text: Internet entrepreneur Zander Wang has been forced to switch from the Gmail account he has used for years to Outlook. "It's a shame. Gmail is secure and has hardly any bugs. But I have to give it up," the 28-year-old said. "It has become the most difficult email to access in China, especially since my VPN services were blocked." Last month, the mainland clamped down on virtual private networks, the services that many rely on to breach the Great Firewall of online censorship. Wang said he bought a VPN for his iPhone at the Apple Store but it stopped working. He then bought a VPN application from Taobao, the mainland's largest online shopping platform. His new VPN used to be compatible with Google but last week it could only be used with a mainland-based search engine. "Apart from the money I've wasted, I've had so much trouble trying to reach people when I need them," Wang said. He's now completely cut off from Facebook and has lost contact with classmates from his days studying in the US. But Wu Ya, 27, who runs a tech magazine in Beijing, is having more success - he said he had figured out a way to fix his VPN. "It's like playing a game. When the Great Firewall is built higher, you need to make your ladder higher to get over it," he said. Wu said the game never stopped and the rules constantly changed. "We assumed the Great Firewall would never block Gmail and VPNs because foreign businesspeople needed the services. But now they're blocked," Wu said. "We fear that the worst might come when they block all international servers. In that case, it will force start-up entrepreneurs to leave China." " In the past year, online censorship has become tougher, with regulators shutting down more than 100 websites between April and November. Shenzhen-based entrepreneur Allen Wu, 34, built a VPN server in Hong Kong where his family lives, after his American VPN stopped working. "I got cold feet because of internet censorship. For two years I was so enthusiastic about investing in the Chinese IT industry. I thought then that the Great Firewall only blocked the general public, but allowed savvy internet users to access the internet freely," he said. "The worst thing is that the Great Firewall is blocking opportunities for Chinese to keep up with the most advanced technologies in the world. It's a losing game."


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The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 69,000 net new jobs in May, with manufacturing up just 12,000. This is another disappointing labor report which is consistent with recent weaknesses we’ve seen in the global and domestic marketplace. Several other recent economic indicators have shown growth easing in the spring months. Both manufacturers and consumers are anxious about Europe and uncertain about long-term tax policies.
The unemployment rate edged slightly higher to 8.2 percent, up from 8.1 percent in April. Looking at the so-called real unemployment rate, which includes discouraged and underemployed workers, that figure rose from 14.5 percent to 14.8 percent.
Manufacturers have increased employment over the past six months by 173,000 net workers, or 16.5 percent of all of the nonfarm payroll jobs added during that time. Since the end of 2009 manufacturing has added 487,000 workers.
The sector remains a bright spot, with outsized contributions to both employment and output but we have to do much better in order to continue to drive economic growth. Manufacturers need policies from Washington which will enable them to invest, create jobs and remain competitive against global competition. Currently they are facing many difficult challenges and headwinds which are negatively impacting job growth.
Durable goods industries added 13,000 jobs in May, with nondurable companies shedding 1,000. The fastest growth was seen in motor vehicles (up 5,800), fabricated metals (up 5,700), primary metals (up 3,800), beverage and tobacco products (up 2,700) and machinery (up 2,500).
Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.
Latest posts by Chad Moutray (see all)
- Record-High Perceptions about the Current Economy Lifts Consumer Confidence to Best Reading since 2004 - March 16, 2018
- JOLTS: 427,000 Manufacturing Job Openings in January, with Nonfarm Postings at a New All-Time High - March 16, 2018
- Manufacturing Production Rebounded in February, up 1.2%, with 2.5% Growth YOY, the Best Since July 2014 - March 16, 2018

domain: news


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The Swedish company CybAero, listed on the First North stock exchange, received in January of this year an order for unmanned helicopter systems to be delivered to China Customs. The purchased systems will be used for various tasks such as customs control, port management, and to counter smuggling.
CybAero is one of the world’s leading players in the field of unmanned helicopters. In January, the company received an order from Jolly Limited (Hong Kong) and the Chinese shipbuilder CSSC (China State Shipbuilding Corporation) for unmanned helicopter systems to be used by China Customs and at the end of February, the company also received a license to export from the Swedish Export Agency ISP.
China Customs will use CybAero’s unmanned helicopter APID 60 from ships.
“We are extremely excited about the high confidence received from the customer”, says Mikael Hult, CEO of CybAero AB.
First Order from China
The Chinese order is very important for CybAero in several aspects.
“This is a milestone for us. It is our first order from China, an extremely fast growing market with large sea areas to be monitored”, says Mikael Hult, CEO CybAero.
Strong interest from Asia
CybAero’s unmanned helicopter has received considerable global attention due to the fact that it is highly durable and cost effective. It has a range of 200 km and a flight time of six hours. The order for the Chinese customs is the result of many years of work within the Asian market.
“We have received this order in strong competition with both domestic and global leaders. This is an important customer with great future development plans, and we look at this as the start of a long-term cooperation”, says Niklas Nyroth, Sales and Marketing at CybAero.
The order is a large leap for CybAero into the extensive Asian market.
“This project is for China Customs, and we see great opportunities for further orders from this particular customer”, says Niklas Nyroth.
“The project is also an important reference for the entire market in Asia. Several countries in this region view China as a technology development leader, and when a Chinese customer has decided to invest in our unmanned system, so will other clients with similar needs”, says Niklas Nyroth.


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Singapore, Singapore-(Newsfile Corp.-January 22, 2022)-Blockchain Monster Hunt officially announced the mainnet launch event on January 25th. This milestone will lead a new and remarkable development phase of the $3.8 million IDO and $3 impressive project. 6 MINO. This achievement gained fame in October last year with the launch of two former Facebook Tech Leads and Google Senior Engineers.
“We believe that multi-chain games will be the next breakthrough in the crypto industry. Our goal is to be a pioneer in this ever-changing field and support other like-minded projects and teams with the same vision. Is to do “-Naka Nhu-BCMHunt Co Founder and CEO
There is good reason behind the fact that Blockchain Monster Hunt is backed up by renowned investors and partners such as Amonica Brands and Polygon Studio: BCM Hunt is the world’s first NFT Collectible Game and intent to utilize cross-chain technology. It is a potential option that has been made to solve congestion problems related to the fragmented development environment of the crypto sector, especially the dependence on a single chain. The shift in focus of NFT gaming projects to chain partnerships is a wise move that will bring a steadily growing user base of chain networks, as well as numerous reward sources for gamers. Also, as a direct result, NFTs can be easily transferred between chains and maintain their value in the long run.
Yat Siu, Chairman and Co-Founder of Animoca Brands, states his enthusiasm for the project’s cross-chain vision: This is, in particular, the first multi-chain game with a cross-chain marketplace, with a strong vision and an impressive team to carry out that vision. “
Ambros Technology, the company behind Blockchain Monster Hunt, has built core values to become a cross-chain infrastructure service provider. In-house bridging technology has the ability to onboard games in a multi-chain within an incredible 10 minutes. The 2022 roadmap includes establishing a cross-chain marketplace and providing an SDK.
Prior to the launch of the mainnet, the project achieved most of the advantageous features of the crypto game project: a sophisticated gaming economy that will be maintained over the long term, an intuitive reward system that is easy for non-game users to understand, and betting options. Its exclusive monster NFT and its main token BCMC, or PvP function.
Blockchain Monster Hunt has created a crowded but interconnected community of gamers because players can join the game from any chain. With a world of addictive Pokemon-inspired monsters and my reward pool, this project aims to create global coverage, fresh user growth, chain connectivity, and a growing multiverse. increase.
Telegram Notice: https: //t.me/bcmhunt
Telegram group: https://t.me/bcmhuntgroup
Email: [email protected]
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/111220.


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Face-to-Face Consumer Interviews For Havering Council
Half of the price cuts introduced for shoppers by supermarket chain Asda in its latest high-profile “Rollback” campaign are just one penny, a new report for grocery industry trade magazine The Grocer found.
Last week the UK’s second biggest supermarket chain announced that it would cut a further 5,000 prices by Easter reaching a total of 12,500 price cuts this year.
The retailer said that this was part of a transparency guarantee for customers to give value they can trust. At the same time it announced it was dropping buy-one-get-one free offers in favour of everyday low pricing.
As the first wave of the new price cuts were introduced this week, The Grocer’s shopping basket survey – comprising several hundred items across 12 categories – found that while a fifth of the Asda items tracked had fallen in price, more than half of the cuts were only of 1p.
The magazine said this was not the case at rival retailers though they did have fewer price cuts week on week.
Conversely, less than one in 10 of the prices that increased at Asda last week only rose by a penny.
Kay Staniland, managing director of promotional consultancy Assosia, said: “Having reported last week that it was dropping bogofs in favour of being transparent in its price cuts, such small cuts could be seen as simply trying to retain the cheapest title rather than passing on any real savings to the consumer.”
A spokeswoman for Asda said: ” While it is fair to say some of our products have come down by a few pennies, overall since the start of the year products reduced in price have come down by 11 per cent on average.”
Published in The Telegraph, 08 March 2009


