" and host of "P. Allen Smith Gardens."
On items like fire pits and chimeneas (those short, freestanding pottery chimneys with bulbous bases), you could see prices slashed 30 percent to 50 percent, he says.
And other items, such as sling furniture, patio umbrellas, tiki torches, grills and grilling equipment, retailers will "just keep marking them down until they're gone," Smith says.
Big-box retailers are clearing out the summer merchandise and making room for the holiday items, he says. So when it comes to summer merchandise, "they want it gone."
Flower bulbs are another find. Look for discounts of up to 50 percent off, says Smith.


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There is some speculation in the press today that Nissan is looking to backtrack on its significant investment in the electric car market in favour of the hybrid market. This has obviously caught the attention of many journalists around the world and many people who are yet again predicting the demise of the electric car market. So where does this leave Nissan?
It makes obvious business sense for Nissan to hedge its bets in the short to medium term, as the electric vehicle market continues to grow, and also bring in the hybrid market. The very fact that the company is looking to triple the number of charging points in America over the next 18 months is enough of a commitment to the electric vehicle market to allay fears of a downturn in the short term.
In many ways car companies around the world have invested too much money to turn back now and the electric vehicle market is set to grow significantly even against the backdrop of a very difficult worldwide economic situation.


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Acquire BPO, a global leader in business process outsourcing, recently launched a new division, Acquire.AI, with a simple goal in mind – to help brands strategically navigate the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.
When brands can recognize, prioritize, and implement tailored AI solutions,they can often improve business efficiency, streamline tasks, improve decision making, and seamlessly incorporate personalization into the customer experience.
All of this adds up to massive growth potential, as employees and executives are freed up to do the creative and strategic work they’re good at. The problem is, most brands don’t know quite how to implement and deploy AI in their organizations.
Navigating AI is a Challenge for Businesses
In a 2023 study, nearly 50% of IT leaders said their organizations aren’t ready to implement AI, and that it may take five years or more to make these changes.
This data underscores the fact that AI is still a formidable challenge for businesses grappling with AI deployment strategies.
Recognizing this, Acquire.AI has introduced an AI consulting service designed to enhance processes, boost productivity, and foster growth by incorporating cutting-edge technology developed by industry experts.
A distinctive feature of Acquire.AI is its vendor-agnostic approach to addressing business challenges. Tailoring solutions to meet clients’ unique needs, the company draws upon their wealth of experience spanning many industries, including finance, healthcare, logistics, and energy.
“We’re thrilled to introduce Acquire.AI services that empower businesses, regardless of their stage in the AI journey, to deliver transformational value,” said Scott Stavretis, CEO of Acquire BPO. “Aligned with our company’s strategic vision, Acquire.AI underscores our commitment to innovation, enabling businesses to leverage AI for a competitive edge.”
Incorporating Proven AI Strategies for Business Success
Acquire.AI aims to alleviate the most common challenges faced by brands as they adapt to AI. Research suggests that brands are overwhelmed by the number of AI solutions available and constrained by time to conduct necessary research and testing.
Stavretis explains, “In today’s challenging business environment, brands are finding that AI-driven solutions are now a necessity. But, they’re overwhelmed by the number of AI-solutions and constrained by time to do the necessary research and testing. All the hype surrounding new and evolving AI technologies further complicates the decision-making process, making it difficult for brands to identify where to begin and how to strategically deploy AI for maximum impact.”
Acquire.AI addresses this by providing a range of solutions, from automated quality assurance to advanced agent assistive technologies and workflow optimization tools. The goal is to empower brands to strategically deploy AI for maximum impact.
“As a consulting service, Acquire.AI harnesses ongoing market analysis and practical experience to guide brands in pinpointing areas where AI can significantly enhance efficiency. We take a vendor-neutral consultative approach to empower brands to navigate the AI landscape confidently, ensuring that they invest in the right solutions that align with their unique business objectives,” Stavretis says.
Whether businesses seek initiation guidance or target specific areas for improvement, Acquire.AI excels in identifying, managing, and implementing effective solutions, providing brands with a solid return on investment (ROI).The service supports the complete AI journey, inclusing diagnosis, solution design, planning, implementation, and ongoing operations.
The launch of Acquire.AI marks a significant milestone in Acquire’s strategy and commitment to creating a thriving global community by offering safe, flexible, and innovative AI solutions. With an ambitious growth trajectory, Acquire.AI delivers transformational value in the ever-evolving AI landscape.
Read More From Techbullion


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A horror film produced, directed and starring Indian American entertainers is set to launch on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video this fall.
“Evil Eye” will launch Oct. 13, according to a news release.
The film, directed by Indian Americans Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani, is based on the award-winning, best-selling Audible Original production written by Madhuri Shekar and produced by Nina Anand Aujla.
It stars Sarita Choudhury as Usha Kharti; Sunita Mani as Usha’s daughter Pallavi; and Omar Maskati as Pallavi’s wealthy boyfriend Sandeep.
It shows how a seemingly perfect romance turns into a nightmare when a mother becomes convinced that her daughter’s new boyfriend has a dark connection to her own past.
To be streamed on Amazon Prime Video, the thematically connected original series is produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios. Jason Blum and Priyanka Chopra serve as executive producers under their Blumhouse Productions and Purple Pebble Pictures banners, respectively.
“We are excited to launch ‘Welcome To The Blumhouse’ with this exhilarating and provocative slate of original films for the first time ever. These chilling stories have something for everyone — ready to fright and delight genre fans and newcomers alike,” said Julie Rapaport of Amazon Studios.
“A seemingly perfect romance turns into a nightmare when a mother becomes convinced her daughter’s new boyfriend has a dark connection to her own past.”
“Evil Eye” is one of four films announced by Blumhouse.


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Traditional sports betting involved going to a Sports Booking Operator and placing bets. This is still the practice in Nevada which is where PASPA is not applicable. However, legalization of online and mobile betting has led to the development of official channels for booking sports for major American teams. In-person casinos are adapting to changing requirements of customers and the increase in betting on sports via mobile and online. You can still book traditional sports by visiting a Sports Booking Operator. However you can also use an app on your mobile to place bets and register your betting choices. These apps act as digital clearinghouses for bet calls, payouts, and more.
Online sport booking is legal in a majority of states. However there are some states that do not permit it. Retail and online betting are both permitted in Iowa. ufa24h and Gaming Commission regulates both the sports book as well as the gambling industry. In Michigan the sport book was only recently legalized within the state’s borders, but the program started operating at three retail casinos in March 2020, just in time for the Coronavirus pandemic. While Mississippi has attempted to get into sport betting, it hasn’t yet fully embraced mobile wagering.