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At Dish Network, founder Charlie Ergen has a reputation for being ruthless and getting under the skin of others in the television business. His satellite company is often in court with content owners, and Ergen is the type who attempts to stop programmers from streaming one day only to launch his company’s own streaming product (Sling) the next. Given that Dish is pretty vocal when it comes to regulatory matters, often opposing mergers, it’s no surprise to find one of his company’s top executives is an important witness for the U.S. government in the bid to block the merger between AT&T and Time Warner. On Tuesday, though, it sometimes felt as if it was Ergen who was this case’s defendant.
Now in its second week, the merger trial picked up with Dish programming executive Warren Schlichting on the witness stand.
On Monday, Schlichting testified how the merger would put Dish in a poor position in the negotiating room and lead to higher prices and less innovation like “skinny bundles” of channels being streamed to consumers. That’s because Schlichting supported the government’s position that Turner channels (TBS, TNT and CNN) are “must-haves,” and while the current state of licensing negotiations holds pain for anyone in the business who can’t get a deal done and channels go dark, “all the incentives change” post-merger as a defecting Dish customer potentially becomes one for DirecTV, a subsidiary of AT&T and Dish’s biggest rival.
Schlichting had to defend his positions on cross-examination from Daniel Petrocelli, the attorney for the merging parties.
Petrocelli began by attacking the premise that Turner channels were really “must-haves,” starting out with live sports, which is ironic given this is the very day that Turner launched a live sports streaming service.
Yes, Turner holds rights to broadcast NCAA basketball March Madness, but Petrocelli made Schlichting confirm that such game rights are shared with CBS. One of the networks not on Dish’s Sling service at the moment is CBS, which means that despite Schlichting’s testimony a day earlier that one can’t be in the television distribution business without live sports, Sling customers not only miss out on certain March Madness games, but also in certain years, the Super Bowl.
Schlichting attempted to explain that Dish encourages people to subscribe to CBS All Access, but Petrocelli made sure to later note how programmers like Time Warner’s HBO had over-the-top products for consumers, too. Schlichting said only consumers with the internet could access such content, but Petrocelli retorted that one needed to be online to get Sling.
Petrocelli also asked Schlichting how many Top 500 shows are on Turner channels.
Schlichting didn’t know, as Petrocelli followed this up by asking, “Would you agree that NBC has as more of an audience than all the Turner networks combined?”
As for CNN, and Schlichting’s testimony a day earlier that it’s unimaginable to go through an election without the cable news giant, Petrocelli made Schlichting confirm that CNN went dark on Dish right as results were coming in for the 2014 midterm elections.
Petrocelli then brought up a comment that Ergen had made at the time that losing CNN was a non-event.
“I call that negotiating in the press,” said Schlichting.
“He was talking to analysts,” responded Petrocelli. “You’re not telling me he was misleading them, are you?”
“He was being truthful,” Schlicting eventually answered.
Petrocelli also brought up how Dish was currently in litigation with Turner for allegedly paying too much for CNN and how Ergen had commented that Turner networks were “one of the easier ones to take down.”
In fact, Petrocelli kept hammering with past Ergen comments and got Schlichting to confirm that part of the company’s strategy is to take down channels in order to up the pressure on programmers to come to a deal on better terms. And referring to Schlichting’s comment that going dark is like a heart attack, Petrocelli asked, “You’ve had a lot of heart attacks, right? More than other distributors, right?”
When it came to Ergen, Schlichting agreed that his boss was a “wildcat” who said stuff like there’s not a single channel so valuable he wouldn’t take down.
“You would agree with me after the merger, Charlie will still be a wildcat?” asked Petrocelli.
“Charlie is Charlie,” said Schlichting before attempting to discuss how Ergen is also rational and that everything changes the day after the merger.
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That Soul Artist Management, which represents some of the world’s top male models, celebrated its first anniversary and the addition of female models to the roster at The Hotel on Rivington. Models who toasted the agency included Simon Nessman, the face of Michael Kors, Doug Pickett, a face of Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren, Danny Beauchamp, a face of Calvin Klein, Max Rogers (Tommy Hilfiger) and Justin Hopwood (Polo) . . . That Beth Stern has designed a “Tree of Life” necklace for RichRocks, and a portion of its proceeds will be donated to cancer center City of Hope. Her husband, avid photographer Howard Stern, has shot the promotional pictures.
By PageSix.com Staff
October 30, 2011 | 4:00am


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Audio and voice trends we’ll see in 2020
Updated: Nov 29, 2021
I am a huge sucker for all-things audio and voice so it should come as no surprise that I firmly believe 2020 will be the year of voice.
And the years beyond it – it will be all voice, all the time!.
In all seriousness, great things are in store for the technology that has consumer adoption faster than any product including the omnipresent smartphone. To paraphrase Bradley Metrock: the ecosystem is primed and just waiting for someone to light a match and start a fire.
What exactly will we witness in the upcoming year? Things like:
More encompassing text-to-speech tech
We’ll see the improved format of text-to-speech, both in terms of more languages and more styles like the Newscaster and Conversational speaking styles Amazon Polly offers, for instance. As people speak in different languages and speaking styles, the latest text-to-speech (TTS) systems will try to mimic as closely as possible human behavior to adjust to different contexts and overall improve customer experiences.
Also, more languages will have refined speaking styles and get closer to the same level as the English language is on. Local accents are on the way, but I’m not sure the next stage of TTS (powered by machine learning improvements) will happen that quickly. It’s far more likely 2021 will be the year where users get localized speech and more relevant experience based on their location or region. But as signs of ongoing development and personalization go, exciting stuff is coming up.
Mandatory voice search prediction
It’s an uninspiring headline but you never know with voice search. Remember this:
“By 2020, 50% of all searches across the internet will be voice-based.”
It’s one of the most quoted and famous predictions about voice search, which turned out to be off the mark and quoted out of context. Then, there’s the more moderate prediction that “30% of web browsing will be screenless” by Gartner.
By all means, 2020 is expected to be the year of voice search so what will actually happen? It’s tough to say. One research showed voice search actually trended downward compared to the year before, and seeing as 72% of respondents have no plans to optimize for voice search in 2020, I feel as if it’s not going to move the needle all that much, sadly. I’m confident people will fully embrace voice search down the road once updates like BERT make it possible to understand searches better and privacy concerns are addressed – I just don’t think it’s going to happen in the next 12 months or so.
Bixby and custom voice assistants take off
There’s no doubt in my mind that Alexa and Google Assistant will remain the two powerhouses in the voice assistant market for the time being. They are just so far ahead that betting on any other outcome would be crazy.
Still, data points to Bixby having a major spike in usage in the next few months. There was a lot of pomp initially that somehow quieted down over time. Ever since Samsung launched the Bixby Marketplace in June (while making the voice assistant available on several Galaxy smartphones, tablets, and wearables), the number of registered developers doubled. The company is putting a lot of faith in its smart voice assistant, and its presence on almost all of Samsung’s electronic products will drive up its usage.
Siri will also gain increased exposure, in no small part thanks to AirPods. It’s difficult to gauge Apple’s strategy with Siri: WWDC 2019 was disappointing in that regard, and if we forget about the AirPods for a second, there is a stark contrast in voice AI strategy compared to Amazon and Google. Still, Siri is becoming more open to third-party apps, which indicates there are bigger plans in store for the voice assistant.
We’ll start seeing more custom-based personal assistants, either based on what Alexa, Google Assistant, and others are doing right now and fine-tuning it to specific needs or built to specialize in one area of expertise or topic. It will be just the beginning of a more widespread and personalized voice assistant use that will likely produce a few novel use cases.
Smart speakers will slow down as opposed to smart displays and wearables
The industry is still figuring out different kinks on how to offer the ultimate user experience. Historically speaking, graphical interfaces have been almost exclusively oriented on a visual experience, which is a hard habit to shake off. That’s likely the reason why we’re seeing more of smart displays, and generally, the convergence of VUI and GUI.
I think we’ll see a more drastic slowdown in the adoption of smart speakers, especially as they are more limited in functionality compared to their visually-enhanced cousins. Not for nothing, but even an Echo Dot with a clock has been a great success largely due to the visual element attached to it.
Wearables will also play a significant role, especially hearables as a lot of companies are pushing for voice-first headphones now that they realize they can do far more than amplify music and make calls. For its obvious advantages like the proximity to mouth and always-on mode, ears are a highly valuable property that will continue to get special treatment in the form of dedicated smartphone-like capable devices.
Another year of all-time usage highs
On the other hand, we’ll definitely see more usage of voice assistants in general as more people get acquainted with the technology. In particular, most popular audio content such as podcasts and audiobooks will probably get really close to peaking in 2020, if not peak, with audio blogging experiencing significant growth.
While audio consumption will keep on increasing, I also believe brands and businesses will bite all the way into the entire voice strategy idea. They’ll take a step further from making skills and actions and generally smart speaker/device-oriented content and create their voice and audio avatars through voice chatbots and pre-recorded voices, quite possibly even famous ones in the vein of what Samuel L. Jackson and John Legend are doing right now.
More accessibility, more benefits
Those would be my predictions on audio and voice trends we’ll see in the upcoming year, and with that, I conclude my 2019 blogging. I’m sure the explosive growth of voice assistants, audio content, and the underlying AI will pull off a few surprises as the industry races to position voice as the face of the future where deeper, conversational-based experience prevails.
Until then: happy holidays and all the best in 2020!
Make sure you’re following me on Twitter for ongoing updates, tips, and industry takeaways!


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10th March 2021 Product update: new protein staff writer
Bezos Backs Artificial Giuseppe to Lead Way in Dietary Protein Design
The food-tech company NotCo, backed by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, has been granted a US patent for its proprietary method of designing plant-based proteins based on animal ones.
The patent is for NotCo's artificial intelligence software - Giuseppe, which can find different and unexpected plant combinations for target products through NotCo's proprietary databases of ingredients and recipes.
The patent will also protect the process of getting their current products to market – NotCo also commercializes NotBurger™, NotMayo™, NotIceCream™, and NotMilk™ in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and soon to be in Mexico and Canada - and gives it an edge on future innovation, opening a new era in the global plant-based market.
NotCo has a unique team working behind this technology breakthrough. A combination of scientists, culinary chefs, designers and engineers sitting in four different countries working together and providing feedback to Giuseppe – the name given to NotCo’s artificial intelligence - to come up with its matchless products.
NotCo has already raised $120M in capital so far with key industry investors, including Bezos Expeditions, Future Positive, L Catterton, Kaszek Ventures, The Craftory, General Catalyst, Maya Capital, and Endeavor Catalyst.
The company has its products sold at major retailers across the countries it is playing in, like Walmart and Whole Foods Market, and currently counts on a team of 250 people distributed across Latam and North America.
NotCo will soon open a new office in New York to host its commercial operations while maintaining its Machine Learning team that is already hosted in San Francisco, California.
Date Published: 10th March 2021
Source article link: View
Note: This content has been edited by a newprotein.net staff writer for style and content.


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It is hard to believe it has been more than a year since the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Kenya, forcing us to make many unanticipated adjustments about the way we worked.
Most significantly, we had to shift to remote working. One year down the line, I am immensely proud of our team for staying the course so far and maintaining our momentum despite the disruption of COVID-19.
This is clearly an unprecedented time. Over the past few months, the world has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen health systems burdened and unable to cope with the rising numbers of infected people.
On 30th June 2017, M-Akiba, a Kenyan government bond sold through the mobile phone, was launched.
After many years, the involvement of many partners and many iterations, M-Akiba, a Kenyan government bond sold through the mobile phone, was launched in 2017.
The rise of a new dawn in Kenya’s payments system
Eleven years after mobile money started in Kenya, a new dawn is rising – that of open and interoperable systems. Just as you can call people on any network in Kenya seamlessly, you can now send money across mobile money networks seamlessly.
FSD Kenya has been working since 2005 to promote financial inclusion in Kenya. Kenya has made huge strides during this time with over 75% of the population having access to a formal account.
This report outlines the findings from a two-year study by FSD Kenya to understand the costs for banking services in Kenya. Two rounds of mystery shopping surveys were completed in October and November of 2015 and 2016
to build a database and measure the costs for basic bundles of transactions such as opening, running and closing bank accounts.
Sending money to Africa is more expensive than anywhere else in the world, according to new research due to be published at this week’s Global Remittance Conference in New York. The report argues that existing technology – like regional automated clearing houses, remittance payment processing hubs and aggregators – could all make sending money from the UK to Africa much, much cheaper.
Pauline Kimari is a pharmacist in Ndaragwa, Kenya, a small town several hours’ drive north of Nairobi. She moved there from rural Muranga, several hours away, to open a small shop, Ndaragwa Joy Chemist. It is white with blue and green doors and a blue bench inside. She sells medicine and cosmetics.
In an effort to understand the real needs of the people, our seventh ‘Field Friday’ exercise took us to Karagita in Naivasha. We set out to gather insights on which financial services people use and which ones they trust most.
Our work on the Kenya Financial Diaries made it painfully clear to us that school fees are incredibly expensive for low income families. The lowest end public schools often ask about KSh 20,000 per year for a single student, when rural household incomes often average around KSh 6,000 per month.
I spent a week in Kenya, courtesy of Financial Sector Deepening, an initiative of a number of aid agencies, including Britain’s Department for International Development, the Swedish government, and the Gates Foundation.
Just what is finance for?
On Wednesday 8th February 2017, John Kay met with 18 financial sector industry leaders to discuss this question and the future of finance in Kenya.
Over 250 policymakers, industry players, regulators, lecturers, students, financial sector analysts, development practitioners and other guests gathered at the National Museum’s Louis Leakey Auditorium on Thursday 9th February 2017 for the 3rd FSD Kenya annual lecture on financial inclusion.
During his delivery of the 3rd FSD Kenya annual lecture on financial inclusion, John Kay argued that the challenge for emerging economies is to avoid the mistakes of the west and to instead focus on building a financial sector that is focussed on the core needs of the non-financial economy.


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Industrial production continues to be a highlight in the northern province of Thai Nguyen’s economic development landscape, leveraging efficient management of the provincial leaders as well as the unity and concerted efforts of the residents and local business community.
The latest figures from Thai Nguyen Department of Statistics showed that the province further secured impressive growth in its industrial production in July, with the local industrial production index surging 9.6 per cent against the previous month and showing a 15 per cent jump on-year.
|The province is focused on export-oriented production and increasing the number of high-tech products, Photo: Le Toan |
Notably, the local processing and manufacturing industry rose 10.1 per cent against the previous month and fetched 16 per cent hike on-year. Generally, in the first seven months of this year, Thai Nguyen’s total industrial production index hiked 11.2 per cent on-year compared to 9.81 per cent growth in the previous month, with that of the processing and manufacturing industry rising 12 per cent on-year.
During the period, top-performing groups of items were TV cameras with 52.4 million products, soaring 32.9 per cent; earing devices reaching 35.6 million pieces, showing a 26.6 per cent jump; and apparel items with 53.7 million items, up 22.8 per cent.
Several groups of key products also registered encouraging results, such as commercial power reaching nearly 3.25 billion kWh, up 6.7 per cent; and smartphones touching 57.5 million items, up 5.4 per cent.
Nguyen Ba Chinh, director of Thai Nguyen Department of Industry and Trade, has attributed the province’s impressive industrial growth in the year to three factors.
“The province is one of the top performers nationwide in industrial production, accommodating more than 8,000 production firms in which over 60 per cent of the units operate in industrial production,” Chinh said. “Secondly, Thai Nguyen did well to contain the pandemic, keeping the mind of businesses at ease to stabilise production and trading activities. Finally, provincial leaders have been deploying a wide range of measures to support development, including diverse supportive policies.”
One of the more efficient measures is the business café model, where provincial leaders listen to questions and proposals from members of the business community. Through such meetings, many difficulties that businesses are facing have been tackled in a timely manner, bringing efficiency to their operations.
In late July, Chairman of Thai Nguyen People’s Committee Trinh Viet Hung signed a document requiring management agencies to increase dialogues with entrepreneurs and businesses in order to help them quickly fix their problems.
In the forthcoming months, the Thai Nguyen industrial sector aims to reach a 9 per cent average growth in the gross output of industry annually during 2021-2025, with industry and construction holding a leading proportion of 61 per cent in local economic structure by 2025, followed by the services sector with 31 per cent, and agro-forestry-fisheries the remaining 8 per cent.
The local industrial structure will be geared towards quickly increasing the groups of high-tech products with large added value and export-oriented production, along with gradually moving labour-intensive industries and those not requiring high labour skills to rural areas, and maximally attracting development resources from outside.
Further steps include accelerating the development of industrial zones and industrial clusters attached to seamless infrastructure and urban system, striving to shape up an increasingly modernised industrial sector as the province’s pride.
Amid resuming economic growth both locally and globally, the flexible management and support of local management at all levels, and the deployment of effective measures for business development will provide the catalyst for Thai Nguyen to accomplish industrial development targets, contributing to achieving the 8 per cent growth target set for this year.
| ||RoK firm adds 920 million USD to project in Thai Nguyen |
Authority of the northern province of Thai Nguyen on February 16 handed over a licence to Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam Co., Ltd (SEMV) under Samsung Corporation of the Republic of Korea to add 920 million USD to its project in the Yen Binh industrial park (IP) in Pho Yen town.
| ||Thai Nguyen ranks second in FDI attraction in two months |
The northern province of Thai Nguyen with the issuance of of a licence to to Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam Co., Ltd under Samsung Corporation of the Republic of Korea to add 920 million USD to its project, ranked second in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first two months of 2022, behind Bac Ninh.
| ||Thai Nguyen ready to leapfrog in funding attraction |
While betting on ample competitive advantages and strong commitments to investment attraction through policy incentives, Thai Nguyen province in the north has left a strong impression on those attending a recent conference on investment promotion in Ho Chi Minh City.
| ||Thai Nguyen's master plan for 2021-2030 got greenlit |
All members of the Appraisal Council reached a consensus and approved Thai Nguyen's master plan for 2021-2030, with a vision towards 2050, at the recent conference at the Ministry of Planning and Investment's (MPI) headquarters.
| ||Thai Nguyen pushes IT creativity |
Leveraging experience, resources, and widespread IT application across the board, the northern province of Thai Nguyen has been harvesting inspiring achievements amid its digital transformation.
By Anh Duc


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The guys over at TalkAndroid.com have posted a nice feature on 6 upcoming games that are being developed for the Google Android smartphone platform. Some of them are pretty basic, like the Atari Tempest clone SpaceBugs, but others are much more complicated and attempt to blur the line between online and reality by building game worlds based on real world interactions.
6 upcoming Android games
From the forums
- The 'Off Topic' Lounge 315 Replies on Off Topic Lounge
- Ban the person above you: a fun game 428 Replies on Off Topic Lounge
- Google Inbox Invite sharing thread 223 Replies on Android News & Discussion
- Good video games for PSP 17 Replies on General Technology News and Discussion
- The best Android apps and Android games... 8 Replies on Apps & Games Discussion