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The one-off collection, which was in the works before Lagerfeld’s passing last February, will offer a Parisian, rock-chic style.
“This line of makeup truly reflects the Karl Lagerfeld brand universe and what Karl loved in makeup,” says Caroline Lebar, head of image and communication, Karl Lagerfeld, according to WWD.
“All of our fashion designer collaborations are an honor, but this one is particularly meaningful,” says Délphine Viguier-Hovasse, global brand president, L’Oréal Paris, according to WWD. “While Karl upturned the hierarchy of the landscape to democratize fashion, L’Oréal Paris is committed to making beauty according to women’s own rules and desires.”
The collection will be revealed for online sales on Sept. 20, with the global release planned for Sept. 27 during Paris Fashion Week.
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London, 2 May 2017: The average B2B marketing salary has fallen by more than £1500 since 2016, according to the B2B Marketing Salary Survey 2017-18.
The average annual salary for B2B marketers this year is £46,442, a 3.4% drop over the past 12 months.
The research, carried out by B2B Marketing in partnership with The Jefferson Group, also found:
• The gender pay gap has widened significantly: While the average annual male salary rose to £56,529, the average female salary fell to £42,193.
• Client-side marketers earn more than their agency counterparts: Inhouse marketers earn £659 more a year than those working for marketing agencies.
• Pay in London outstrips the rest of the UK: The average salary in London is £55,074, £13,000 more than the average for the rest of the UK (£41,604).
• It pays to develop a broad skillset: The average salary of a...


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The KAD ICT Hub, established to bridge the digital gap in Kaduna State, said that it had trained 10,000 residents of the state in different digital skills from inception in 2017 to 2020.
The Hub’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Yusuf Bashir, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Saturday.
Bashir said that the beneficiaries were trained on web and mobile app designs, hardware, artificial intelligence, internet of things and block chain technologies.
He said that some of the beneficiaries had established some startups and were already exploiting the digital space.
He identified some of the startups to include Dalsman Tech, JobMarche, Aeropaye, and ABM Express.
Bashir said that KAD ICT Hub had signed a Tripartite Agreement with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Usman Dalhatu, the Chief Executive Officer of Dalsman Tech.
“Dalhatu has successfully built a sweeping machine called `Beyond Clean’ and a ventilator named `Respire-19 Ventilator’.
“Another startup is a JobMarche, which connects freelance job seekers and freelance job providers across the world.
“Aeropaye is another startup from KAD ICT Hub that offers block chain services for airlines, flight booking structure and key system as well as airline billing and settlement plan.
“ABM Express, also another startup, is offering office, motor parks and door to door deliveries, errands and shopping services,” he said.
Bashir also said that the ICT Hub in partnership with Yasmin EL-Rufai Foundation had trained 200 women on basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and digital marketing.
He said that the Hub had developed the Kaduna State online vehicle registration platform www.kadvreg.ng with the potential to generate N3.5 billion annually for the state.
Bashir noted that KAD ICT Hub and Toes to Heels Initiative, in partnership with the U.S. Embassy, Abuja, would roll out the second cohort of Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in Kaduna State.
“AWE is a White House-led initiative designed to empower women entrepreneurs worldwide with the skills and resources to bring their bright entrepreneurial ideas to life.
“The programme equips women with the tools needed to create and grow their own businesses, raise capital and effectively network with other successful business owners.
“The intensive programme is scheduled to run from December 2020 to March 2021,” Bashir said.
NAN reports that KAD ICT Hub, had on Dec. 9, announced plans to train one million residents of Kaduna State on digital skills to create entrepreneurs and boost employment opportunities.
The training will be conducted in partnership with the French Development Agency (FDA), under Educational Technology Implementation Plan Project and supervised by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
KAD ICT Hub, a partnership between Kaduna State Government and Telemax Engineering Services Ltd., was established in 2017.
It brings together companies such as Coders4Africa, Draper Dark Flow and Gebeya, first-of-a-kind centre that incubates world-class technologies, talents and innovation. (NAN)


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China falls short of agreed purchases of US goods under 'phase one' trade deal
China is falling short on the purchases of US goods needed in order to complete the phase one trade deal that it signed in January 2020 and that is set to wind up in December 2021.
Beijing and Washington agreed that the Asian giant would purchase at least $200bn-worth of US products in 2020 and 2021 to reach 2017 levels.
Chinese purchases of US goods for the current year through April were at 73% of what they should be to stay on track with the trade agreement, according to estimates from the US based Peterson Institute for International Economics.
To stay on track with the agreement, China would have needed to buy $64.5bn-worth of US goods during the first four months of 2020, the report estimated on Tuesday.
Based on US data, the level of progress falls to 60%, the institute said. The level of purchases had already fallen over 40% short in 2020.


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Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has gone through an economic and technological revival. He is targeted on speedy-developing, excessive-margin agencies and cloud services while reshaping the business enterprise’s traditional product traces. That success is illustrated via the agency’s nearing $1 trillion in market value as the inventory rose approximately 34% in 2019, almost double the tempo of the S&P 500.
What Investors Will Watch For
Now, buyers may be looking intently to see if the company can keep income and sales rising for cloud offerings and other key sales drivers as the U.S. And worldwide financial system sluggish when it reports quarterly income in mid-July. Investors also may be looking closely at Microsoft’s cloud margins and the outlook for its non-cloud groups, which include Microsoft Word, Xbox, streaming video games, and different corporations. An essential cognizance could be the fitness of Windows, which saw sales to PC makers grow nine% closing sector, reversing a five% decline in the preceding 3-month period.
A Slow-Growth June Quarter
At the instant, analysts estimate that growth downshifted inside today’s sector ended June. They assume Microsoft to post profits in keeping with a percentage of $1.21, marking a 7.1% growth from year-in the past EPS at $1.Thirteen, according to Yahoo Finance. Revenue is forecast to be available at $32.75 billion for the area, an eight.8% soar from the $30.09 billion mentioned in the same site ultimate 12 months. That amounts to a sharp slowdown in an increase from the company’s March zone, when Microsoft beat analysts’ expectations with earnings of $1.14 per proportion, reflecting a 14% upside surprise. For the length ended March, the corporation posted sales up 14% YOY to $30.6 billion. Better-than-predicted top and bottom-line numbers were fueled by the boom of Microsoft’s cloud computing enterprise, referred to as Microsoft Azure, which received over a few essential corporate clients inside the duration, including Kroger Co. (KR) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM).
The Cautious View
That slowing increase supports the warning of bears like Jefferies analyst John DiFucci, in keeping with an in-depth story in Barron’s. DiFucci says Microsoft stock will lag the broader market as it posts weaker than anticipated income for Azure, which he says are not likely to ever in shape Amazon’s. “Azure will likely by no means see the margin widely predicted because of cultural and technical factors,” DiFucci wrote. “We believe there is cloth risk that Azure margins in no way reap those of AWS [and that] the coins float gain from Windows…Outperformance isn’t sustainable.”
The Optimists’ View
Many analysts forecast that Microsoft can hold its immediate increase long-term regardless of any slowdown in the June area. Bulls argue that Microsoft has been gaining on Amazon.Com Inc.’s (AMZN) leading cloud commercial enterprise. Last quarter, Microsoft’s cloud computing offerings sales from Azure jumped seventy-three %, albeit slower than the seventy-six % posted in the preceding region. And revenue from Microsoft’s ordinary cloud business, which includes software and Office 365, grew forty-one %. “Microsoft has distinct blessings in portions of the marketplace that must deliver the enterprise the ability to reach, through the years, revenue that isn’t that dissimilar to that of Amazon AWS [ Amazon Web Services ],” wrote Bernstein’s Mark Moerdler, in step with Barron’s. He foresees Microsoft generating over $one hundred forty billion in cloud computing sales in the lengthy term, grabbing a bit of a marketplace he estimates is worth between $900 billion to $1.2 trillion. Microsoft will need to show an increase like that to maintain its income – and percentage fee – surging.
Until these days, both Google and Microsoft were dwelling in Concord. The masses used Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to surf Google’s search engine. However, the Internet’s seemingly unstoppable increase since early 2000 began to attract the eye of many industries. Microsoft executives truely saw the Internet as the subsequent significant issue, probably a marketplace worth pursuing. Meanwhile, Google persevered to make remarkable strides within its seek engine marketplace. Having generated sufficient cash, Google took a different course; based on era enthusiasts, Google started to enter various markets unrelated to its search business. Rumors commenced unfolding that Google is building a web “loose” Operating System and other gear along with an alternative version to the dominating Internet Explorer. This, as you may have guessed, ticked off Microsoft, and it took the bait and decided to roll its struggle drums against Google. Microsoft, via the way, isn’t the most straightforward corporation that feels threatened with the aid of its presence. Other net giants, such as AOL, Yahoo!, And eBay, also are feeling the warmth ever on account that Google launched into its journey closer to dominating any market of the technological hobby. Google innovated in markets that already existed and, tremendously, passed off to defeat them. For Microsoft, it turned into a danger well worth neutralizing. Today, Google has its arms in internet search, email, online videos, calendars, information, blogs, computing device search, photo sharing, online payments, social networking, on the spot messaging, WiFi, word processors, net hosting, internet browser, search device bars, spreadsheets, dialogue agencies, maps and more superb.
Software for Dymo Labelwriter 450 is a powerful software that enables users to perform var…