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New Amazon Black Friday Countdown deal just launched.
The Countdown to Amazon Black Friday Deals Week sale is continuing to push out hot new bargains every day. There are only 9 Days left until the huge Amazon Black Friday Deals Week will launch. Amazon offers 19 days of deals across almost all major product category including electronics, computers, video games, toys, smartphones, fashion and more. We are constantly scanning the Amazon Countdown to Black Friday 2011 deals and highlight each day the best ones we can find. Here is a great early Amazon Black Friday 2011 deal we just spotted.
Don't Miss: Incredible Pokemon Gifts
Buy any four eligible cellphone accessories in the Amazon 4-for-3 promotion and get the lowest-priced item free. Eligible products include select cases and covers, headsets, chargers, and more. Shop this sale now on Amazon (restrictions apply. Offer good Saturday, November 12, 2011, through Sunday, November 20, 2011, or while supplies last.
See also the latest Amazon Wireless deal: $100 Gift Card with select Android Smartphones with HotSpot feature.
Shop all Amazon Black Friday Countdown deals now on Amazon.
Don't Miss: The Best HDR TVs
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Food and Drink Wales has declared that food producers from Wales are set to “take over” Spitalfields Market in London on the weekend following St David’s Day (2nd-3rd March 2024) to celebrate Welsh food and drink.
Visitors will have the opportunity to sample and array of Welsh food, from traditional Welsh cakes to charcuterie, which Food and Drink Wales said would “reflect the diverse landscape, culture and heritage of Wales”.
It said that a key highlight of the event would be the pop-up kitchen, which will feature live cookery demonstrations from TV cook Nerys Howell.
Some of the producers selling at the market include Carmarthen Deli by Albert Rees; Cawl & Co.; Cwmfarm Charcuterie Products; Rachel’s Dairy; Radnor Preserves; The Blaenafon Cheddar Co.; and The Rouge Welsh Cake Company.
The event forms part of the wider food campaign #CaruCymruCaruBlas #LoveWalesLoveTaste, and the market promises to be an “immersive cultural experience”.
Joanna Morgan, director of Radnor Preserves, said: “At Radnor Preserves we believe that every jar tells a story. Our handcrafted preserves capture the essence of Wales.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors to taste the love and tradition that goes into each jar, from our award-winning marmalade to luxury chutneys, Radnor Preserves brings a slice of Welsh magic to your table.”


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https://www.greencarreports.com/news/11 ... nate-reuseHyundai explores battery leasing to lower EV prices, coordinate reuse
. . . The automaker on Thursday announced a memorandum of understanding with the South Korean government and partner companies to create an "ecosystem" around EV batteries, according to a press release.
One of the partners is KST Mobility, which will lease batteries from Hyundai for a fleet of electric taxis. The company will pay a monthly fee for the battery leases, which will result in lower upfront costs for the purchase of EVs, Hyundai said.
After "extensive usage," Hyundai said it will recover the batteries and use them in an energy-storage system for fast charging of EV taxis. . . .
LG Energy Solution will convert used batteries for energy storage, and will collect data to help the effort. Note that Hyundai also announced a battery-leasing partnership with rival SK Innovation last year.
Battery leasing is not a new idea. The industry has been regularly asking about this idea for a decade, as a way to ease sticker shock on electric cars.
However, no company has managed to commercialize battery leasing on a large scale—so far.
Chinese automaker Nio wants to make battery leasing a significant part of its business. Last year, it announced a "battery as a service" business model with monthly battery lease fees, and discounts on the purchase price of EVs for customers who chose to lease the battery rather than buy it outright.
The idea has also caught on in Europe—especially with a program offered on the Renault Zoe that enabled some significant range upgrades.


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Chinese academics recently delivered a stark warning to the country’s leaders: China is facing its most precipitous decline in population in decades, setting the stage for potential demographic, economic and even political crises in the near future.
Jun.28 — Susan Lund, partner at McKinsey Global Institute, and Nathan Sheets, chief economist at PGIM Fixed Income, examine the McKinsey report on the growth of corporate debt. They speak on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas.”
China’s smartphone market is increasingly dominated by four big players: Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi. According to a report from marketing and analytics firm Canalys, the Chinese smartphone market shrunk by more than 21 percent […]
In recent years, many in China’s middle classes poured their savings into peer-to-peer lending platforms, known as P2P for short, drawn in by promises of high returns. But amid a larger effort to curb financial […]


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Listen to this article
Meg Whitman left a job at toymaker Hasbro to become president and chief executive of eBay in 1998. The value of goods traded on the company’s sites has risen from $740m when she joined to $34bn last year.
“I look back and say, ‘What were we thinking?’ We quit two jobs, moved to California, put the children in new schools. I didn’t think it was going to be anything like it turned out. I thought eBay could be a great collectibles website for the US. I thought this could be a small, quite profitable company.
“We began to understand that what worked in collectibles would work in other markets as well. What eBay does is make inefficient markets efficient.
“The business model is very powerful. We were able to move globally far faster than land-based companies can. The remarkable thing about eBay is that it’s instantly local: 98 per cent of our content is user-generated.
“The other thing I wasn’t expecting was the way the market empowered small businesses. That was a big surprise. I thought this would be the home of big business. But it has levelled the playing field, and made small businesses as accessible as big ones. That was an ‘a-ha’ moment.
“Some categories didn’t work the way we thought they would. We look for markets where there is price and information inefficiency. It turns out that real estate is pretty darn efficient.
“I am startled by the ubiquity of the internet today. It is one of the fastest-growing technologies ever. It’s just remarkable. It has changed the way we communicate, the way we play. E-mail has changed the way business is conducted.
“The timing may finally be right now for mobile access. We thought it was important to have mobile access to eBay and the net five years ago, but nobody used it. That could be changing because of the growing power of mobile phones. In countries like China and India, you may see a shift to primary access to the internet coming through mobile handsets. Moving to 100 per cent broadband penetration will also make a huge difference. You will see an always-on internet that changes the way people behave.
“There is still room for new internet leaders to be created. Of the five biggest internet companies 10 years from now, I can imagine that two or three of the existing leaders will stay on, but that two will be companies that haven’t even been born yet. The internet is an incredibly dynamic environment. You have to respond really fast.”
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- November 24, 2023
- Posted by: SportsV
- Categories: Home News, Industry News, News, Press Releases
The naming right partners behind Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden introduces ‘Break The Silence’ – a new initiative to raise awareness around young people’s mental health. On 23 November, Break The Silence launched its campaign, opening the doors of a new store located inside the Avicii Arena. The store sells exclusive items, such as a limited-edition cap designed by artist ANJI. And the twist? Customers can only pay with their emotions.
The iconic Avicii Arena was established in May 2021 through a unique collaboration between the Tim Bergling Foundation, Trygg-Hansa, BAUHAUS and ASM Global. Together, these organisations joined forces, aiming to break the stigma surrounding and increase awareness of mental health issues impacting young people. Avicii Arena proudly serves as a platform for activities and initiatives addressing the needs of the next generation.
Break The Silence launches this week, with the opening of a new store in Avicii Arena. Customers will find exclusive items, such as a brand-new cap designed items by artist ANJI. To purchase the cap, customers can scan a QR code and answer a few questions focused around their emotional state in that moment. From there, a digital receipt will be sent and the limited-edition cap can be collected.
Alexandra Björnsson, Project Manager at the Tim Bergling Foundation, said:
This in-venue-store is truly the first of its kind, and we hope it contributes to breaking the stigma around discussing emotions. Simultaneously, it’s crucial to focus 100% on the young here and be willing to really listen and support. Through this initiative, we aim to create an inclusive atmosphere where discussing emotions and mental health is natural, offering young people the tools they need to thrive.
Break The Silence’s goal is to enhance knowledge and awareness of mental health in young people. The store opening marks the beginning of a string of activity from the initiative, focused on openness and breaking the stigma around discussing emotions, to prevent young people from experiencing mental health issues and ensuring they receive the necessary support.
Learning to express and manage emotions helps children and young people feel better. Research indicates that the ability to communicate feelings, coupled with positive relationships with adults, is among the most critical protective factors in life against issues like depression and suicide. If you early on learn to articulate emotions it can provide a solid shield for the future.
During the opening of the store in Avicii Arena, licensed psychologists and counsellors will be on-site for those seeking assistance. Following the November 23 opening, the store will be accessible to visitors during event-nights at Avicii Arena.
For more information on Break The Silence, visit aviciiarena.se
Sports Venue Business has been organising and delivering ALSD International – the leading event for the Premium Seat & Hospitality sector – on behalf of the Association of Luxury Suite Directors (ALSD) since its inception in 2018.
ALSD International 2023 featured 400+ attendees, who benefitted from a very special tour of The Etihad Stadium, complimented by a high-level conference, exhibition and networking events. This year’s edition also featured the inaugural Tech Symposium and a Fan Experience breakout delivered by IIFX.
#ALSDInternational – Europe’s leading event for the Premium Seat & Sports Hospitality sector
#ALSD – Leading the Premium Seat sector for the last 30 years
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- Posted by: Unika
- Category: All, Internet
Amazon has finally takeover Souq.com, Online marketplace of Dubai UAE
Amazon confirmed that it has acquired Souq.com, an e-commerce market serving the Center East primarily based out of Dubai, which was already generally described as “the Amazon of the Center East.” We had reported final week that the businesses had already reached an settlement and that “the ink [was] dry” on a deal that was valued at round $650 million. Amazon right now didn’t disclose the worth in a brief assertion asserting the deal, though we’re assured of our sources on the worth we reported.
The announcement caps off a number of months of hypothesis concerning the destiny of Souq. The corporate had initially been in talks with Amazon to accumulate a 30 p.c stake that might have valued that firm at $1 billion, earlier than coming into into negotiations for an outright sale. Others reportedly within the firm included eBay and Emirati retail group Majid Al Futtaim.
Within the final couple of days, Bloomberg additionally reported that Mohamed Alabbar — whose agency owns The Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa; a stake in logistics firm Aramex; and is making an attempt to get its personal rival web site Midday.com off the bottom — was additionally within the firm. Nevertheless, it seems like this was little greater than smoke and mirrors, and maybe a late realisation that it’s really tremendous exhausting to get a market off the bottom. Our sources had advised us the deal had already been completed between Amazon and Souq.
Amazon’s acquisition of Souq marks the corporate’s first transfer into serving the Center East area, which covers a complete of some 50 million shoppers throughout a number of international locations, in addition to a comparatively untapped market: solely about two p.c of all retail spend right now is made on-line, in response to a report from McKinsey.
Souq offers Amazon an instantaneous leg up slightly than constructing a brand new service from the bottom up: the corporate contains each a funds and fulfilment infrastructure, together with a market that already has some four million merchandise and works with 1000’s of retailers to assist promote their items on-line.
“Amazon and SOUQ.com share the identical DNA – we’re each pushed by prospects, invention, and long-term pondering,” stated Russ Grandinetti, Amazon Senior Vice President, Worldwide Shopper, in a press release. “SOUQ.com pioneered e-commerce within the Center East, creating an awesome buying expertise for his or her prospects. We’re wanting ahead to each studying from and supporting them with Amazon know-how and world sources. And collectively, we’ll work exhausting to offer the very best service for hundreds of thousands of consumers within the Center East.”
Amazon is treating this as a bolt-on acquisition, bringing on administration and different groups, together with the present Souq.com enterprise.
“We’re guided by lots of the similar rules as Amazon, and this acquisition is a crucial subsequent step in rising our e-commerce presence on behalf of consumers throughout the area,” aded SOUQ.com CEO and Co-Founder Ronaldo Mouchawar. “By turning into a part of the Amazon household, we’ll have the ability to vastly develop our supply capabilities and buyer choice a lot sooner, in addition to proceed Amazon’s nice monitor document of empowering sellers.”
The deal represents an attention-grabbing, if presumably predictable, touchdown for Souq, which was initially based in 2005 however grew to become what we all know it as right now in 2009 when Yahoo acquired an web portal based by Mouchawar known as Maktoob, however was not within the its current e-commerce enterprise.
Souq was valued at round $1 billion in its final funding spherical, so a $650 million price ticket is most definitely a step down from this. Nevertheless, it nonetheless represents a return for traders, who collectively put some $425 million into the corporate. These traders included Ballie Gifford, IFC Enterprise Capital Group, Jabbar Web Group, MENA Enterprise Investments, Naspers, Customary Chartered Financial institution and Tiger World Administration.
Within the years between 2009 and now, Souq has been the most important of a handful of firms to faucet right into a rising class of shoppers who’re turning to the Web and their cellular units to purchase items and companies. Different current firms embody Wadi, which final yr raised $67 million, and Rocket Web-backed Namshi.
The acquisition of Souq is the most recent transfer from Amazon to develop within the normal area. So far, a lot of its strikes in neighboring markets have been natural — that’s, Amazon constructing its worldwide operations from the bottom up slightly than via acquisitions.
Chief amongst them is India, the place the corporate has invested billions to construct out its enterprise within the nation. Simply as Amazon’s transfer to purchase Souq is made partly whereas protecting a watch out for competitors within the Center East, it’s additionally up in opposition to would-be clones and rivals in these different markets, too. In India, the primary competitors comes within the type of two companies, Flipkart and Snapdeal — that are reportedly now speaking a few merger, partly it appears in response to the billions that Amazon is investing in its enterprise there. Flipkart can be being linked with the acquisition of eBay India, though eBay has declined to touch upon rumor and hypothesis when contacted for a remark.
One query now’s whether or not this transfer is a one-off or whether or not Amazon is displaying us that it now has the urge for food to digest extra regional giants, that are patiently ready within the wings for what comes subsequent.


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Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)Â is best known for selling electric vehicles. But the company also makes and sells solar panels, home batteriesÂ and vehicle chargers. Tesla’s goal is not only to get every car on the road offÂ gas and onto electricity, but to transition the globe to sustainable energy.
What Happened:Â Tesla may be working on a full home package to sell homeowners on solar, batteriesÂ and vehicle charging all in one go, according to a new report from Electrek.
In Germany, Tesla sent out a survey to gauge customer interest inÂ different products.
Tesla now offers a bundle on solar with their Powerwall home energy storage, making the batteries cheaper if purchased with a solar system install.
Benzinga’s Take:Â Tesla has the products to fully integrate allÂ electricity needs, so a bundle with possibly a slight discount would be smart.
If a customer buys a vehicle from Tesla, home solar becomes an easy decision to save on fuel costs, and then a Powerwall becomes a natural extension of the solar. Throw in the vehicle charging equipment, and Tesla would easily be able to gain customers for all of their products with an attractive bundle.Â
Picture courtesy of Tesla.
Â© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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The servers for Driveclub, Driveclub VR and Driveclub Bikes are all being switched off on March 31, 2020. Before then on August 31, 2019, the games and all of their DLC will be delisted and unpurchaseable from the PlayStation Network Store.
After the servers are switched off, only the single-player modes will be playable. However, Driveclub has put a lot of its eggs in the multiplayer basket, meaning the content left behind will be rather lacklustre.
Driveclub launched back in 2014, but struggled along the way due to being a launch title and a lot of broken promises with features and performance promised in E3.
Driveclub’s last update came in March 2016 with the final DLC pack for the game and on the same day, Sony announced that developer Evolution Studios would be shut down.


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Chrysler’s lauded Pentastar engine is coming under fire for, well, not firing: Due to a manufacturing mishap, the engines can lose power and fail.
Read This Article
Chrysler Group LLC has announced that production for the new 2014 Jeep Cherokee will be delayed by a month, but that sufficient inventory will be ready by the fall.
There are some that have likened the current-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee to that of an American Range Rover.
It would appear Chrysler Group is on the right path with the redesign of many of its models, its new Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 engine, and recently announced eight-speed transmission.


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Where is Pokemon GO Fest 2020 in light of the pandemic putting most large gatherings on hold?
It appears that Niantic Labs isn't about to back down from the recent COVID-19 restrictions. The company has decided to go forward with their massive annual event: Pokemon GO Fest. However, this year, things will be a little different. Instead of having trainers travel to the event site, the event programming will be coming to them wherever they are.
Trainers will still be able to look forward to everything previous years had to offer — including the exclusive merchandise.
Where is Pokemon GO Fest 2020?
The short answer to this question is: in the app.
Anyone with access to the Pokemon GO app and a stable internet connection can now take part in the first virtual Pokemon GO Fest event. Tickets are now available for purchase for $14.99 from the in-game shop. Once purchased, trainers can find their ticket in their bag as proof of entry.
Pokemon GO Fest programming will be active for all eligible trainers on July 25 and July 26 between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. A few days before, these trainers will receive an in-game medal regarding their participation in the event.
Each day has a unique special research quest line that can be completed at any time once started.
More information about this event can be found on Niantic's official Pokemon GO blog.


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The Skin Blog
As seen in VOGUE Australia, Jan 2023 issue. Want to future-proof your skin against the harsh Australian sun? dr.NC founder Dr Natasha Cook explains the simple yet effective, Backed by Science solutions to combat the harsh Australian sun and weather. If humidity and heat normally nix your plans ...This article was originally published on SPA+CLINIC. SPA+CLINIC catches up with leading Dermatologist Dr Natasha Cook for her take on spray-on sunscreens.When it comes to sunscreen, there are many emerging products wanting to claim the title for most innovative, and as many clients are put-off fr...


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Fiesta Baby Yoda Medals
San Antonio-based coffee shop Merit Coffee has created medals of Baby Yoda wearing a sombrero and drinking from a Merit mug — all in the name of charity. Merit Coffee creative manager Justin Frey told the Houston Chronicle that he was inspired by memes. The medals will be available at San Antonio shops (unfortunately, not the Austin ones) and online in March for $10. Proceeds will go to Snack Pak 4 Kids SA, an organization that supplies chronically hungry children in public schools with weekend food supplements.
Good Food Award Winners
The 2020 Good Food Awards were announced, and two Austin-area products were among the 219 nationwide winners. Interestingly, both were from alcohol brands: Driftwood’s Vista Brewing won an award for its Stonewall Belgian Lambic-Style Ale with Texas Peaches while Treaty Oak Distilling in Dripping Springs won for its Ghost Hill Bourbon. Still Austin Whiskey Co. won an award last year for its Rye Gin, along with Barrel Creek Provisions (for pickles), Epic Provisions (for two kinds of jerky), and The Art of Pecan (for pecan oil).
Native Hostel Expands to Denver
East side’s Native Hostel is starting its expansion plans with the purchase of a historic building in Denver, Colorado in the Five Points area. It’s slated to open in 2021, according to an article in Business Den. The hostel is also considering expansions in San Diego, Nashville, and Aspen.