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New Plant-Based Products at Clark Street Store
Our Clark Street store has updated its product mix to reflect what you have been asking for.
“We have recently added more than 100 new items that are vegan, organic and plant-based,” says Dave Scabo, store manager. “This includes meat alternatives, dairy alternatives, vegan snacks and more organic products than ever before.”
The additions in grocery include Primal Kitchen brand salad dressings and mayonnaises, and Little Goat brand sauces. New dairy department items include Nancy’s Oat milk Yogurts, Perfect brand snacks and protein bars and Oat-Ly oat milk. In the freezer case, you will find Woodstock Organic fruit Field Roast plant-based entrees and sausages, and Beyond Meat plant-based meat substitutes. These products are designed to be better for you and better for the planet.
At Potash Markets our managers are also our buyers. If you are looking for a particular product and we don’t have it, let us know, and we may be able to get it. We are family-owned, have been serving the Gold Coast since 1950, and our motto is “Quality Groceries, Quality Life.”


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Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby says mining’s orderly capital spending pattern is set to continue in 2023 after growth in the US manufacturer’s mining-dominated resource industries business outpaced the rest of its machine and aftermarket sales in 2022.
Robust sales for the group in the December quarter – up 20% year-on-year to US$16.6 billion – helped drive the full-year total to $59.4b, 17% higher than the previous 12 months.
Resource industries, including quarry and aggregates activity, chimed in with $12.3b, up 25.5% on 2021. The December quarter sales total of $3.4b was 26% higher than the same time in 2021.
Umpleby said Caterpillar achieved all-time high earnings per share of $13.84 in 2022 ($10.81 in 2021).
“Our global team delivered one of the best years in our nearly 100-year history, including record full-year adjusted profit per share,” he said.
“Despite supply chain challenges, the team achieved double-digit top-line growth and generated strong ME&T [machinery, energy and transportation] free cash flow.”
Umpleby said he expected an “even better year on both the top and bottom line” in 2023.
Caterpillar had a $30b order backlog. Aftermarket activity and sales continued to trend positively, with $22b of services revenue in 2022 putting the company on track to hit its $28b target in 2026.
Umpleby said Caterpillar had 1.4 million “connected assets” in the field at the end of 2022 compared with 1.2 million in 2021. More than 60% of new equipment sold in 2022 was delivered with a customer value (service) agreement.
Umpleby said the capital discipline that continued to be generally seen among big miners was producing moderate, year-on-year growth in the market.
“That’s a really positive thing I think for them and for us,” he said.
“We have a strong backlog, which we feel good about. Parked trucks remain at low levels; there are high utilisation levels of equipment.
“We feel good about the mining business. Quotation activity is very strong and we’re having very good conversations with customers.”


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Chinese scientists have developed a strain of super-tough "sea rice” that farmers can grow in salty water, set to spark a rice revolution that could help feed over 200 million people.
The rice was developed by the godfather of rice, Yuan Longping, at the Qingdao Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice Research And Development Center in Qingdao on the eastern coast of China, reported Chinese state media.
Back in the 1970s, Yuan was one of the first scientists to develop hybrid rice varieties. Riding on fears that the Chinese population was set to boom within the coming decades, his team helped create numerous strains of rice that grow faster, yield more, and resist more stress. Nowadays, up to 20 percent of the world’s rice comes from rice species created through his pioneering work.
"If a farmer tries to grow some types of saline-tolerant rice now, he or she most likely will get 1,500 kilograms per hectare [1,322 pounds per acre]. That is just not profitable and not even worth the effort," said Yuan, according to Chinese state media.
"Farmers will have enough incentive to grow the rice if we double the yield."
The rice was developed through years of trait selection, crossbreeding, and genetic analysis. Over the past summer, the researchers completed their first full-scale trials of growing the crop in rice paddies pumped with diluted seawater from the Yellow Sea, the body of water between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula.
Following on from the success of these experiments, the rice is already filling dinner plates. The company distributing the rice says they have already sold 6 tonnes (6.6 US tons) worth. Currently, it's pretty pricey, costing around eight times as much as standard rice. However, the price is expected to drop following further commercialization. It's also reducing the need for pesticides since pathogens and insects find it harder to live in these higher concentrations of salinity.
Huge portions of the Chinese countryside is left empty because the soil and water supply is too saline and too alkaline. There are certain forms of wild rice that can survive salinity already but they usually have a pretty poor yield of 1.125 to 2.25 tonnes per hectare (1.12 to 2.24 US tons per acre). This new hybrid strain, however, can yield between 6.5 and 9.3 tonnes per hectare (2.9 and 4 US tons per acre). This increase in yield could produce 50 million tonnes (55 million US tons) of food, enough to feed 200 million people, Yuan told the South China Morning Post.
Best of all, it also seems to pass the test taste.
“My boyfriend said it was like the rice he had back in his village. It is very good," one Chinese consumer told the South China Morning Post.