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Jaume Canals, General Director of Light Mobility Cluster, the association of companies representing the electric motorcycle sector, talks about the current situation of the segment.
In a week where the Spanish electric mobility sector is eager for updates on the Perte Vec (Special Vehicle Projects) initiative, the specialist engages in a dialogue with Mobility Portal.
He states that there is an increasing demand for new lightweight mobility solutions.
At the same time, he emphasizes the need to support domestic production, which boasts a thriving ecosystem of companies.
«It can’t be that for this demand, we have to import Asian products, given that we have national talent and great know-how,» he laments.
He asserts that companies in the sector have been offering high-quality products and services for many years.
In this context, he highlights manufacturers like Ray, Pursang, Torrot, and other national companies that design and produce their products in the country.
Another example he provides is Rieju, which not only manufactures its own models but also produces for other brands in its Catalonia plant.
Electric motorcycle registrations
In the first four months of the year, there was a 29% decrease in electric motorcycle registrations compared to the same period last year.
Despite this, the representative of Light Mobility Cluster assures that the trend is growing at the user level.
He believes that the data must be interpreted carefully.
In this regard, he explains that the majority of electric vehicles are linked to sharing and delivery fleets.
As a result, when fleet deliveries take place, registrations increase in that month.
Canals believes that the public sector should boost the electric market with direct incentives for end customers.
«Otherwise, it’s very difficult for them to have a real impact and boost immediate sales,» he opines.
In this context, he shares that, in terms of sales to end customers, the Moves Plan has not generated significant changes.
He analyzes that the country lacks «clear and applicable legislation.»
As well as an infrastructure that considers sustainable business models within lightweight mobility.
«We need to promote its development and growth as a positive point, not a prohibited one, as would be the case for the use of scooters or PMVs,» he emphasizes.
According to the representative of the two-wheeler sector, there are no European Union countries that stand out for achieving high penetration in the segment.
However, he points out that the Netherlands has specific regulations allowing mopeds to circulate at 25 km/h, «where they have certain advantages.»
Technology in electric motorcycles
Regarding whether the technological development of the electric motorcycle sector meets the users’ needs, he believes that there is room for improvement.
«Especially in terms of autonomy,» he asserts.
But he adds: «We need to raise awareness among end customers that they don’t necessarily need extensive range for their daily commutes, especially in cities.» electric motorcycles
The segments that work best are those related to short urban trips.
In relation to charging points, the specialist points out that the situation is «very poor.»
«We need many more charging points designed for lightweight vehicles,» he emphasizes.
Light Mobility Cluster, formerly known as Clustermoto, expanded its representation from solely motorcycles to all vehicles in the lightweight mobility sector.
During this process, the association doubled the number of members and included companies linked to innovation and technology.
The cluster prioritizes projects related to innovation in electric mobility, sustainable mobility, infrastructure, connectivity, and last-mile solutions.


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Photo: Rich Dieckhoff
by Adele Peters - October 8, 2020
These diamonds are made of CO2 sucked from the air
Forget conflict-free: Your next diamond can be carbon-negative.
On the rooftop of a power-generating waste incineration plant near Zurich, Switzerland, a row of large machines pulls carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Some of that CO2 then goes to a production facility in Chicago, where a startup called Aether is turning it into something new: the world’s first carbon-negative diamonds.
CEO Ryan Shearman started thinking about the concept while reading Drawdown, a book about the most effective solutions to climate change, and talking with Dan Wojno, who became his cofounder. Both had backgrounds in the jewelry industry. “We had a bit of an epiphany,” he says. “You’re carbon-based, I’m carbon-based, we live in a carbon-based world. Carbon in our atmosphere is really bad, but carbon itself inherently is not bad. And a diamond is just crystalline carbon.”
Traditional diamond mining is fraught with problems, from worker exploitation to deforestation and water pollution. While lab-grown diamonds are marketed as a more ethical alternative, they’re typically made from fossil fuels. But Shearman and Wojno realized that they could work with captured carbon instead. After Climeworks captures CO2, Aether purifies it into a form that can be used in a diamond reactor, where it can be turned into a diamond over the course or two or three weeks.
The startup is incorporating the diamonds into a new line of fine jewelry that it wants to appeal to consumers based on design, not solely the environmental message. “We want to make sure that this is something that you’d buy on its face, just because of the way it looks, because of the way it makes you feel,” Shearman says. “The environmental element to this is really kind of the icing on the cake. Because at the end of the day, most Americans—most people in general—don’t know their carbon footprint.” (The average carbon footprint in the U.S. is around 16 tons; a two-carat Aether diamond can offset roughly two and a half years’ worth of one American’s emissions.)
Over time, Shearman says, the diamond industry will have to move away from natural stones because the supply is dwindling. “The industry has already surpassed the peak diamond output,” he says. “So every year, from here on out, there will be fewer and fewer stones produced through traditional mining methods. By 2040, it’s anticipated that the global production capacity of mine diamonds will cut in half. So this is great for our market, because it forces the invisible hand. We have a declining supply of mined diamonds, but growing demand for diamonds in general. So you have to find a new source.”
For companies such as Climeworks that are pioneering new carbon-capture technology, diamonds also offer a financially attractive market. Direct air capture is still an expensive way to capture carbon, especially compared to something like planting trees. “If I can go and buy carbon offsets for anywhere from, say, $1 to $15 through regenerative farming or reforestation, that’s much more attractive than direct air capture, which is hundreds of dollars per tonne,” he says. “So without subsidies, direct air capture at its current stage and its current level of maturity is really kind of looking for these viable paths to market.”
Aether is beginning with limited production but says that the process can scale. The company will launch first with a waitlist and plans to begin to sell products in early 2021.


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Inside Pilot's push to keep the trucking industry afloat during the COVID-19 outbreak
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Jimmy Haslam visited seven Pilot Company truck stops in Northeastern Ohio during the last week of April.
Like the Knoxville-company's 28,200 employees are now all required to do, the CEO was wearing a mask.
"It's just something you get used to," Haslam said.
It's one of the many safety precautions implemented at Pilot, named No. 10 on Forbes' list of America's largest private companies, in an effort to protect employees and customers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Those safety efforts were a huge deal for the company, but they turned out to be just one factor in a roller coaster of a month. Amid the pandemic, the bottom fell out of the global petroleum market.
The leadership team went into overdrive. Looking ahead, Haslam hopes to "slowly and prudently" get to a new normal, he told Knox News in an exclusive interview.
Here's how the leadership team kept the company and America's trucking industry humming.
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Truck stops deemed essential
Pilot's COVID-19 task force launched in February, but its most challenging 10-day stretch didn't arrive until March 9, when the petroleum market took its hardest hit in almost three decades.
Then the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11.
Two days later, Haslam and the senior leadership team began to transition 1,200 call center and corporate employees to working from home while still supporting the 27,000 employees in 44 states and six Canadian provinces working in stores and on the roads.
After working with the White House and U.S. Department of Transportation, truck stop travel centers were declared an essential business on March 16, ensuring truck drivers transporting goods across the country could still access fuel and food.
On March 17, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Jim Mullen told the National Association of Truck Stop Operators that it was critical truck stops remain open 24 hours a day while adhering to CDC guidelines. It wasn't an easy task.
New dining, cleaning procedures
Once deemed essential, the Pilot task force began grappling with what "open" looked like as the virus raged across the U.S.
Though they'd dealt with regional natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and nationwide tragedies like 9/11, there was no playbook for an incident that would affect all of the more than 780 Pilot truck stops at once for an indeterminate amount of time.
"The speed at which this moved, and then the uncertainty is, I think, unprecedented," Haslam said.
The situation was made more complicated because of the round-the-clock nature of the business and the constant flow of customers from across the country into the stores.
Pilot closed its more than 630 restaurant dining rooms, self-serve food stations and drivers' lounges. The essential services stayed intact – truck drivers could still get fuel, shower and purchase to-go or prepackaged food to eat in their trucks.
Employees cleaned restrooms, food counters, gas pumps and pin pads every four hours. That practice continues.
Pilot's 5,200 showers are cleaned after each use with degreaser, floor cleaner and disinfectant. Travel centers are deep cleaned each week. Pilot has always promoted the cleanliness of its facilities, but Haslam said that has become even more appealing to customers.
Stores are marked with social distancing signage and employees have been provided with personal protective equipment and work behind plexiglass shields.
Employees who test positive for COVID-19 are directed to isolate for 14 days. Their stores are cleaned and disinfected by a professional cleaning service; during that time, in-store operations may be suspended.
As of May 6, 57 employees had tested positive for COVID-19 and there was one death.
“Our Pilot family is completely devastated and heartbroken by the loss of one of our team members to the COVID-19 virus. Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time and our team members who worked alongside him. We have made grief counselors available for those impacted. This is an extremely difficult and challenging time. His family and loved ones are in our thoughts,” according to a Pilot spokesperson.
Of the 57 positive cases, 49 of them were employees at the store level.
Team members have received an additional $2 an hour in pay and emergency paid sick leave.
New technology for truck drivers
Truck drivers are encouraged to use the Pilot Flying J app for everything from mobile pay to reserving showers in order to cut down on pin pad touches.
The company is testing new technology including a touchless experience at gas islands in which customers can scan loyalty cards and only have to handle the fuel pump. Contactless credit card capability is being explored.
"I think the country was headed toward more of a touchless world, and I think the COVID-19 expedites that," Haslam said.
What's next for Pilot and trucking?
Adaptations will continue as states loosen safer-at-home restrictions.
So far, dining rooms in seven states have transitioned to a restricted seating capacity. The Pilot at Lovell Road in Knoxville, for instance, seats about 60 people in its dining room; it is now limited to 20.
Business has dipped 20%-25% throughout the pandemic, Haslam said, but the company did not cut employee hours.
The weekend after Knox County and the city of Knoxville introduced the phased re-opening plan, Haslam saw more drivers on the roads. Still not a normal amount, but more.
Travel may increase this summer, meaning more customers buying gas and food at Pilot stops.
But Haslam said he's not sure if business will return to normal in 2020.
"The health issue has been substantial, but the economic devastation and impact on families, impact on school kids, etc., has been substantial, and somehow we've got to figure out how to return to whatever the new normal is," Haslam said.
Email Brenna McDermott at firstname.lastname@example.org and follow her on Twitter @_BrennaMcD. If you enjoy Brenna's coverage, support strong local journalism by subscribing for full access to all our content on every platform.


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Remember that old washing machine you bought back in the 1980s? The one that seemed to go on for ever?
And then there was the one you bought only a couple of years back, which seemed to give up the ghost more quickly than an ultra-fast spin cycle.
They don't build them like they used to.
Even the industry admits that the lifespan of white goods has fallen. But then so too have prices.
So how long should a fridge or a freezer last, and is it worth spending a bit more on a better model?
Ann Barlow is expecting a visit from her grandchildren and begins mixing the ingredients for a cake.
They are soon whizzing round effortlessly, if not noiselessly, in the same trusty electric mixer that she has used for 40 years.
It is a Kenwood Chef bought locally in the West Midlands. Then - at the time of the miners' strike - it would have cost around a month's wages.
But for Ann Barlow, it was her best buy ever.
"I hoped it would last well, but had no idea it would still be going strong for this long. It's never even been in for a service. It is a little bit noisy now, but that doesn't matter", she says.
Our relentless demand for cheap household appliances is taking its toll on the durability of the products we buy.
Blame it on the smartphone.
With new technology constantly offering fresh features, many people have got used to the idea of upgrading devices nearly every year.
As a result, it seems our expectation of the lifespan of household gadgets is also reducing.
Shoppers constantly search online for the best deals and High Street retailers have to compete to make sales.
It is this erosion of prices which has inevitably taken its toll on the build quality and longevity of mass-market products.
On its website, the Whitegoods Trade Association (WTA) openly acknowledges that the average lifespan has dropped in relation to prices.
Take the example of a washing machine.
Its life expectancy has dropped by a full three years over the last decade or so, meaning many will conk out pretty quickly.
"Over 40% cost under £300. Obviously these cheaper products do not have the same build quality, performance or longevity and therefore the average lifespan has dropped from over 10 years to under seven years," the website confesses.
It is not unusual for cheaper appliances to only last a few years.
The move to buying online has also broken the link between consumers and local businesses.
Such businesses once serviced everything they sold, sometimes way beyond its official guarantee period.
Collectively, the retail industry no longer even trains many domestic engineers.
But the independent sector is fighting back.
Robert Chapman is managing director of Chapmans, a family electrical business at Cradley Heath in the West Midlands - with a history going back to 1927.
His company takes pride in its guaranteed repair service. When it comes to breakdowns, he says nine out of 10 washing machines and three-quarters of flat-screen televisions can be restored to perfect working order.
"There is too much premature scrapping," he says.
"The trouble is it's in the interests of manufacturers to get three sales out of people every 10 years -- not one. Because they don't have repair departments that make profits, customers are always pointed towards new products," he claims.
If an appliance has let you down and you are considering a claim against the makers or sellers, it is worth considering typical product lifespans before rushing to the courts.
Hannah Davies is a trading standards officer with Birmingham City Council.
She points out that consumer law does not underwrite six years of use, as is commonly believed.
She says it depends how much you paid for the product, and how much you have used it.
"Let's say you paid £199 for a washing machine and used it three to four times a day every day for four or five years, then the court would probably say that you have had enough use out of that product. But if you had spent £1,000 and used your machine for a minimal amount of time, the law would probably say you would be entitled to a refund of part of the amount or a repair."
So is it worth shelling out extra for a trusted, premium brand?
The answer is not clear-cut. The premium appliance could give you 20 years' service. It's certainly the best choice if reliability and durability are paramount -- and if you can afford it.
But if you don't have the budget and your use of the product will be lighter, then a cheaper model may be perfectly adequate.
Some people like the idea of being able to replace their technology as soon as possible.
Others, like Ann Barlow, pride themselves on sticking with their trusty appliances of old.


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The Cheesecake Factory this year has found something that’s been in short supply in the restaurant industry recently: stability.
The first quarter, for the most part, unfolded as the company thought it would along both the top and bottom lines. Same-store sales kept growing, as has become routine for the casual-dining operator recently, up 20.7% year over year.
The relatively ho-hum results came despite another period of curveballs.
“The first quarter had some noise to it starting with omicron and then certainly the start of the war and then inflation spiked up a little bit more,” said CFO Matthew Clark during a call with analysts Wednesday. “But as we look at late March into mid- to late April here, it’s been very consistent and very predictable, kind of Cheesecake-like, I would say. And that’s with all those factors baked into it.”
Quarter-to-date same-store sales were up 8.2% year over year, which executives noted was a true comparison because it was lapping the end of indoor dining restrictions across all of its concepts.
Cheesecake also exceeded its pre-pandemic staffing levels in the quarter, by 1%, CEO David Overton said.
Even though its more than 200 restaurants are now operating at full strength, on-premise traffic remains about 10% to 15% below 2019 levels, Clark said.
“Certainly we have the capacity to continue to increase that meaningfully,” he said, noting that returning to its pre-pandemic benchmark would generate an additional $1.5 million in annual revenue per store.
What it’s lacking in dine-in traffic, though, it is more than making up for with delivery and takeout. Off-premise accounted for 28% of Cheesecake’s total sales in the first quarter.
“We’ve shown the ability to keep on-premise growing while also keeping the off-premise stable, so that net is just kind of moving the dollars higher,” Clark said.
Higher costs for commodities and labor did keep a lid on its margins for the quarter, but the real surprise on the expenses side was an increase in the price of natural gas.
“With the geopolitical news, it spiked back up to even worse levels than we saw in the fall,” Clark said.
For the rest of the year, Cheesecake is expecting 6% labor inflation and commodity inflation in the low- to mid-double digits. Both represent a slight increase compared to prior forecasts.
But executives said it’s still committed to regaining its 2019 restaurant-level operating margins in the second half of this year. To make that happen, Clark said, it will likely need to raise prices again in the third quarter, and by more than the 1.5% to 2% it had previously referenced.
Cheesecake’s prices are currently 4.7% higher than they were a year ago. But Clark said consumer demand remains strong.
“The tighter the brand’s performance, the better we feel about going forward about our consumer,” he said. “Because that means their day-to-day behavior is not being moved around by these factors anymore, and they’re just deciding that this is the way they’re going to go about their life.”
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The export growth has facilitated rice consumption in local market while the Government has yet to launch the annual rice stockpiling program.
Explaining the growth, VFA said businesses have sped up purchase for delivery of contracts signed since 2015. Of these, government to government contracts with Indonesia and the Philippines accounts for 51.4 percent and commercial contracts with China posts an increase of 23 percent.
The number of contracts signed in March kept increasing over a year back, which will help remain the export momentum in the upcoming time. Most of them are commercial deals on fragrant and sticky rice.
Beside up export demand, salt intrusion has narrowed rice area and output in the Mekong Delta. Therefore, local rice prices have sharply increased. At the end of March, fresh long grain rice was paid VND5,200, up from VND4,700 early 2016.
Vietnamese rice price has been highest compared to that of other export nations in Asia. It is US$10-20 a ton higher than Thai rice.
The rice price increase has partly made up damage caused by drought and salt penetration but raised disadvantage for some businesses who signed contracts when the prices were low.
According to VFA, the world’ rice market has declined. However, the International Rice Research Institute quoting data from the US Department of Commerce said that rice inventory of five main export countries touched its peak in 2013 of 41 million tons. But the number has reduced most this year to 19 million tons, creating supply pressure for the first time since 2007-2008.


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25 January 2020, Brandenburg, Grünheide: Tesla electric vehicles stand on a road on the edge of a forest where the construction of a Tesla factory is planned.
Tesla has been clearing a pine forest to build its first European factory in Brandenburg, Germany. Now, a German environmental authority has ordered the electric car company to suspend that activity until it can prove the action won’t harm hibernating snakes and lizards in the area.
German newspaper Tagesspiegel first reported on the court’s order to suspend the clear cutting.
The delay was a second win for environmental groups in Germany. Earlier, Tesla capitulated to activists’ demands and agreed to cut water…


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Ireland's trade surplus widened to EUR 9.3 billion in March 2020, the largest on record, from EUR 4.0 billion in the same month last year. Exports jumped 39 percent to an all-time high, boosted by sales of medical and pharmaceutical products, organic chemicals and electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances. Exports to the EU surged 37 percent, while those to Great Britain dropped 9 percent. Imports declined 9 percent due to lower purchases of other transport equipment, including aircraft, while imports of organic chemicals and food and live animals rose. Imports decreased from both the EU (-26 percent) and Great Britain (-7 percent).
Balance of Trade in Ireland averaged 1410565.68 EUR Thousand from 1970 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 9297200 EUR Thousand in March of 2020 and a record low of -280890 EUR Thousand in January of 1982. This page provides the latest reported value for - Ireland Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Ireland Balance of Trade - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on June of 2020. source: Central Statistics Office Ireland
Balance of Trade in Ireland is expected to be 5100000.00 EUR Thousand by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Balance of Trade in Ireland to stand at 3000000.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Ireland Balance of Trade is projected to trend around 3000000.00 EUR Thousand in 2021, according to our econometric models.


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The shipment was produced from the company’s industrial-scale pilot plant operations in Argentina.
Argosy will be delivering into the sales agreement executed with Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan Ltd in March 2019.
The sales price for the cargo was determined using a set formula referencing an industry-standard benchmark index LCE product price, netting off in-country taxes, adjustments for product specifications, all associated shipping costs and commission fees.
Processing expertise are a competitive advantage
Argosy’s managing director Jerko Zuvela said: “This is another significant development milestone for the company, led by Pablo and the high-class Puna operations team, whose lithium processing expertise is world-class and provides us a distinct advantage to our lithium peers - having successfully proven our chemical processing capability in producing >99.5% LCE product and now working toward commercial-scale production operations.
“This is an exciting period for Argosy and Puna, becoming the first high quality >99.5% lithium carbonate product exporter from Salta Province, as we continue toward full development of our Rincon Lithium Project.”
Processing plant funding the focus going forward
Argosy’s focus and priority will continue being the ~2,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) modular lithium carbonate processing plant operation and associated funding.
construction of this scale operation following the receipt of regulatory approvals is the next step in the scale-up development of the Rincon Lithium Project in Argentina.
Argosy has had advanced discussions with a number of potential capital providers for the and is now focussed on determining its preferred funding structure.
Securing funding and commencing construction and associated development works for the lithium carbonate processing plant operation is expected during the June half of 2020.