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NXP Semiconductors shipped 125m NFC chips for smartphones and tablets in 2012, beating previous projections. The chip maker’s figures received a boost when Samsung shipped 40m Galaxy S III smartphones equipped with NXP chips in the final six months of the year. Samsung is, however, believed to be using Broadcom NFC technology in the new Galaxy S4.
- Issuers to adopt common QR code for payments in Singapore from 2018
- Norwegian banks to form joint venture in bid to combat threat of global tech giants
- ABN Amro includes access to Tikkie payments in new developer APIs
- Wembley to let fans store contactless tickets in their Apple Wallet
- Amazon moves closer to rollout of automated stores


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BELGRADE (Serbia), June 17 (SeeNews) – Italian wiring harnesses producer Selettra has opened a factory in Sabac, northern Serbia, the city government said.
Selettra invested 150,000 euro ($168,200) in the factory which currently has 10 employees, the local government said in a statement on Friday.
The Italian company intends to increase the number of employees to 30 by the end of this year and to 100 by the end of 2020.
"Last year we started researching this region and discovered the excellent cooperation between Italy and Serbia, which is certainly a result of the work of the embassy of Italy in Serbia. In cooperation with Confindustria Serbia, we have connected, and now you see the results," Selettra general manager, Luca Antognozzi, said at the opening ceremony.
The factory in Sabac will be operated by Selettra WB doo, a fully-owned Serbian subsidiary of Selettra.
($ = 0.891582 euro)


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Campbell Soup shares
Campbell Soup (CPB) shares are expected to benefit from its better-than-expected third-quarter performance. The stock rose more than 4% during the pre-market session on June 5. Campbell Soup divested its US refrigerated soup and Garden Fresh Gourmet business. The company agreed to sell its Bolthouse Farms businesses during the third quarter. The planned divestiture of underperforming brands is positive.
So far in 2019, Campbell Soup stock has risen 15.5% as of June 4. The stock has generated better returns than the S&P 500 Index, which has risen 11.8% on a YTD basis.
Despite the company’s better-than-expected financial performance in the past several quarters, there are concerns about continued weakness in its base business. Campbell Soup’s top-line growth is expected to slow down in fiscal 2020 as the company annualizes its Snyder’s-Lance acquisition and faces tough year-over-year comparisons. Campbell Soup’s earnings will likely continue to take a hit due to weakness in the gross margin, higher interest expenses, and lower or no benefit from the lower tax rate.
Among the 15 analysts tracking Campbell Soup, nine recommended a “sell,” four recommended a “hold,” and two recommended a “buy.” Analysts’ target price of $33.64 reflects a potential downside of 11.7% based on its closing price of $38.11 on June 4.


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Catching the essence of Curaçao
Resting at a few kilometres off the placid coastline of Venezuela, the Caribbean island of Curaçao is home to European-inspired architecture, cove-like beaches and a unique appeal to travellers from around the world. To relaunch the island’s identity and attract more visitors, the Curaçao Tourist Board has rolled out a refreshed global branding campaign, drawing inspiration from the island’s own aesthetic.
Turning to design agency Catch New York for help, Curaçao launched its new brand last year, releasing pictures of the island and its guests with vibrant colours and tropical aesthetics. With the tagline ‘Feel it for yourself,’ the new brand depicts tourists in varying situations, to embody the Curaçao experience and convey the island’s vibe.
The identity itself echoes the colours of the buildings in downtown Willemstad, adopting bright shades to reflect the capital’s own varying palette. Drawing from Curaçao’s landmarks and features, the new brand showcases a solid grounding in the island’s roots and a confident personality to push Curaçao forward.
The Tourist Board wished to set it apart from other Caribbean destinations. The renewed branding campaign is fresh, bold and energetic, and it conveys the spirit and personality of Curaçao with vivid imagery embodying life on the island.


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This is a special message from Barilla. From casual dining restaurants to school cafeterias, menus today are sporting a wider array of healthful options, including more creative and flavorful whole grain pasta dishes than ever before. “Over time, I have really seen an increase in the number of restaurants, including a lot of the larger chains, that offer those items,” said Nicole Ring, RD, director of restaurant and community partnerships for Healthy Dining, a ...
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We are proud to announce that we have been awarded the ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and ISO 22301 international certifications.
Togotis Holdings announced that it has acquired Clym, Ltd., a global leader in organizational data privacy solutions.
The new Clym X-Cart addon brings GDPR Compliance For eCommerce closer, with a two-minute integration.
We’re exhibiting and presenting at the National Conference On Data Data Protection In Healthcare in Poiana Brașov, Romania.
As data privacy legislation requires enhanced control over personal data, companies are turning to privacy centers. Here’s how they help.


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Toyota: the people’s champion
South Africa’s light commercial vehicle sector is a significant contributor to the country’s economy, not only in terms of the number of minibuses and bakkies produced locally, but also in terms of the volumes of vehicles and parts exported to destinations in Africa and other areas of the world.
It’s fitting, therefore, that Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has decided to bolster facilities at its Durban plant to accommodate increased production of its Hiace Ses’fikile minibus taxi, as well as to set up an operation for exporting Hilux kits to Kenya.
At an event last month to mark the official launch of the new ventures, Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, described Durban as the heart of the continent’s taxi industry, with more than 80 000 Hiaces produced at Toyota’s factory since assembly began there in 2012. He added that if any nameplate deserved to serve as brand of choice for the people of KwaZulu-Natal, Toyota should top the list.
“If each of those taxis opened their doors to commuters right now, more than a million South Africans would be able to climb in,” he said, praising the brand’s decision to increase the amount of local content in the latest version of the Hiace from 38 to 44 percent.
“In line with the South African Automotive Masterplan, the government has ambitions to lift production of vehicles built in South Africa to 1,4-million units a year by 2035 – representing one percent of global volumes. By then, the aim is to have increased the amount of local content in vehicles to 60 percent,” he said.
Among the economic rewards for reaching those targets Patel listed a doubling of the number of employees in the automotive value chain. Currently, the sector directly employs about 350 000 people in KwaZulu-Natal alone, according to Andrew Kirby, CEO of TSAM.
In his address, Kirby said the Hiace plant represented a total investment of more than R1 billion – the most recent expansion accounting for R454 million, which has increased production capacity to 14 000 units a year, up 37 percent compared with the number originally assembled from semi knocked-down kits imported from Japan.
“In terms of turnover, South Africa’s minibus-taxi industry represents a R90-billion a year business,” he said. “Fifteen-million passengers a day use its services.”
Kirby said an additional 80 jobs had been created following the latest development, which he described as a major vote of confidence in the capability of the South African automotive industry. In addition, another 20 people had been employed in a venture which sees knocked-down kits of Hilux bakkies exported to Kenya for assembly in that country.
“There’s been a shift in industrialisation policies in several African countries,” Kirby said. “South Africa is well positioned as a hub to support motor industry initiatives and develop trade links with other parts of the continent. We’ve invested about R20 million in building the 25 modules that are required for the Hilux project – all parts are supplied to Kenya in 580 boxes packed here at TSAM.”
According to Kirby, the local economy and customers in Kenya stand to benefit from the initiative – the latter will be able to buy vehicles at a cheaper price than they are currently paying – while the Hiace project is expected to pump about R422 million annually into KwaZulu-Natal’s coffers.


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Come January 2019 and Singapore as well as Southeast Asia will switch to digital TV.
Digital broadcasting in Singapore began in December 2013 when state-owned broadcaster Mediacorp converted all seven of its free-to-air TV channels to the digital format. However, it has continued to broadcast in the analogue format, which will end by January 1, 2019, with neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia following suit.
Innovation and measurability are what makes this format so appealing to marketers. However, targeting and measurement like data-driven automation and audience-based buying component are key foundations that will need to be built into digital TV and enable it across more networks, for it to be viable.
One of the plus factors is that having programmatic ads on TV will be more attractive than desktop and mobile because it is 100 per cent brand safe and viewable, as advertisers can put what they want to appear against with the high production values of the content, which they know is going to be safe.


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Can Generic Medications Stay Less Costly Than Branded Medications?
. But what is less know is the dosage may be a bit less well controlled. And it's also perhaps not as closely monitored for safety in what a Sept 11, 2013 JAMA editorial called less responsibility for 'pharmacovigilance'. The brand name drug has a defined set of responsibilities to report new safety findings, and the generics do not. Closer monitoring of generics, much like brand products is a goal of the future. But the funding for this will have to come though some fees. If generic drugs are to remain as safe as the branded products, then their costs may have to be more similar.


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From Web to Machine: Amazon Industrial (AI) Services
Posted by Doug Harp
Business Insider reported that Amazon has filed a patent application for new software that will be used for monitoring industrial plants. The project is named Thor, and the software is intended to collect data from production, provide monitoring, analysis, predictions, and forecasts. Thor looks to provide Predictive Maintenance capabilities, using analysis of temperature, sound and vibration measurements to predict when a machine needs maintenance before a breakdown occurs. The Amazon AI services are currently being tested in Sweden and is expected to be formally launched in October. Initial uses target smart building management for large industrial facilities.
Amazon Web Services generated nearly $11 billion in revenues in 2Q20, representing 29% growth over the prior year. AWS has been a key factor in Amazon’s growth, and has transformed the landscape of enterprise computing. Launched in 2006, AWS has expanded its market footprint by aggressively leveraging its unique scale in order to deliver low-cost services to customers – and in 2Q20 AWS lowered prices again for its EC2 compute instances, continuing a trend of delivering increasing performance at lower and low prices.
The move into Industrial IoT services reflects a focus on higher value software offerings, where AWS can charge a premium while core compute and storage offerings help expand customers and usage with aggressive pricing. Amazon’s strategy for AWS has been to go after high margin enterprise technology vendors from the beginning (“Your margin is my opportunity”) – as the company commanded major spending share gains from traditional enterprise server and storage vendors including HP, IBM, Sun/Oracle, Dell and others. To date, only Microsoft has been able to challenge AWS as a cloud computing services platform at the enterprise, with Google a distant third.
Amazon Web Services has built a robust portfolio of offerings that span infrastructure, tools and applications, and its IoT offerings provide building blocks for a broad range of use cases as well as Amazon AI services. Much of AWS’s innovation around IoT has focused on connectivity and developer tools. AWS IoT Core enables users to connect devices with cloud applications, keep track of messages while processing and routing data to the appropriate endpoints. Greengrass is an innovative platform that enables local data processing by edge devices. Other offerings include Amazon AI services, such as FreeRTOS, SiteWise,Device Management and Things Graph provide a robust suite of capabilities for developers to create applications for monitoring industrial data from edge devices, sensors and other sources, employing advanced Amazon AI services and analytics to deliver predictive capabilities.
The competitive landscape is getting more crowded, as Microsoft, Google and scores of other providers offer software and cloud services that target the industrial IoT market. Tools do over time become commodified, and it’s the applications that provide the potential to generate higher margin, sticky revenue streams. There are many vendors and system integrators already offering industrial IoT solutions built on AWS, as well as a bevy of startups and traditional industrial firms targeting the market with specialized and bespoke offerings.
For Amazon, Thor represents a move “up the stack” into applications, where AWS’s successes have been mixed, with offerings like email, Chime (video conferencing) and calendaring failing to gain much traction against entrenched incumbents. In an emerging area like Predictive Maintenance, and other related domains around Industrial IoT, much of the competition consists of specialized, vertical or bespoke applications and the market is fragmented. With the broad footprint of AWS uses, Thor could have a good opportunity to establish meaningful share in the industrial market, and potentially expand use cases and usage overall.


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We are proud to announce that CODEX Ltd. have won the WorldStar Award in the category of Medical & Pharmaceutical for Multifunctional sachet-closing booklet label (ECL®) with integrated package leaflet.
We have exhibited on the PLMA 2017, the private label show brought us a lot of experience and success. There was a common picture taken in front of the Hungarian exhibition booth in Amsterdam.
A successful exhibition in Düsseldorf closed. Over 160 companies were interested in Codex ECL® booklet labels and other specialities showcased in the Hungarian booth during the International Packaging Show Interpack. We have received the World Star Packaging Prize on May 4th for our 10 pages innovative label in food category. […]
Codex exhibits at the World Private Label 2017 international fair in Amsterdam at the Hungarian booth. We welcome all visitors at the RAI Convention Centre on the 16th and 17th May 2017.
Codex exhibits at the Interpack 2017 Düsseldorf with almost 3000 participants out of 60 countries at the Hungarian booth. We are awaiting our national and international partners and future customers in pavilion 7.1 at booth B05 between the 4th and 10th May 2017.
We have participated at the PPD Expo in Budapest with a lecture on ECL® – The Intelligent Label.


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Media jury savours Tesco ads
The winner of the 2018 Media Grand Prix is Tesco’s 'Food Love Stories', entered by Mediacom and BBH London on behalf of retailer Tesco.
Explaining the choice, jury president Tim Castree, global CEO of Wavemaker, said: “We had a feeling this year that media trade craft is being commoditised. So we wanted to reward a campaign that showed trade craft across a multitude of areas. And this was terrific work.”
Tesco’s 'Food Love Stories' was a multimedia strategy which saw the retailer attempt to shift the emphasis in its sector from price to people’s love of food. The strategy which covered everything from above the line advertising to recipe cards - appears to have worked, with Tesco claiming that it drove £679m of new revenues in just eight months.
Castree said a notable trend this year was brands getting more engaged in corporate social responsibility. “They were moving from purpose-driven ads to a kind of corporate activism, actively taking sides in areas like LGBT, women’s rights and xenophobia. We also saw a lot of innovation in traditional media such as out-of-home and print, an example being the 'Highway Gallery', a Silver winner on behalf of Louvre Abu Dhabi.”
There were innovative tech hacks and gifs, said Castree, but also examples of what he called: “massive technical innovations at scale, work that is right at the intersection of media and technology.”
All told there were nine Media Golds, with the UK taking three of them. Brands to secure Golds included Coca-Cola, Aldi, Spotify, Argos and Intel.


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By Ryan Naraine
Once valued at approximately $7.8 billion, Excite.com was sold for around $10 million as the Redwood City, Calif.-based [email protected] found itself strapped for cash and laden with debt.
Now, iWon.com said it was getting ready to integrate the old Excite.com features — stock quotes, movie listings and news reports — before New Year’s Day.
The company, which runs loyalty-based marketing campaigns, said a 110-strong technology team has been working on the integration of the two sites for the past two months. The integration included the transfers of approximately 400 million e-mails, which had to be stored to new computers.
iWon bought the rights to manage the consumer end of Excite.com from InfoSpace, Inc.
, which was the original buyer of the assets from [email protected] InfoSpace retains control of the search and directory components of Excite.
Once the management of Excite is complete, iWon said it would change its corporate name to The Excite Network. The iWon.com Web site would exist separately.


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China's Luye Pharma Group has met with strong institutional investor interest and secured six cornerstone investors ahead of its planned initial public offering in Hong Kong.
Luye Pharma is looking to raise up to HK$5.9 billion ($764 million) by pricing 999.6 million shares, or 30% of its enlarged share capital, at between HK$5.38 and HK$5.92 a unit -- a figure that could rise to $878 million if a 15% greenshoe option is exercised.
Early indications are positive with the institutional book roughly two times covered just ten minutes after the books opened Monday and orders coming in across the HK$5.38 and HK$5.92 price range, according to sources close to the deal.
Hong Kong fund house Value Partners agreed to purchase $100 million worth of shares. Value Partners, along with the other cornerstones — OrbiMed Advisors, Prime Capital, Trivest Investment, Macquarie Funds and Minmetals Capital — have altogether pledged $280 million.
Retail books open Wednesday and the deal is scheduled to price on July 2 after the New York close. The institutional/retail split will be 90/10.
The company is being marketed at 24.2 to 26.6 times estimated 2014 earnings, based on the joint syndicate forecast, which is broadly in line with where other Chinese pharmas are trading, according to Bloomberg.
Citi, Citic/CLSA and UBS are the lead managers and just over two-thirds of the shares on offer are primary.
Selling shareholders include private equity backers — CDH Capital, Citic Private Equity and New Horizon Capital — who took a majority stake in the-then Singapore-listed Luye Pharma in 2012 before taking the company private later that year. Other selling shareholders include the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) as well as Chairman Liu Dian Bo, according to a term sheet.
The cornerstone investors and selling shareholders are subject to a six-month lockup.
Investors have a number of comparables when considering Luye Pharma, which sells over 50 drugs for oncology, cardiovascular, orthopaedic, gastroenterology and central-nervous system patients.
Sihuan Pharmaceutical, a Chinese manufacturer of cardio-cerebral vascular drugs, is currently trading at 24.2 times estimated 2014 earnings. Its shares are up 28% so far this year.
Sihuan, like Luye, was previously listed in Singapore but was delisted in December 2009 through a privatization process handled by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, which owned 10% at the time. Almost a year later in October 2010, Sihuan raised $741 million after pricing its shares at HK$4.60 a unit, the top end of the indicated range.
Sino Biopharmaceutical, a manufacturer of treatments for ophthalmia, hepatitis, dermatitis and other illnesses associated with aging, is trading at a similar 2014 price-earnings ratio of 24.5. Shares are down 4% so far this year.
CSPC Pharmaceutical — which started out as a manufacturer of bulk drugs such as penicillin and vitamin C — has transformed itself into a producer of innovative and branded drugs, having recently developed an oncology drug division and is the most expensive of Luye’s comparables, currently trading at 27 times its forecast 2014 earnings. Shares are up 2% year-to-date.
Although it is being offered at a discount to CSPC, bankers say the Luye’s forward earnings still represent a slight premium to Sihuan and Sino, largely due to the company’s tremendous growth potential.
China’s aging population, increasing urbanization and higher incomes are creating great demand for pharmaceutical products. This, coupled with government pledges to support the development of a medical insurance industry, have made institutional investors and hedge funds very positive on the sector.
Proceeds will go towards expanding its pharmaceutical product lines, research and development and future acquisitions, according to the term sheet.
It’s been a difficult year so far for Hong Kong IPOs, capped off by WH Group’s high-profile flop in April. Since the pork producer failed to list, however, more issuers have successfully completed IPOs, largely due to lower pricing. This has restored some confidence among institutional and retail investors.
Most recently, Cosmo Lady raised $178.8 million after pricing its shares at HK$3.60 per unit, the middle of its initial HK$3.27 and HK$4.42 per share range. Demand for the Chinese lingerie manufacturer was robust, with the institutional book three times covered on the first day of the bookbuild on June 16.
High-end women’s fashion designer Koradior Holdings, meanwhile, priced 125 million shares at HK$4.20 a unit, also the middle of its HKR3.05 to HK$4.51 per unit range, and locking in HK$525 million ahead of its June 27 listing.


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An electric powertrain won’t be the only thing that separates Lamborghini’s first EV from the rest of its supercars.
It appears that the brand’s first fully electric vehicle is going to be a grand tourer, according to Automotive News (h/t Autoblog). The car might also arrive much sooner than anyone was expecting—sometime around the middle of the decade.
Earlier this spring, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann confirmed the company was working on its first battery-power vehicle, which would slot in as its fourth model line. That’s all he was willing to say at the time, but industry chatter suggests the car could be a coupé with a 2+2 seat configuration, according to the car newspaper. This likely means the car will be a two-door GT with two seats in the front and two smaller seats in the back, similar to the layout found in the Porsche 911 or Ford Mustang. This would make the EV the brand’s first four-seater since the Espada, which ended its production run back in 1978.
Lamborghini will develop the EV in collaboration with two of its Volkswagen Group sister brands, Porsche and Audi. Despite this, the car is unlikely to share an electric platform with the Taycan (J1) or the upcoming A6 E-Tron (PPE). Instead, it will likely adopt VW Group’s still-in-development Scalable Systems Platform, which would put the EV on pace to debut between 2025 and 2027. Previously, the only timetable that had been given for the car was that it would arrive before the end of the decade.
Lamborghini did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Robb Report.
Until then, the coming years will see a number of new Lamborghinis hit the roads. Development of the EV was confirmed when Winkelmann laid out the marque’s three-phase electrification strategy, Cor Tauri, in May. The stages include: 1) a celebration of the marque’s combustion engines, including the debut of at least two new V-12 models; 2) introduction of its first production hybrids, including one for each nameplate by 2024 and 3) the unveiling of its first EV during the latter half of the decade.
You’re still going to be able to burn rubber in your Lamborghini for years to come, but starting in 2024 it sounds like you’ll also be spewing significantly less carbon emissions.


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Wilmington’s First Food Hall
Seaboard Social Hall, a food hall, music hall, maker’s market and more, is coming to Wilmington and is seeking vendors and members.
The creators of Raleigh’s Transfer Co. Food Hall are bringing their innovative social hall concept to Wilmington. Bringing together the talents of local chefs, food entrepreneurs, musicians and makers, Seaboard Social Hall will be a combination food hall, music hall, commissary kitchen, ghost kitchen, maker’s market and more.
Monarch Property Co., creators of Raleigh’s Transfer Co. Food Hall, have designed Seaboard Social Hall to include multiple venues in the 43,0000-square-foot historic National Linen Service Building at 1315 South 5th Avenue in downtown Wilmington. The project is currently estimated to create more than 100 jobs when the development opens in late 2022/early 2023.
“We’re excited to introduce Seaboard Social Hall to an already thriving culinary and social scene in Wilmington,” says Jason Queen, founder at Monarch Property Co. “This will be a key addition as the city’s first and only food hall and will go beyond that to offer a 16,000-square-foot music and events venue with a capacity of up to 1,200 people. Additionally, Seaboard Social Hall will host a commissary kitchen, a food production hub and a maker’s market with more to be announced soon.”
Seaboard Social Hall’s culinary component is envisioned as a collaborative, community-driven, coworking initiative to support the local food ecosystem. The complex is purposefully designed to accommodate a range of food business models including dedicated food hall stalls for established chefs and bakers, ghost kitchens to support delivery/pick-up and other off-site models and commissary memberships (with or without food hall presence) for start-ups, caterers, food truck operators and like-minded entrepreneurs. Collectively these spaces will provide culinary creatives, food producers and food industry leaders opportunities to interact and innovate on offerings for Wilmington and beyond.
“Seaboard Social Hall will be a transformative addition to the Greenfield Park/South Front neighborhood,” says Ben Knight, owner of Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria. “We at Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria in Wilmington love being a part of a growing community of businesses that provide economic opportunities, especially including locally sourced food purveyors. Plus, the addition of a concert hall helping to promote and share music from artists makes this project nothing short of amazing.”
Just minutes from the beach and next to downtown, Seaboard Social Hall is perfectly situated to serve as a community gathering place for locals and a regional destination for visitors.
“I am thrilled for this food hall to come into fruition!” says Ana Shellum of Shell’em Seafood Company. “The location is ideal with our quickly expanding downtown area, and the building itself has such charm and character. It is full of opportunity and will open up so many jobs to our community. Already, the chefs that have been selected to be a part of this project bring a lot to the table.”
Interested in Participating?
Monarch Property Co. is now accepting applications for food hall vendors and commissary members who are interested in pushing the boundaries of culinary arts and showcasing their unique offerings as part of this collective food community and will announce the first round of food hall vendors in the coming weeks. Apply now and become a part of Wilmington’s first social hall.


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Most of you may be well aware that facebook algorithm started to skew towards paid traffic since 7 or 8 years ago. Today average facebook posts yield near to 0% of organic reach to your friends, followers or target audience. Social Media Marketers have to spend advertising dollars to promote the reach and exposure of their promotional message. In the facebook advertising arena, we shall keep you posted with the latest update on targeting change or paid algorithm change.
A holistic digital marketing strategy and tactful implementation is your answer to increase sales revenue. The prevailing trend among traditional and digital marketers are to understand the operation / execution sides and nuts and bolts of the digital marketing for realistic planning strategy, better communication with vendors or inhouse execution of marketing campaigns for faster market response and better safeguard of your audience big data.
DIGICOM Academy is pleased to announce as the educational partner of Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) based in Dublin. Enroll in Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing course; and earn the globally recognized, industry validated and academically credit rated certificate to advance your career. Studying with DIGICOM Academy, you got extra 5 hours on step-by-step guides of dashboard training on ad platform and technical tools taught by Digital Marketing Pioneers.
A spokesperson for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) told BuzzFeed that Facebook’s decision to remove the identity-based targeting option could prevent malicious behavior targeting the LGBTQ community. But Calvin Stowell, the chief growth officer for The Trevor Project — a nonprofit organization to help save suicidal LGBT youth — told BuzzFeed that Facebook’s decision to remove the ad filter has made his job more difficult.
“Based on feedback from our community and outside experts, we’re removing the ability for organizations to target people based on the ‘interested in’ information from their profiles,” says Facebook’s product management director, Mary Ku.
According to Facebook, the site is consistently in contact with privacy, civil rights, consumer and LGBTQ groups on a wide range of topics and is committed to reviewing its ad targeting options.
BuzzFeed reported this week that the ad targeting option was removed last month, but Facebook made no public statement announcing advertisers could no longer use the “interested in” filter.
Facebook has quietly removed an ad filter that enabled advertisers to create campaigns targeting users based on their relationship preferences. The filter allowed advertisers to target people based on information from the “interested in” detail on their user profile. Users can select if they are interested in “women” or “men” — making it possible to build a campaign around a person’s sexual orientation.


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Currently viewing the tag: "internet"
On November 13, 2014 By William Roberts November 13, 2014
Since 1996 Section 230 Communications Decency Act (“CDA”), as interpreted by the courts, has given website hosts and creators a broad immunity for claims against them of libel that traditional publishers have not been afforded.
For example say a third-party posted something libelous or unflattering about you or your family member on a Continue Reading →
On October 6, 2014 By Andrea Scheder October 6, 2014
On September 30th, eBay announced that it will adopt a new business strategy—break up the company by spinning off PayPal. This comes six months after one of eBay’s investors, Carl Icahn, first suggested this strategic move. After the breakup is complete, PayPal will be a separate publicly traded company, free to [...]Continue Reading →
Alibaba, the Asia-based online marketplace similar to the American site Amazon.com, went public on Friday, September 19, 2014. The initial public offering raised over $21 million on the first day of sales. As of Wednesday, September 25, the offering reached over $25 million raised, making it the largest IPO of all time, beating [...]Continue Reading →
As social media has become as ubiquitous in Americans’ lives as commuting or sunsets, disputes over these new concepts have challenged the legal system to adapt archaic legal concepts to govern their use. One such concept is a Facebook “like,” which allows a user to publicly display his or her affection for a photo, [...]Continue Reading →
On September 15, 2014 By Rebecca Loegering September 14, 2014
Last week, you may have noticed the above “wheel of death” at the top of one of your favorite websites, like Reddit or Netflix. The goal of the “Internet Slowdown Day” was to drive visitors to the Federal Communications Commission to comment on the FCC’s proposed rules for net [...]Continue Reading →
On September 9, 2014 By Mallik Yamusah September 14, 2014
Last week, the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, and his fellow supporters gained a surprise victory when the government began issuing 3G and 4G licenses to the country’s two main mobile operators. This change in the law will provide millions of subscribers with access to high-speed Internet connections. During his presidential campaign in 2013, [...]Continue Reading →
On September 2, 2014 By William Healy September 2, 2014
Netflix has been one of the most vocal opponents of the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Just this week the streaming company filed a Petition to Deny with the FCC which formally asks the government to block the deal.
Netflix argues that if the two cable companies [...]Continue Reading →
Facebook to Use Data From External Websites and Mobile Apps in Advertising, Will Not Honor “Do Not Track”
On June 18, 2014 By Chris Martucci June 18, 2014
Facebook Inc. will soon start using information gathered from third-party websites and mobile applications for more targeted advertising. In a statement released June 12, the company said that it is “making ads better” by showing its 1.28 billion monthly users “ads that are more relevant to their interests.”
“Today, we learn about your [...]Continue Reading →
On June 10, 2014 By Michael Griffin June 10, 2014
Like a diamond, the internet is forever. But should it be? As more of our lives move online, digital storage continues to expand exponentially, and search engines become ever-more adept at culling that information, some people are questioning whether internet users should have the right to be forgotten.
Last month, the European [...]Continue Reading →
Over the last several months the high profile merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable has been a major point of interest for analysts, commentators, and consumers of digital entertainment. Currently the primary potential hurdle left for the deal’s completion is regulatory approval with the Department of Justice. Critics argue that this [...]Continue Reading →
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Xiaomi will be hosting an event tomorrow (August 11) to launch its 10th anniversary limited edition products such as Mi 10 Ultra, Redmi K30 Ultra, and more. At the same conference, the company will be also unveiling new figurines of its mascot “Mitu” aka “Mi Bunny” according to a teaser by Mi Home Weibo account.
“Mitu”, popularly known as “Mi Bunny” has been Xiaomi’s official mascot since the company’s inception. The firm uses its mascot in a number of its products. For instance, it can be seen on error pages of Xiaomi websites and even on the fastboot screen of the company’s smartphones.
The Chinese smartphone maker introduces new models of Mitu figurines occasionally on the occasion of festivals and achievements. But the upcoming models will be limited editions to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Xiaomi.
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Rutland County Council says no-one could have imagined what 2020 had in store and that there will be challenges in 2021
Oliver Hemsley (Con) - leader of Rutland County Council - pens his New Year's message.
Here we are at the start of another year. Traditionally, this is a time for setting resolutions, turning over a new leaf and making plans. As things stand, there is a huge amount of uncertainty about what lies ahead.
Twelve months ago, no-one could have imagined what 2020 would have in store and that we would all find ourselves sorely tested by the coronavirus pandemic. Even as we celebrated the rollout of a vaccine, last minute changes to Christmas plans and news of a new strain of Covid reminded us that there is still a long way to go.


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Raider mech and new map are some of the highlights of the latest Hawken update
Adhesive Games have announced the details of the latest update for their free-to-play mech shooter Hawken and it's a bit of a whopper.
The latest update adds a new map, a new mech and w long list of new features and upgrades for the discerning mech pilot.
Firstly there's the new Raider mech kitted out with the ReFLAK-35 rapid-fire shotgun that uses richochet flechettes, the T32-BOLT chargeable, quick-loading trinity shotgun, Corsair-KLA dual mode MIRV and grenade launcher and the new Blitz ability which allows pilots to fire weapons while boosting.
Then there's the new Facility map which is available to beta test for the moment.
This update also brings a new server browser to allow players to search for games that they want to join in on with clear markings as to what level of play each servers is hosting.
Finally the update adds three new camouflage types, fancy Holo Taunts that appear in front of you mech courtesy of consumable holo pucks (available for either Hawken Credist or Meteor Credits) and normal taunts as well with each mech receiving one for free.
Hawken is currently in open beta and you can sign up for it on the game's official website.
- The Behemoth teases their fourth game, it will be playable at PAX Prime
- Sins Of A Solar Empire devs Ironclad successfully defends their use word Rebellion in one of their game titles
- Just Cause devs Avalanche have some surprises planned for 2015
- LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham gets a new Braniac trailer
- Sledgehammer boss confirms no Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare for Wii U
- Xbox One getting a Reddit app
- Konami releases a hat-trick of new screens for PES 2015
- 500GB hard drive coming for the Xbox 360 soon
- Watch the standard edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt unboxed in 18 seconds flat


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MEXICO CITY, Mexico - The Mexican government will auction off jewelry that belonged to drug traffickers.
The auction will be held on July 28, but at the moment people can go to the presidential house and see the jewelry on display.
In total there are 1,978 pieces totaling 22.6 million pesos or about $1.2 million.
Among the objects to be auctioned off are rings, watches and various jewelry items with different stones, according to the service of administration and disposal of goods.
The least valuable piece is a women Gucci watch for $535.
And the most valuable is a men's Piaget watch for a cost of $154,927.


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By Walter P / December 10th, 2021
A new trailer has been released for Yurukill: The Calumniation Games. The trailer shows some of the game’s characters along with some gameplay. It was announced that the game’s release date is currently set for Summer.
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is scheduled to be released onto the PlayStation4, PlayStation5, and Switch on June 7 in North America. It will launch in Europe on June 10.
SOURCE: Press Release
NIS AmericaPS4PS5SwitchYurukill: The Calumniation Games


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How cashless transactions are defining the way forward for travel
Cashless transactions are fast becoming the preferred choice of payment for travellers worldwide. With the post-pandemic world seeing a boom in what is coined as ‘revenge travel’, travellers from across the world and specially emerging markets like India have shown a considerable increase in their expenditure on vacations.
Unlike the times when travelling overseas involved the ritual of obtaining local currency, cashless transactions are now the go-to method for payments. To throw more light on the opportunities and avenues of growth in this aspect,and YourStory hosted a panel discussion featuring Chandni Nihalani, Director, PayPal India; Aditya Agarwal, CFO, ; Sukhmani Singh, Head- Strategy and Special Projects, Vacation Homes, Europe; and Amit Madhan, President and Group Head - Technology and e-business, Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC.
Around the world, in no cash
Strict lockdowns during COVID have led to people getting used to transacting online. This behavioural shift has resulted in a stronger need to move to cashless payments. The recent past has seen the travel industry accommodate the preferred tools of payment, not credit cards and debit cards, but digital wallets and UPI. “From the local grocery store to the last mile service provider, everyone was suddenly accepting all those modes of payment. It was nice to see the industry and consumer working in tandem, where the industry was meeting consumer expectations because of behavioural shifts,” said Oyo’s Sukhmani.
Cashless payments through UPI and QR codes are not just convenient but also provide ease of visibility with respect to payment trail, along with various other features accessible with a single click. “Everything that was missing in the cash environment, like keeping the entire repository and making a note of the payment trail, was now available on a mobile app. I think that changed the way consumers started making payments,” explained Amit.
While the pandemic resulted in massive disruption and dislocation in the travel industry, it also brought to focus some customer pain points. Cleartrip’s Aditya shared how the company managed to turn some of the challenges into opportunities. “During the pandemic, customers were looking for fast refunds and flexible options in terms of amendments and cancellations. And we've leveraged that opportunity by providing solutions to consumers to address these pain points,” he said.
Top travel trends
As consumers get more comfortable with contactless or cashless payments, organisations are trying their best to ensure a seamless experience and are in tune with the importance of constantly changing processes to meet consumer demands.
‘Buy Now Pay Later’ seems to be the number one trend currently in the travel sector and the industry is adopting it rapidly. “With PayPal, Buy Now Pay Later has seen a lot of acceptance, as we already have about 18 million customers using this payment option to remove the stress of paying a big ticket item all at once. This enables people to fulfil their dreams and go for that once-in-a-lifetime vacation, which otherwise seems very expensive,” shared Chandni.
The panellists also spoke about other key payment trends for travel such as the widespread adoption of QR codes and interoperability of payment systems.
The travel industry is coming together to constantly innovate on safety, security, and ease of payment systems. This has not only made sure the traveller feels safe but has also helped in building trust between the travel merchant and the traveller.