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With 3D printing's move into the mainstream over the last year, we are learning of a growing number of companies using the technology.
Count Microsoft as one of the innovative companies using 3D printers to help with product development. Earlier this year, we talked about how Microsoft already uses 3D printers to help reduce product time inside their model shop. Today, the Verge talked about their latest product to be aided by 3D printing.
With the growth of tablet and laptop technology, Microsoft had to create something that didn’t exist.
Companies used to shy away from sharing their product development equipment – in this case a 3D printer. Today, companies are eager to share that they are using the latest technology to ensure customer satisfaction.
“There were no accidents in this device,” said general manager for the Surface, Panos Panay.
“Every feature on the Surface seems to be the result of countless meetings, iterations, and refinements,” said Verge journalist David Pierce. “Engineers and designers are able to craft and produce a new model in only a couple of hours, and have clearly used that power liberally.”
Pierce saw the 3D printers used to create the over 300 prototypes of the final product. Using Stratasys/Objet 3D PolyJet technology, Microsoft was able to rapid prototype as many variations as they needed to finalize product design.
At 1:15 of the video above, you can see an Objet Connex500 hard at work producing a prototype for testing.
With PolyJet technology, users are able to 3D print multiple materials in a single build. They are also able to print living parts – that is they are able to print hinges and moving elements, still in one print.
This allows designers to easily edit and print many different iterations and refinements that come after countless design meetings.
The Surface has over 200 unique elements, showing how the technology giant caters every part to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable consumer experience.
Remember: you can create your own prototypes with our 3D Printing Services.
Below you can see the model shop and how Microsoft has used 3D printers in the past!


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AMDZone first tested 64 bit UT2004 under Linux almost a year and a half ago. The wait for a 64 bit client for Windows ended yesterday as quietly it was released. They test this new client on the GeForce 7800GTX, the Radeon X850XT PE, under 32 bit running Windows XP, and under 32 and 64 bit running XP 64. From the results they are able to not only see how 64 bit has progressed, but also how a 32 bit app runs under XP64, and they also get to look at the state of the latest 64 bit drivers from Nvidia and ATI.
It has been now more than two years since the launch of Athlon 64, as AMD brought 64-bit technology to the consumer and to the mainstream and as such also has been touted the performance benefits of it. However, in the gaming market we have yet to see a product utilize 64-bit technology still, instead looking to the future. While there have been a few bonuses such as the Far Cry patch for those users, and AMD's processors are of the fastest processors on the market, not just for gaming, there has yet to see a benefit in 64-bit. Check out the full report over here.
Unreal Tournament 2004 Windows 64 bit patch tested
Posted on Thursday, October 06 2005 @ 9:46 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck


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Notwithstanding widespread expectations, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to wait a while for effecting a rate cut, even though the spreading coronavirus has prompted central bankers of countries across the globe to adopt emergency measures
While not ruling out anything in terms of action, the RBI governor has announced fresh injection of Rs one lakh crore into the system via long-term repo operations (LTRO), spread over multiple tranches. This clearly suggests that the continued focus in these trying times would be on liquidity easing measures. As in its earlier LTRO attempt, the primary objective this time too appears to be on providing durable liquidity at reasonable cost. This move, just like its earlier LTRO, is bound to have a fall-out on short-duration bond yields.
The governor also announced a six-month dollar-rupee sell/buy swap on March 23. The intention is to steady the depreciating rupee. Read in tandem, both these measures are liquidity easing and management initiatives. Given the fact that any decision on rate squarely falls within the domain of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the governor did well within the central bank’s ambit to roll out proactive measures.
The governor conceded that the second round of impact of coronavirus could operate through a slowdown in the domestic economic growth. This slowdown, he felt, could be the consequence of synchronised slowdown in global growth. That Shaktikanta Das and the MPC still chose not to cut rates outside a monetary policy review cycle clearly has come as a huge disappointment for many. The next MPC review is a clear two weeks away.
Nevertheless, the governor, to a question at an unscheduled press briefing, asserted that “we do not rule out anything”. A moderation notwithstanding, the retail inflation is still above the RBI red line. To that extent, the MPC will be highly constrained in taking a rate cut action.
At the moment, the RBI has correctly chosen to await the MPC review meeting. And, in the meanwhile, it has chosen to further inject liquidity in the system by other assorted tools available for it. Rate cuts in the past have met with very poor transmission even in the face of poor credit off-take.
Surprisingly enough, governor Shaktikanta Das opened the press briefing by first focusing on the trouble-hit Yes Bank rather than the escalating coronavirus and its telling effect on the Indian economy. Asserting that a unique private-public partnership rescued Yes Bank, he assured the depositors their money was safe and that the identity of the private lender would remain in tact.
Somewhere it becomes clear that the RBI alone can only do so much to blunt the economic effects of a COVID-19 pandemic. Or perhaps, as some have suggested, the central bank is merely choosing to keep its gunpowder dry in case the situation in India worsens over the next to weeks.
With global supply chains hit badly, relief can only come in the form of quick policy reaction at the fiscal level to repair it. If the supply chain continues to be hit for a longer period, should the Coronavirus not subside sooner, then it will have further implications on production and consequently prices. The MPC has to factor in this aspect when it convenes later this months for a review meeting.
On its part, the government will also do well to pick less and leave more in the pockets of individuals. In a scenario where there are fast-evolving developments, a boost to consumption can happen only this way.
K.T. Jagannathan is a senior business journalist.


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Financial literacy app Gimi for Gen-Z launches India operations
Neowise Technologies, a fintech startup co-founded by Rohit Ramachandran and Siddarth Padmanabhan, has launched Gimi in India, a neobanking app targetted towards Gen-Z.
Neowise Technologies has partnered with Gimi AB in Sweden to market and launch the brand in India. The app is available in its freemium version, enabling parents and children to manage chores, allowances, and also deliver learning modules.
Launched in Scandinavia in 2015, the app has been developed using scientific methods in order to prepare young people aged seven and over for life’s financial challenges. It has around 1.2 million users in the European Union.
Neowise Technologies founders: Rohit Ramachandran (left) and Siddarth Padmanabhan
On the entry into the Indian market, Gimi India Co-founder and CEO Rohit Ramachandran said, “As the country rides a digital wave that has seen India become the second-largest online market in the world, home to one of the fastest-growing digital payment ecosystems in the world, and has 37 percent of its population below the age of 24, awareness around financial literacy is the need of the hour.”
Once a user downloads the Gimi app and creates an account, they can choose their role: parent or child. In the freemium version, children do not use actual money, as they are provided with a virtual piggy bank to make them understand the basics of financial literacy
Gimi India aims to launch the premium version of the app by mid-2021, which will enable all financial features such as the Gimi Card, UPI functionality, and enhanced learning modules.
Siddarth Padmanabhan, Co-Founder and CRO, Gimi India, said, “We aspire for Gimi to become a digital banking application, and to act as every Indian child’s first bank account. Through the medium of a teenager friendly smartphone application, kids will be introduced to the concept of digital payments, saving, and investing.”
Neowise Technologies was founded in August 2020, based out of Mumbai, and is focused on curating products for India’s digital natives. Gimi AB was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 2014 by professional football player Philip Haglund.


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UAE-based Alaan, the leading spend management platform for Middle Eastern businesses, announced today that it has raised $4.5 Million Pre-Series A Funding, backed by Presight Capital, Y Combinator, and angel investors. Together with the $2.5M seed round last year, Alaan has raised a total of $7M in equity.
Alaan’s platform allows businesses to instantly issue physical and virtual cards for managing all their business expenses, including e-commerce transactions, SaaS subscriptions, vendor payments, government services, or in-store purchases. These cards can be set up with daily or monthly spend limits and can also be locked to be used only with specific merchants such as fuel stations. The platform eliminates the need for expense reports and petty cash, and automates bookkeeping tasks via seamless integration with leading accounting solution providers such as Xero, QuickBooks and Microsoft Dynamics.
Commenting on the latest investment round, Parthi Duraisamy, CEO and Co-Founder of Alaan said,
“Our team has grown rapidly since we founded Alaan. Since the last financing round, not only have we launched and expanded quickly but we have also been able to introduce remarkable product innovations, including AI-powered workflow automation for managing spend and seamless accounting sync. Our cashback card offers a unique benefit in the Middle East corporate card and spend management space. With the new funds, we are excited to further enhance our offering and expand our reach in new markets as we continue to help businesses improve their efficiency, productivity, and employee experience through Alaan.”
Founded by ex-McKinsey employees Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien, Alaan has seen stellar growth since its launch in August 2022. Currently, more than 100 businesses in the UAE with a combined total of over 5000 employees are benefitting from Alaan’s platform.
Alaan crossed double-digit millions in payment volume within three months of its launch and averaged a monthly growth of 500% in 2022. It is now doubling down on its UAE growth and is planning to use the new funds for expansion across the GCC. Alongside international growth, Alaan plans to enhance its product, with new features including automated invoice payments to domestic and international suppliers.
Featured image credit: Alaan Founders Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien