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• Incoming president Richard Ngatia said the middlemen must be eliminated to save the sector.
• He was confirmed after other contestants, James Mureu and Abdulwalli Sharrif stepped down.
Middlemen are hindering trade in Kenyan poultry products making it difficult to compete with Uganda, according to the Kenya National Chamber o Commerce boss
Incoming president Richard Ngatia said the middlemen must be eliminated to save the sector.
“This will be possible through education on improving value addition and having representatives at the chamber,” Ngatia said after his confirmation yesterday.
He was confirmed after other contestants, James Mureu and Abdulwalli Sharrif stepped down.
Since last year, farmers and entrepreneurs in the sector have been protesting over the the influx of cheap eggs from Uganda, complaining they are struggling to break even due to the high cost of feed and low returns.
According to Kenya Poultry Famers Association chairman Wairimu Kariuki, the Kenyan market is faced with other challenges including low consumption levels and large quantities from the neighbouring country.
However, middlemen have just made the business less profitable.
Currently the production cost of a crate of eggs is at an average of Sh280, which sells between at an average of Sh310.
“Uganda market has been advantage to their low production costs and if you would like to market you probably buy egg from Uganda and not Thika. This calls for the need to improve on better processing of eggs,” she added.
She also disputed that market was flooded, claiming it was stable without flooding or an abnormal demand.
In March, Trade PS Chris Kiptoo Said that the government will not stop the importation of eggs and milk from Uganda as restrictive trade measures would attract similar action from the largest buyer of Kenyan goods.
However, he said that the ministry would work on the formation of Kenya Trade Agency (KETRA) to protect any form of dumping and maintain sale at market value.
Due to this, Ngatia said he would also be keen on expanding markets and improving the business conditions.
His remarks follows reports by Stanbic Kenya PMI report that showed operating conditions for Kenyan businesses had deteriorated in the month of April. Some issues attributed in this included low cash flow in the economy affecting the output levels and input price inflation due to increase in purchasing costs.
New orders were relatively unchanged in period with firms stating the low money circulation forced customers to reduce order book volumes.


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PT Farm of North Haverhill, N.H., is recalling approximately 15 pounds of lamb products that may be contaminated with E. coli.
The products -- a neck and one leg -- were derived from a carcass produced on Sept. 6, 2016, shipped to a retail store in Somerville, Mass., and sold at their retail counter on Sept. 7, 2016.
What to do
Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.
Consumers with questions regarding the recall may contact Peter L. Roy at (603) 787-9199.

domain: news


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There are several reasons why companies will rebrand themselves; usually it’s to give their company a new identity or to better align themselves with the products and services that they offer. Just a few months ago, a rebranding campaign of epic proportions began when Twitter announced that they would now be called “X.” As one of the most prominent social media platforms today, this news came at a shock to many people, especially those who have used Twitter for several years beforehand. This change may be controversial, but X’s new vision may change the social media landscape forever. Let’s learn more about this revolutionary change and how it will impact the world of social media marketing.
In October of 2022, entrepreneur Elon Musk purchased Twitter outright for $44 million after a tumultuous negotiation process. Soon after the acquisition, a number of changes were made to the popular social media platform with the name change being the most prominent. Twitter was already a widely-recognized brand prior to Musk’s acquisition, so many industry experts questioned why the company would move away from a brand identity that it had developed since their inception in 2006.
Along with the rebranding, a number of new features and changes were added to change the way that users interacted with the app. One feature that has caused some controversy is the addition of a premium subscription that gives users the ability to add the famous blue checkmark to their profiles. The blue checkmark was initially reserved for high-profile users such as celebrities and established businesses. Now, anyone who pays their monthly subscription can get the blue checkmark; many industry experts think that this diminishes the credibility of the symbol. Also, unregistered X users are now unable to view posts on the platform, which can greatly affect how marketers use X going forward.
As digital marketers, it’s important to understand how to effectively utilize social media to accomplish your marketing goals. The recent changes that X has undergone means that marketers will have to adjust their social media campaign strategies to give their clients a competitive advantage. Many of the features on Twitter that were once free are now behind paywalls, so post visibility may not be as high as it was before. Plus, the demographics of the users on X might change with the new subscriptions, so marketers will need to conduct additional research to determine if their target audience will still be using X.
With all the changes occurring in the world of social media, It can be challenging to stay up to date with the latest trends. This is why dozens of companies trust our team at Raze Media to manage and optimize their social media platforms. We’re committed to helping our clients stay up to date with the latest social media trends and curating digital marketing strategies to help your brand stay ahead of the curve. Contact us today to learn more about our full suite of digital marketing services!


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Kate Upton suggestively washes car in Mercedes-Benz Super Bowl ad
A rumoured teaser for the commercial has been released, and features a slow-motion Upton in cropped jean shorts and a revealing black tank top hinting at a car wash, the New York Daily News reported.
The spot only shows Upton playing with some suds while a group of gawking football players clumsily wash the car - a Mercedes-Benz CLA.
The ad is reportedly for the 2014 CLA, and Mercedes promises on its website that “something powerful is coming” on Super Bowl day.
Be the first to comment.


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The Motorola Xoom is finally available to the masses tomorrow — although it looks like it'll have a short time in the spotlight before the iPad 2 competes for attention. In any case, the Xoom is not the only new Android-powered 10.1-inch tablet in town. Earlier this month, Samsung unveiled a larger version of its popular seven-inch Galaxy Tab, but the details of the upcoming release date as well as pricing have yet to be announced. So if you're not an Apple fan, should you shell out $800 for a 3G/4G Xoom now or wait for the forthcoming Galaxy Tab? Take this quiz to see if you know the major differences between the two tablets!
Which 10-Inch Tablet Wins?
Which tablet weighs less?


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THE UK government has begun to introduce post-Brexit border controls on poultrymeat and egg products imported from the EU.
From the 31 January, new border controls were introduced for EU traders wishing to export a range of produce into the UK – here, we consider how it could impact the poultry sector.
The so-called Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) has finally been instigated following five delays from the UK government fearing disruption to the supply chain and food price inflation.
It will in some ways address a significant imbalance for the UK’s poultrymeat sector – controls on those exporting produce to Europe have been in place since January 2021.
The British Poultry Council estimates this has cost the UK sector £55m in additional costs each year since, with no equivalent burden on EU exporters to the UK, who, until the end of January, were able to trade produce as they did before Brexit.
That aside, it is a legal requirement to introduce controls, as under World Trade Organization rules, the EU cannot effectively have a trade advantage when compared with the rest of the world.
What does the new regime look like in practice?
The British government is introducing the BTOM in phases, with this first one requiring Export Health Certificates (EHCs) for consignments for certain products, including poultrymeat and eggs.
EHCs are a seven-page document that, for livestock produce, must be signed off by a veterinarian in the country of export. They are designed to ensure products entering the UK are free from diseases that could threaten UK agriculture.
Arguably the most significant stage comes on 30 April 2024, when physical inspection of medium- (i.e. poultrymeat and eggs) and high-risk produce begins.
These will take place predominantly at existing border control posts, many of which have been extended in anticipation of higher inspection rates.
From October, the government will also require safety and security declarations for medium- and high-risk imports.
How might it impact the poultrymeat and egg sectors?
The new regime will add complexity to those wishing to export poultrymeat or eggs from Europe into the UK.
Imports of both have increased significantly in recent years, with some of the major UK poultrymeat integrators having supply chains that stretch across Europe and European egg product being an important ingredient for British food manufacturers.
Trade associations are both questioning the borders’ readiness to deal with the assumed additional inspection volume and in particular the risks to food fraud.
There are also practical questions, according to a letter written by 30 trade associations – including the BPC – to Defra secretary raising concerns over the new regime.
One point in the letter is as follows:
3) Export Health Certificates (EHCs) & Phytosanitary Certificates
(a) GB EHCs for EU-GB trade do not always match industry’s requirements for ingredient/component supply, e.g. pasteurised liquid egg products – plain egg yolks and egg yolks with sugar are not mentioned in the GB EHC and therefore no longer possible to import to UK. There is no flexibility in the GB EHC for alternative equivalent thermal processes to be used.
Scale of the issue: e.g. liquid egg imports from the EU-UK were approx 41.3 million kg in 2022.
Impact: GB food businesses producing e.g. desserts, mayonnaise, sauces, baked goods, will have insufficient supply to continue to produce these and other foods using them, impacting on GB food security and product availability.
Solution: EHCs need to be amended now for GB supply to continue and the myriad of foods using them to continue to be produced in GB.
Another major concern raised is the effectiveness of the checks being carried out. A new border control point serving Dover is at Sevington, 22 miles from the port. “Detail is needed now on the precise measures UKG will be putting in place to ensure security/prevent offloading of uninspected/illegal food en route to Sevington, in addition to clandestines[sic].”
The British Poultry Council said establishing efficient, fair trading with Europe was a priority, and with the full controls only introduced in April, “we’re still some time away from seeing a truly reciprocal approach to trade with our biggest and most important trading partner”.
It added a “mutually beneficial” veterinary agreement recognising the equivalence of standards – something the Labour Party has said it would negotiate if in power – could help smooth the flow of goods each way.


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Refunding, which involves defrauding e-commerce vendors by claiming undeserved refunds, exploits both couriers and retailers, seizing on technical loopholes in delivery and customer support services while leveraging emotionally manipulative social engineering.
Return fraud has risen in popularity as consumers have turned to online shopping amid the global pandemic. They will almost certainly spike as retailers rush to meet the crush of post-holiday demand.
Dark web monitoring can uncover the strategies that scammers use to exploit a firm, and the extent to which anti-fraud measures are working.
To learn more about refund fraud on the dark web, read the full report.


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Subsequently, the company launched quite a few new items and capabilities, like Weixin Wallet mobile wallet, the addition of DIDI Chuxing taxi-booking facility to Weixin and numerous financial services solutions. Tencent, an investment holding firm primarily based out of Shenzhen, China, was founded in 1998. It wasthe 1st Chinese world wide web enterprise to be profitableand the 1st Asian firm to exceed $500 billion inmarket cap. Krane Funds Advisors, LLC is the investment manager for KraneShares ETFs.
If the cluster is standalone, or the Mendix Gateway Agent is not connected for some other reason, you can nonetheless delete the atmosphere info in the Developer Portal. Nonetheless, the actual atmosphere will not be deleted and you will have to do this manually. This enables you to change the password for the local admin user in your app without obtaining to transform it in Studio Pro and redeploy the app.
There are numerous gaming emulators in the market place, but none like Tencent Gaming Buddy. When you install it, it automatically starts downloading PUBG in your gaming center and you can begin playing it correct away when it’s carried out. Ltd., comprehend that PUBG is the fan-favorite game right now, so they created their emulator to ideal facilitate and optimize PUBG gaming. Despite the fact that the game is the same, there is some difference involving PUBG Mobile and Tencent gaming Buddy! PUBG is a cross-platform game, which indicates mobile, console and Computer users can play together.
Nevertheless, Tencent’s overall gaming organization remained strong all through the crisis, as stay-at-property measures boosted its development in active and paid users. Tencent also refreshed its older games with graphical upgrades, in-game events, and social attributes, which helped gamers obtain other players in the exact same city. The Chinese tech giant’s robust growth in gaming income offsets a slowdown at its fintech and cloud corporations. Tencent owns a 40% stake in Epic Games, the maker of preferred video game Fortnite.
It has also created discovering on the internet close friends and well-known Android games easier. The new version of the emulator also comes with in-constructed access that lets customers watch live gaming streams on Nonolive and Nimotv. Tencent Gaming Buddy is an Android emulator created by Tencent. It’s made to play some of the most well known mobile games about, which includes PUBG Mobile, Pokemon Unite, Genshin Influence, Contact https://toto-check.com of Duty Mobile, Mobile Legends, Auto Chess, and extra. Itch.io is a game platform created for gamers and game developers about the planet. With over one hundred,000 pieces of content material currently uploaded on the web-site, developers significant and tiny can upload their games though being able to cost them having said that they want.
Tencent in September raised its stake in Ubisoft (UBIP.PA) in a deal that created the Chinese firm the single greatest shareholder of the leading French games developer, with a stake of 11% which can be further enhanced to as a lot as 17%. Bank Neo CommerceWe are delighted to welcome Tencent Cloud in bringing TDSQL into BNC’s core system, which is in time with our move to boost our small business by way of economic technology. We look forward to using an upgraded database architecture to serve our customers’ numerous and wide-ranging small business wants and demands. QQ Speed, named for its platform on Tencent’s QQ immediate messaging service […], borrowed liberally from Mario Kart and created little effort to hide it. Extra lately, Tencent announced a higher-profile cyberpunk game, Syn.
Tencent recently upped its ownership stake in Ubisoft to 11%, creating it the Assassin’s Creed publisher’s single biggest shareholder. Tencent bought a 16.25% stake in Elden Ring developer FromSoftware in August. Over the past year, the company has also bought various studios outright, such as Sumo Digital and Subway Surfer developer Sybo Games. Offered that China’s regulators have displayed a skepticism towards video games in current years, it’s not exactly surprising that Tencent would attempt to pursue acquisitions elsewhere. The 4 anonymous supply for the report further stated that Tencent is specifically interested in studios that are related to the “so-named metaverse.”
On 27 March 2020, a co-innovation lab was launched by Tencent who will be in collaborations with Huawei in building a cloud-based game platform by tapping into Huawei’s Kunpeng processor’s energy to construct Tencent’s GameMatrix cloud game platform. Along with additional exploration in the possibilities of artificial intelligence and augmented reality elements in game. It controls the live-streaming platform Huya Live and has stakes in other important Chinese game live-streaming platform operators, including DouYu, Kuaishou and Bilibili. In March 2020, Tencent began testing Trovo Reside, a reside-streaming service for worldwide users. Since June 2020, it owns the Malaysian Video-on-demand service Iflix.
The fact is that the cloud underpins the profitable deployment of these new technologies. Tencent Cloud’s comprehensive expertise in delivering reliable, speedy and secure technology has as a result enabled them to develop into a powerful ally to organisations searching for to leverage the cloud to provide new and far better services to millions of buyers. The pandemic has changed how organisations communicate and collaborate, driving broad client adoption of Tencent Cloud’s platform. Application offerings such as WeCom, Tencent Meeting/VooV Meeting and Tencent Docs have helped support better collaboration inside enterprises as nicely as between enterprises and their customers.
On January 15, the day ahead of the beginning of the 2015 LPL Spring split, Fzzf announced his retirement. He was replaced temporarily by Mouse, who played with the team at the G-League 2014 Finals, and in the initial two weeks of the LPL Spring Split. Starting with week three of the split, Meiko became the team’s help.
New regulations have been introduced for on line marketing as aspect of the widespread regulatory overhaul, and demand has also faltered as the virus and other headwinds hamstring China’s development. Sales of on the web advertisements are forecast to decline for the third consecutive quarter by more than 25.five% from last year to RMB17.00 billion in the 3 months to the end of June. The share price of Tencent on the Hong Kong stock exchange fell beneath HK$200 (US$25.5) on Oct. 25, reaching a low of HK$198.six (US$25.three), a new low in a lot more than 5 years. His analysis is primarily based on technologies companies such as Tencent and Alibaba are not the industries favoured by the authorities now, but firms such as Tencent have mustered huge amounts of data resources that the CCP does not have. At the exact same time, these corporations themselves possess a large quantity of wealth under their names, which tends to make them fairly attractive to the CCP.


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Zomato’s share price has jumped 5% since the company released its first quarter results earlier this week. (Photo: REUTERS)
Zomato share price has so far climbed 77% from the high end of the IPO price, but the rally could spread further according to analysts at the global brokerage firm and Bernstein Research. Looking at Zomato’s quarterly earnings, where he reported an increase in net losses, Bernstein believes the stock could rise 27% from current levels. “The food delivery industry had the highest performance ever across all metrics: gross order value (GOV), number of orders, active partner restaurants and active delivery partners. The company has placed one billion cumulative orders with 10% of those orders delivered in the past 3 months, ”said Bernstein.
Check the price live: Zomato
Zomato’s share price has jumped 5% since the company announced its first quarter results earlier this week, now trading at Rs 135 per share. Zomato’s stock price rally comes despite news of net losses. During the April to June quarter, Zomato’s net loss amounted to Rs 360 crore, compared to Rs 99.8 crore in the same period last year.
Back on the path to growth but lower contribution margins
While net losses were worse than before, the food tech giant saw its GOV increase 37% quarter on quarter to 45.4 billion rupees, from 33.1 billion rupees in the January-March quarter. . Zomato’s adjusted revenue growth increased 26% from the previous quarter to Rs 11.6 billion. The meal delivery business resumed growth despite the second wave of covid-19 in April. The out-of-home catering activity recorded a decrease compared to the previous quarter.
The company did not share the average order value for the April-June quarter, but said the food delivery business made a positive contribution although contribution margins declined slightly from the quarter of January to March due to growth investments. Meanwhile, the Hyper pure activity (B2B procurement activity) increased its losses. “We estimate that the contribution margin was reduced to Rs 15 during the April to June quarter. This is due to the moderation of the AOV and higher discounts during the quarter. Zomato’s positive contribution margin per order in recent quarters, driven by lower discounts spent per order, ”the report states. Zomato had a contribution per order of Rs 20.5 during the previous fiscal year.
Price target and valuation
Bernstein analysts value Zomato’s food delivery franchise at 8.0x NTM while the range of global / regional peers is around 4.5x-11 EV / sales. Zomato Pro activity at 32x EV / EBITDA, while B2B procurement activity at 8.0x sales. The brokerage firm has an outperformance rating on Zomato with a target price of Rs 170 per share.
(The stock recommendations in this story are by the respective research and brokerage firms. UK Time News Online assumes no responsibility for their investment advice. Please consult your investment advisor before investing.)
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"Compact Hybrid Coming From Volkswagen".In addition to plants in Germany, Volkswagen has manufacturing or assembly facilities in Mexico, the US, Slovakia, China, India, Indonesia, 52 Russia, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya and South Africa."VW had previous run-in over 'defeat devices.
Us states sue vw over emission scandal.
Emission scandal : Volkswagen, india may just escape.
Volkswagen emissions scandal : I am endlessly sorry, says CEO Martin Winterkorn.
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Budd-e concept forecasts what VW zero- emission van could be in 2019.
Check out latest news on News International Hacking.


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Lawrence's annual citywide sidewalk sale, set for Thursday, seems to start earlier every year. But this year, one downtown store has figured out how to really cater to the early-bird shoppers it just won't close Wednesday night.
The store, Maurice's, 708 Mass., will stay open all night Wednesday as a lead in to the sidewalk sale. Kathy Mattan, store manager, offered a simple explanation for pulling the retail all-nighter.
"We're crazy," she said.
Mattan explained that the idea started as a joking reply to her boss' question about what they should do for an encore after last year's sidewalk sale, in which their first customer arrived at 4:45 a.m. Mattan's answer of staying open all night was taken seriously by a company that prides itself on having fun at the sidewalk sale.
At past sidewalk sales, Mattan said, the store has:
Displayed mannequins wearing leather coats in 100-degree heat.
Hawked merchandise using homemade cardboard megaphones.
Promoted women's swimsuits by having a male model sport the tops over his shirt.
The method to the madness, both for the store and sidewalk sale customers, is simple, Mattan said.
"We ship in extra clearance merchandise for the sidewalk sale," she said. "The early crowd gets a better selection and there's less people around. I think it's going to be busier than we thought.
"The sidewalk sale has evolved into a bigger and bigger event."
Maurice's is not alone in attracting early interest in its sale. Saffee's, 922 Mass., and Mister Guy, 920 Mass., are two of several downtown merchants who are offering pre-sidewalk sale sales at their stores. Steve Mercurio, Saffee's owner, said shoppers need more time to look over sale merchandise.
"We try to give them four solid days," he said of his store's sale, which began Monday and may go through the weekend. "One day does not seem to be enough for people to do their shopping."
Mark Swanson, who is in charge of promoting the sidewalk sale for Downtown Lawrence Inc., said that every downtown business will be involved in the sidewalk sale, and that many stores were offering sales and specials prior to Thursday. He said the starting time of the sale would vary from business to business.
"We'd like to say it's from eight to eight," he said. "But everybody should be open by 7 a.m., and some will be open as early as from 5:30 a.m. to 6 a.m."
The sale will extend beyond the downtown area. Stores throughout Lawrence are planning to participate in the annual event by carting out merchandise to their sidewalks.
The Riverfront Plaza, however, will wait until Labor Day to hold its sidewalk sale. The mall also has a sidewalk sale on Memorial Day.


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NEW YORK — A Christmas party wouldn’t be complete without eggnog and cider, but new research may make you think twice about how much booze you consume for the holiday. A survey of 2,000 Americans finds adults consume twice as many alcoholic beverages during the holidays than any other time of year.
The holiday season, which researchers referred to as the time between Thanksgiving and New Years, is filled with parties and get-togethers for many of us. The survey, commissioned by supplement company Morning Recovery, showed that while the average American attends just one social event in a typical week, during the holidays that number jumps to three. That means plenty to eat — as one survey already discovered — and drink, too.
All that socializing, the survey showed, leads to three hangover-laden rough morning per week during the height of the season. In fact, more than a third (36 percent) admit that all the boozy celebrating actually winds up dampening their holiday spirits. That said, it’s no surprise that respondents found themselves arriving late to work three times over the holidays, and calling out sick twice. Seven out of 10 participants admit the partying, naturally, makes them less productive at work.
And our wallets take a major hit too: the average person blows $537 during the holidays on parties, dinners, drinks, or other social events. That’s far more than the $241 per month Americans spend on socializing typically during the year.
“We weren’t surprised to find that Americans socialize more, drink more, and as a result, suffer from more rough mornings and lost productivity throughout the holiday season,” says Morning Recovery co-founder and CEO Sisun Lee in a statement.
As for which holiday drinks were most popular among respondents, of course eggnog tops the list. Coffee with Baileys was second on the list, followed by Christmas beer. Cider and hot buttered rum rounded out the top five.
The survey was conducted by OnePoll in November 2018.


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HTC smartphones blocked by US customs
US mobile carrier Sprint said Wednesday it was delaying the introduction of an Android smartphone from Taiwan's HTC after the devices were blocked by US customs.
China Mobile in talks with Apple over iPhone
China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile operator by subscribers, said Wednesday the company is in talks with Apple to offer the popular iPhone to its users in the Asian nation.
Sales of handset arm lifts Sweden's Ericsson in QI
(AP) -- LM Ericsson, the world-leading wireless equipment maker in terms of market share, saw its first quarter profits more than double, largely on the back of proceeds made from the sale of its stake in handset maker Sony ...
Skype debuts on PlayStation Vita game handsets
Skype made its debut Tuesday on PlayStation Vita, making its leading Internet video or voice calling service available on Sony's sophisticated videogame handset.
Smartphone maker HTC posts 70 percent profit drop
(AP) -- Taiwan smartphone maker HTC Corp. reported a 70 percent drop in first quarter profit as it faces keener competition from Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
Nokia posts $1.2 billion Q1 loss as sales plunge
(AP) -- Struggling cellphone maker Nokia Corp. blamed tougher-than-expected competition, particularly in the smartphone market, for a huge (EURO)929 million ($1.2 billion) net loss in the first three months ...
S. Korea seeks ways to disable 'silent camera' apps
South Korea is seeking ways to disable smartphone apps that allow users to silently snap photos in a bid to prevent Peeping Toms from secretly photographing women, an official said Wednesday.
Smartphones taking over US market: study
Nearly half of US mobile phone owners have smartphones, with adoption of Internet-linked handsets rocketing in the past year, according to findings released on Thursday by the Nielsen research firm.
Japan's Elpida to be delisted from Tokyo Stock Exchange
Japan's Elpida Memory, one of the world's top microchip makers, is set to be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange Wednesday in the biggest corporate failure in Japanese manufacturing history.
Taiwan's HTC unveils smartphone with powerful camera
Taiwan's HTC on Monday unveiled the smartphones that it said would allow users to "retire" their digital cameras, as it sought to fight back against rivals Apple and Samsung.
China smartphone market 'to overtake US'
China is set to be the biggest smartphone market this year after shipments in the second-half of 2011 outstripped the US, a technology research firm said.
Dish closes on 2 purchases key to broadband plans
(AP) -- Satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp. has completed its purchase of two satellite operators whose licenses it hopes to use to offer broadband access that can help it compete better with cable TV and phone companies.
Mobile industry champions paying with phones
Paying with a mobile phone is gradually become a reality for consumers, with banks, telecommunications operators and Internet players all jumping in to offer payment options.
Twitter expands ad program to mobile users
Twitter said Tuesday it was expanding its advertising program to mobile users, the latest bid by the short-messaging service to boost its money-making efforts.


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EIBTM EXHIBITORS CAN NOW SELECT THEIR OWN APPOINTMENTS WITH HOSTED BUYERS
• Corporate Confidence Still High in International and National Response • Industry Split on Travel Bans
Hotelbeds presents its intrapreneurial success story at Cornell University’s Hospitality Research Summit
Joan Vilà, founder of Hotelbeds and Managing Director of TUI Travel Accommodation & Destinations, presents a case study analysing the success factors that have driven the company to become a leading global business
ITB Berlin and IPK International examine European trends in winter holidays abroad – increase in wintertime holiday trips – winter sports holidays suffer market losses
The tourism sector’s contribution to communities’ empowerment as one of the pillars of sustainable development was at the heart of this year’s World Tourism Day celebrations.
International tourist arrivals grew by 4.6% in the first half of 2014 according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.
- 63% of UK population say they choose road trips to enjoy a sense of freedom and adventure * – Scientific formula helps bring out the fun and adventurous side of your journey
Brussels, 14 July 2014. Data for the pre-summer period confirm handsome growth for European tourism in 2014 and there is growing optimism that the upcoming peak-summer season will consolidate preliminary positive expectations.
· Overall visits in the first five months of 2014 reach new record – up 7% on 2013 · Record holiday visits in May for fourth out of five months · 13% increase in visits from areas outside Europe and North America
Worth of market in first four months of 2014 totaled USD 12.5 million
‘Tourism and Community Development’ is the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day (WTD).
St James’s Park named UK’s #1 Park, According to Millions of TripAdvisor Traveller Reviews and Opinions
Royal Yacht Britannia has been named as the best rated landmark in the UK in the Travellers’ Choice TM awards for Attractions, announced by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site*.
Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy and Communications at VisitBritainsaid: “Chinese tourists are already coming to Britain in record numbers and staying here longer than our European neighbours. Today’s welcome changes build on the already significant improvements introduced previously by the Home Office. “Recent streamlining of the visa processing has made a big difference, with Chinese […]
London is the best rated major destination in Europe for shopping and nightlife, the results of the second annual Cities Survey by TripAdvisor have revealed. However, London fared less well when assessed on the helpfulness of its locals – ranking a lowly 32 out of the 37 tourist destinations featured.
Protea Hotels Go Live on Marriott.com – 40 percent of Marriott.com traffic came from mobile devices #ttot
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) announced that Protea’s portfolio of hotels will be available for booking on the Marriott.com website, as well as through Marriott Global Reservations Offices. Marriott recently completed the approximately US$200 million acquisition of Protea Hotels and its sub-brands, African Pride Hotels and Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! in a move that […]
Geneva has retained the top spot as the most expensive city in the world to order a Club Sandwich, at an average of $32.60 USD, according to research released by Hotels.com®. Using the classic hotel staple of a chicken, bacon, egg, lettuce and mayonnaise sandwich as a barometer of affordability, the Hotels.com Club Sandwich Index […]
OSLO, Norway, May 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — The most beautiful coastline in the world will once again be the spectacular backdrop for the world’s cycling elite when they meet in Norway to compete in the northernmost bike race in the world; The Arctic Race of Norway. North Cape sets the stage for intense action Last […]
LONDON, May 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Research prompts expert to warn that ‘us time’ as a family or couple has never been more important Parents from the ‘Globetrotting Generation‘ struggling to balance time with kids with time together The pressures of modern life are meaning British families are getting on average just 169 minutes of […]
Shopping tourism has emerged as a growing component of the travel experience, either as a prime motivation or as one of the major activities undertaken by tourists at their destinations. UNWTO’s recently released Global Report on Shopping Tourism analyzes the latest trends in shopping tourism, providing insight into key success factors for destinations aiming to […]
Chicago, May 21, 2014 – A new report conducted by the Virtual Edge Institute [VEI] and sponsored by Digitell Inc. analyzes trends at face-to-face and online events, and the numbers show that attendees are increasingly turning to both hybrid extensions and digital events [non-hybrid] to engage with their organizations. The 2014 Digital Event Benchmark Report […]
German meetings industry – still growing Frankfurt am Main, 20 May 2014. The German meeting and events market continues to grow: German meeting and event venues counted 371 million participants last year, 2.5% more than the year before. Since 2009, visitor numbers have been growing continuously. The number of events, 3.01 million meetings, conferences and […]
The latest hotel.info Price Barometer: Change in Greece – Crimean crisis in the east – the strong Pound helps long-haul trips
London, 15 May 2014 – Whilst hotel prices in Greece are increasing once more the strong Pound is good for long-haul travellers. The hotel price barometer of hotel.info demonstrates how hotel prices have changed both domestically and abroad. Overnight costs in London remain at the level of last year The Crimean crisis has an influence […]
Total export earnings generated by international tourism in 2013 reached US$ 1.4 trillion. Receipts earned by destinations from international visitors grew by 5% to reach US$ 1159 billion, while an additional US$ 218 billion was earned by international passenger transport. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, receipts in destinations worldwide from expenditure by […]
The Virtual Edge Institute (VEI) is bringing back their popular Virtual Edge Summit May 21, 2014. The Summit delivers premier education to meetings professionals who produce hybrid or digital meetings. Attendees will participate virtually in an online environment with facilitated discussions occurring throughout each of the 5 sessions. Summit attendees will have the opportunity to […]
Figures released by Tourism Australia at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE14), being held this week in Cairns, suggest that annual spending by Chinese visitors to Australia could rise to A$13 billion by 2020. The latest projections represent an increase of nearly 50 per cent on the previous estimate of A$9 billion, a spike which Tourism […]
Bungee Jumping, Taking a Safari and Flying First Class: Survey Reveals Game Plan for #Travel Bucket Lists #ttot
SpringHill Suites by Marriott’s fifth annual travel attitude survey reveals that Americans are looking to step outside of their comfort zones to achieve their travel bucket lists. According to the survey, conducted by Kelton Global, 48 percent say vacationing to see new places is important to them.
Americans are finally coming out of their great recession hibernation and spending on travel again, according to an upcoming Global Edition report by PhoCusWright. U.S. travel incidence, or the percent of adults 18 and over who traveled for leisure, jumped four percentage points in 2013 – topping out at 65%. This is a big turnaround […]
Expedia “High Fliers Survey” Reveals Inside Tips on Travel Heading into the Summer: Best/Worst Airports, Best/Worst Food & Drink, Top Destinations and More
Dallas/Fort Worth a Rising Airport Star; LAX Ranked as Worst for Food & Beverage; Atlanta Beloved and Loathed in Equal Measure BELLEVUE, Wash. /PRNewswire/ — Expedia.com, the world’s largest full-service travel site*, recently asked more than 6,000 of the company’s most frequent travelers for their perspective on business and leisure travel just in time for […]
London, Paris and Rome still Top Picks; Brazil and Santorini Emerge as Popular Destinations NEW YORK — American Express Travel recently surveyed a group of its experts – nearly 300 travel counselors –
BERLIN – Leading luxury travel network, Virtuoso®, harnessed the data of its worldwide travel agency members to reveal 2014’s top destinations during its annual Symposium taking place in Berlin this week. Sharing year-over-year growth for first quarter sales as well as the destinations trending for this summer, Virtuoso proved that travelers seeking unique experiences are not […]
Georgia, North Carolina and Texas Top List of U.S. States for BBQ, Based on Reviews and Opinions of TripAdvisor Travelers Austin’s Franklin Barbecue is the Top-Rated BBQ Joint in the Country NEWTON, Mass., May 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today announced the highest-rated restaurants and top U.S. states for barbecue, […]
Medical tourism experts see Poland as potentially significant player in this industry. The country’s popularization as a hotspot for foreign patients is the result of implementation of the Ministry of Economy’s program: “Promotion of the Polish economy on international markets”. Promotion is underway in Germany, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia, and the USA.
UNWTO African Members States, gathered on the occasion of the 56th Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Africa, highlighted the need to have better coordination between tourism and air transport policies to fully explore the tourism sector’s capacity to deliver on growth and development in the continent.
TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today announced the winners of its third annual Travellers’ Choice awards for Travel Favourites –highlighting the top brands that travellers around the world prefer for their trips. In the UK, winners from car rentals and coffee to travel magazines and tablet computers were named in 46 categories. Traveller’s Choice […]
Last year the Meetings and Conventions Industry lost over 50,000,000.00 in international housing alone due to ‘Around the Block’ booking. It’s time the industry fought back. Miami, Florida (May 5, 2014). Around the Block Booking or Pirate Booking is when your attendees are tricked into booking rooms outside of the official conference room block. For […]
-According To TripAdvisor Survey 89% of U.S. Respondents to Take Summer Trips and Nearly 10% Cite Polar Vortex as Motivation for an Escape -Myrtle Beach Tops Most Popular Destinations U.S. Travelers Researching for Summer TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, announced the results of its annual summer travel survey of more than 2,500 U.S. respondents, […]


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Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), the world’s largest soft drink company, had $5.2 billion wiped off its market value after Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo removed Coca-Cola bottles from his Euro 2020 presser.
Cristiano, known to be a health fanatic, single-handedly plummeted the share price of Coca-Cola by moving two Coke bottles out of shot, replacing them with a bottle filled with water before saying in Portuguese: “Agua!”, appearing to declare that people should instead choose the healthy option.
The company’s stock price dropped from $56.10 ($73) to $55.22 almost immediately after the superstar’s snub, a 1.6% dip.
In response, Coca-Cola, one of the official sponsors of Euro 2020, issued a statement that said “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences”, citing “different tastes and needs”.
A Euros spokesperson said, “players are offered water alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar on arrival at our press conferences”.
Cristiano Ronaldo, a pop culture giant, scored two goals in Portugal’s opening game against Hungary, three short of making him the top international scorer of all time.


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The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation partnered with a Swiss-based perfume company 'Firmenich' to create a poop smell blocker.
A colour blind software engineer at Microsoft has built an app which helps people with the condition to see a full spectrum of colours. Tom Overton's Color Binocular brightens yellows, reds, greens a...
Beck Diefenbach / Reuters
"We have to work together," is the common refrain in the Silicon Valley.
Lucas Jackson / Reuters
Will Apple's touch-bar magic carry the day, or Microsoft's convertible freedom?
Brendan McDermid / Reuters
You can import 3D images of real-world objects around you to the drawing board.
The social networking site will focus more and more on live content.
Eric Gaillard / Reuters
The new Nokia is low on features and price.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press
India's Supreme Court had reproached the IT cos. earlier this year for disregarding Indian laws
Albert Gea / Reuters
Samsung is the only global device-maker currently making an Aadhaar-friendly device
The software giant, after dragging on its smartphone business for far too long, is all set to put an end to it.
Dominick Reuter / Reuters
As the smartphone sales grow worldwide, Apple stumbles and Android tightens its grip.
Srinath highlighted the importance of data analytics in cricket.
Government is working with tech companies to allow email IDs in regional languages.


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When Mark Twain first stepped foot on Mauritius over 120 years ago, he said that the tropical island must have been “made first and then heaven; and that heaven was copied after Mauritius.” Twain’s observation resonates to present day, with Mauritius inspiring a vision of paradise that is framed by affordable luxury, white sand beaches and volcanic mountain peaks.
It was only a matter of time until word of Mauritius reached China, which today represents one of the island’s highest potential markets for tourist growth. The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) is even predicting that China will soon be a top source for arrivals. “We believe that by this year or 2018, China will join the top group of countries that bring us more than 100,000 visitors each year,” says Kevin Ramkaloan, director of the MTPA. “Asia used to represent 6% of our total arrivals [in 2005],” he adds, “but now that is up to 18% going on 20%.” Overall, arrivals grew 11% froom 2015 until October 2016 – twice the world average – to make Mauritius a 1.2 million-tourist market, MPTA data shows.
Mauritius’ leading hotel groups are already witnessing a steady uptick in tourist numbers. “Our figures have shown a constant increase during the past year,” says Jean Jacques Vallet, CEO of Constance Hotels & Resorts, one of Mauritius’ leading providers of luxury hospitality. “More and more guests are coming to our resorts – some of them renewing the Constance experience in a different destination. This success is further reflected in numerous awards we received the past year, including from World Luxury Travel.”
Sustained tourism growth for from Asia isn’t farfetched considering that China remains the world’s top outbound market for tourists, according to the UNWTO, with Chinese tourists spending growing 12% in 2016. With enhanced connectivity, Mauritius can only expect a further boost from the East. “Asia is the future for Mauritius,” says Ramkaloan. “Air Mauritius is increasing its direct flights from China, and has shifted its hub from Malaysia to Singapore to create the Asia-Africa Corridor.”
Between April and November 2016, the Mauritius-Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route generated a 20% growth in traffic. For Paul Jones, CEO of Lux* Resorts & Hotels, this is only the beginning. “LUX*, as well as other hotel groups, can only benefit from these opportunities,” he says, adding: “We are already in China, and are strengthening our presence there. Invaluable experiences [in China] help us adapt our services to the needs of Chinese tourists as we welcome an increasing number of them.”


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ToyNews editor Samantha Loveday has recently taken part in an on-stage Q&A at the BTHA’s Meet The Media event.
Joined by Lewis Eckett, editor of Toyworld Magazine, the pair were asked about their publications and how companies can work better with the trade press.
When asked what made ToyNews stand out from its competitors, Loveday said: "In terms of points of difference what ToyNews has the highest audited circulation of just over 6,100. We’ve just launched an iPhone news app and an iPad app as well, so you can keep up to date with industry news wherever you are.
"We are here to support the trade all year round, that’s what we do."
Both editors agreed the presence of three toy trade titles means thecompetition for news is more intense and Eckett said the battle for stories had added an “exciting dynamic” to his job.
Speaking about the difference between print and online, Loveday said: "We have a much wider remit online. We tend to focus on anything which relates to children’s entertainment or the leisure business, and not just from the UK, from across Europe and from the US too."
She added: "Our figures have been steadily climbing. We’ve got some figures in for November and we’re just shy of 40,000 unique visitors now."
That's the second successive month in which ToyNews has achieved record-breaking online readership figures.
Hit play to see Sam's Meet the Media apperance in full.
Another talking point was social media. Speaking about Twitter, Loveday commented: "It’s about engaging with the people who are on there, finding out what they’re up to, what products are coming in. You can’t just have your print magazine anymore."
ToyNews' Twitter presence @ToyNewsOnline recently hit another milestone when it hit 1,500 followers. Eckett said his publication was also attempting to leverage social media and was looking at Twitter "equally as hard", tweeting industry news from its @toyworldmag account.
Other topics included press releases and the best way to get coverage at the event.
To see what Sam has been up to, follow her tweets @samloveday77.


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The current-generation Nissan Murano debuted back in 2014, showing its skin as a 2015 model at the New York Auto Show. That's straight-up prehistoric in the fast-moving SUV world, and now we finally have proof that the Murano hasn't been forgotten in Nissan's lineup. Fresh spy photos capture our first look at the next-generation model.
Snapped recently near Nissan corporate offices in Michigan, this camo-wrapped test vehicle succeeds in hiding design details but still reveals plenty about the new Murano. The outline of the V-Motion grille is easy to make out, appearing a bit wider while not dipping quite as deep into the front fascia. The large headlights of the current model will get much smaller, and it appears some lighting elements will be relocated to the grille. Down low, the central vent is smaller, but the overall takeaway is a face similar to Muranos currently sitting on dealership lots.
Gallery: Next-Generation Nissan Murano First Spy Photos
For that matter, there's a striking similarity to the present-day Murano in profile view as well. The kink to the C-pillar is visible beneath the camo wrap, and we're pretty sure the Murano's beltline still has the hump behind the side glass. Whether the floating-roof motif carries over is unknown, but the roofline looks much like the current model. At the back is a new lower fascia with a license plate cutout positioned lower, and it looks like the taillights shrink in size like the headlights.
And at the very bottom beneath the rear fascia are two exhaust pipes belting out vapor. That suggests this particular test vehicle is purely combustion-powered without any hybrid assistance. Our spy sources believe Nissan will soldier on with a tweaked version of the enduring 3.5-liter V6. A nine-speed automatic could handle shifting duties.
If there's an air of familiarity about this, it's probably because this next-generation model reportedly still uses the current D platform shared by multiple Nissan and Infiniti models. As such, the new Murano will represent an evolutionary step that doesn't rock the boat too much, though more significant changes are likely for the interior.
Will that help boost Murano sales? Nissan only sold 30,074 units through all of 2022, a significant drop from 46,117 sales in 2021. It will be a while before that question is answered – the 2024 Murano is already available so expect a debut sometime next year as a 2025 model.


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The Financial Express | 28 October 2022
BD’s FTA with EU unlikely
European Union (EU) Envoy in Bangladesh Charles Whiteley ruled out the possibility of signing a free-trade agreement (FTA) between the bloc and Bangladesh.
The EU ambassador also hinted that the transition period after the LDC graduation might not be extended.
He made the remarks while speaking at a dissemination event on "Strengthening Bangladesh-EU Trade and Economic Cooperation: Issues and Policy Priorities" - on Thursday.
Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) and FES Bangladesh jointly organised the event at a city hotel to share the findings of a study that looks into issues and policy options for a renewed and transformed trade and economic partnership with the EU.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Sharifa Khan was present as the chief guest, while RAPID Chairman and renowned trade economist Dr M A Razzaque made the keynote presentation. RAPID Executive Director M Abu Eusuf, and FES Bangladesh Resident Representative Felix Kolbitz made opening remarks.
Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from the LDC status in November 2026, and then, it would lose the duty benefit in the EU market. The EU allows a three-year transition period for the LDC graduated countries, so that they can enjoy the similar duty benefit and prepare for the changes in the duty regime.
Bangladesh would continue to enjoy the current market access in the EU until 2029, while there are long discussions on different platforms on extending the transition period for three more years as well as signing FTA between the EU and Bangladesh for duty benefits.
Speaking about the FTA signing, Mr Whiteley said it is not going to happen, because of the degree of complexity, the wide range in nature, the development states, and the status about trade relations with Bangladesh.
"The trade relation is yet to reach a stage where it would be of genuine interest from the EU side to negotiate FTA."
He also said the EU’s FTA with Vietnam is expected to bring down tariffs in different areas, and it would also provide massive benefits to European businesses, including those in the service sector.
The EU envoy hoped that the bilateral trade relations between the EU and Bangladesh would become more balanced and wide-ranging.
He noted that it is on the Bangladesh side to have a clinical assessment on how to make it easier for the EU states to do business here.
Citing a Spanish company, Mr Whiteley said they are quite frustrated about how their companies are treated here.
"When you have the mentality among the members of the European parliament, it means we have bigger hurdles to clear when we talk about making life easier for Bangladesh in the EU market."
Many European parliamentarians think that since Bangladesh would no longer remain an LDC after 2026, there is no question of treating the country as an LDC.
"They also think that the three-year transition period is long enough for the businesses and the government of Bangladesh to adjust to the realities of not being an LDC."
Since Bangladesh would not automatically qualify for the duty-free, quota-free market access in the EU, he suggested that the entire focus - politically, financially and economically - has to be on the GSP Plus.
Regarding the EU-proposed safeguard measures, he said, "Bangladesh’s voice is being heard in the European parliament, and I was reassured that there is good awareness and sympathy on the EU side about the impacts this could have on Bangladesh."
The EU envoy suggested trade diversification and added, "More needs to be done on the policy level by the government in Bangladesh to encourage diversification."
The ERD secretary said the FTA (with the EU) would not be needed, if tariffs come down in line with the Doha Round - the latest round of trade negotiations among the WTO members.
She said they have requested the WTO for extension of the transition period for a total of six years.
Ms Khan raised question why tariffs on garment products are so high globally, and whether or not it is to put the RMG industries of mostly the poor countries under pressure.
She requested the EU ambassador to ask their brands and retailers to follow a single code of conduct as well as to consider the proposed safeguard measures, as local RMG sector might face up to 12 per cent duty even Bangladesh gets GSP Plus.
The ERD secretary sought the EU’s support to find out the missing links between local and international markets of diversified export products, like leather, plastic, pharmaceuticals, etc.
Presenting the study findings, Dr Razzaque said Bangladesh’s combined exports to the EU and the UK expanded rapidly from US$2.5 billion in 2000-01 to $25 billion in 2021-22 - mainly because of the EU duty facility under the ’Everything but Arms’.
"Bangladesh has additional apparel export potentials of $18 billion, as the country realises just around 60 per cent of export potential."
Terming the EU an indispensable trade and development partner, he said over the past five years, the cumulative ODA from the EU institutions and countries amounted to $2.3 billion, which was around 10 per cent of all ODA disbursements during the same period. Between 2017 and 2021, the net FDI flow from EU countries was $3.5 billion.
Bangladesh’s dependence on the EU trade preference is now set to come to terms with other major developments that would require a profound transformation of the current trade and cooperation regime.
The RAPID chairman outlined some reasons for this, including the LDC graduation, other countries’ trade agreements with the EU, the EU Green Deal and its carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), and environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance.
The EU’s tariffs on apparel imports from Vietnam would be cut to zero per cent in seven years, while Bangladesh could face up to 12 per cent from zero per cent, he noted.
He suggested developing a longer-term strategy and action plan for strengthening Bangladesh-EU relations.
His other recommendations included establishing a domestic carbon market, improving firm-level competitiveness, sustainable production practices, attracting more foreign investment, addressing high cost of doing business, and enhancing connectivity and trade facilitation.
Explaining different measures of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), its director Vidiya Amrit Khan called for a unified code of conduct, to be followed by buyers, as there is an ’audit fatigue’.
A small factory, having 10 to 15 lines, has to pay $20,000 to $30,000 annually for different audits, and the money that should be spent for workers’ welfare gets diverted to these audits, she noted.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Vice President Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, said they are not much afraid of tariff, as they are on the right track.
He also said they are not getting fair prices of apparel products from global buyers despite making huge investment in green factories.


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The bad situation that the tablet market is going through also affects Samsung, which, despite being 2nd in sales, sees its numbers continue to decline continuously.
The tablet market crosses a complicated situation in terms of sales, a situation that directly affects manufacturers like Samsung. The South Korean firm closed 2023 as the second brand with the most sales of tablets, but that did not prevent him from significant drop compared to the number of tablets sold in 2022. The future does not seem much more positive for companies like Samsung, as sales of these devices are expected to continue declining.
In summary, the tablet market gave Samsung a hard time in 2023. The firm sold a total of 26.2 million of units in total, a figure that allows it to consolidate itself in second position, far from third in the ranking. However, Samsung is still very far from Apple’s numbers and, worst of all, starred in a fall of 13.9% in sales compared to 2022.
Samsung remains second in the tablet market, with a fall included
A new report from IDC is the one that reveals how the sales of tablets were globally in the last quarter of 2023 and throughout last year full. This is how we know that Samsung continues to be the second brand that sells the most tablets on the entire planet. During the last 3 months of the year sold 7.3 million unitsnumber that amounts to 26.2 million if the entire year is taken into account.
Looking at these figures, we could think that 2023 was a good year for the South Korean manufacturer. However, it is possible to ignore that the public is becoming less interested in tablets and that this disinterest has also affected Samsung. The company sold a total of 30.4 million units in 2022, so the data for 2023 represent a 13.9% drop in sales.
Market experts do not foresee an improvement in tablet sales in the immediate future.
Samsung launched very interesting models throughout the year, like the almighty Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra and its younger sisters, the Galaxy Tab S9+ and the Galaxy Tab S9. In addition, it dared to renew its economic range with the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 and the Galaxy Tab A9+. However, these releases They did not help him save the furniture and its closing of the year was negative.
Another interesting fact from this report is obtained by comparing Samsung’s figures with Manzana. The American manufacturer continues sign as the largest tablet seller in the world, a leading position from which it does not seem to be moving in the immediate future. And Apple practically doubled Samsung’s numberswith 14.9 million units sold in Q4 2023 and 48.5 million for the year overall.
Despite its incontestable leadership, Apple Nor has it been spared a significant decline in its sale of tablets. The drop has been 29.3% compared to the last quarter of 2022 and 19.8% compared to 2022 completely, so the drop has been even worse than that of Samsung. Neither Lenovo, Huawei nor Amazon, the brands that complete the top 5, have been spared from this negative trend.
The summary we can make is that no manufacturer is immune to the fact that the public no longer buys as many tablets as they did a few years ago. Furthermore, the situation It doesn’t look like it’s going to get better in the near future.so this drop in sales could only increase in the coming months.
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Google Ad Verification; 2021 Apple Macs Will Get Custom ARM Chips; Tesla Adds Heavyweight Board Member; Workplace Rolls Out New ‘Draft For’ FeaturePosted: April 24, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
Google is now requiring all all advertisers to complete a “verification program” in order to buy ads on its platforms, including Google Search, YouTube and its display ad network. The search giant previously rolled out a verification program for political advertisers. Cnet.com says Advertisers will need to submit information that proves their identity and the country where they operate. People will start seeing this info in “Why This Ad?” disclosures starting this summer. Annual revenue for Alphabet is more than $160 billion, and roughly 85% comes from ads.
Apple is set to release its first Mac based on a custom ARM chip next year, according to Bloomberg. Apple is working on a range of chips aimed for future Macs. The first Apple-designed chip will apparently be based on a 5-nanometer fabrication process, and feature 12 CPU cores: 8 high-performance cores and 4-efficiency cores. Apple’s own chips are widely expected to best Intel’s current lineup in performance, and the addition of more cores will certainly help achieve that. The 12-core chip will be “much faster” than the A13 chip currently found in Apple’s latest iPhones and iPads.
Tesla just added the chief investment officer of Japan’s $1.5 trillion government pension fund to its board of directors. According to Businessinsider.com (Hiro) Mizuno, most recently served as the chief investment officer of Japan’s $1.5 trillion government pension fund, the largest pension fund in the world, which owns roughly $874 million worth of Tesla stock. Before that post, Mizuno worked in finance roles in New York, San Francisco, and other global business centers. This year, the company’s board will be reduced to just seven directors.
Collaborative enterprise solution Workplace from Facebook has introduced several new features, including ‘Draft For,’ which lets administrators select individual employees to draft posts for executives to publish in an internal company social network. Venturebeat.com says if executives approve of the post, they can review and publish the post under their name. Facebook says the changes are geared toward helping people work remotely as people around the world practice social distancing to combat COVID-19.


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Oct. 29—People have been complaining about a shortage of peanut butter crackers, particularly Ritz Bits Peanut Butter crackers. It's just the latest of rolling shortages we've become accustomed to since the pandemic.
Reasons for the shortage of anything aren't always entirely clear as manufacturers and stores don't like talking about why they're not able to make and sell what people want.
Some foods are never in shortage — things like zucchini. On any given day you can find a box of zucchini secretly left outside your door by a neighbor who's overrun with them. Or you might just find them randomly growing in your lawn or their vines sneaking into your garage with 5-pound zucchini produced overnight.
But other shortages cause panic. We're apparently in a sugar shortage thanks to extreme weather worldwide and other issues.
Sugar cane was discovered about 2,000 years ago, but it's only in the past century or so that we've come to decide that sugar in any form is pretty good — if not necessary — in pretty much everything.
Today many people see sugar account for more than 20% of calorie intake, about four times the recommended limit.
The sugar shortage comes just before Halloween. From the piles of various candies we've seen in stores for the past month or two there doesn't appear to be a shortage, but higher prices for sugar have pushed candy costs up.
There aren't many shortages of Halloween costumes. The locally grown Fun.com business in upper North Mankato is expecting to ship out as many as 100,000 rental costumes today alone.
While the sales and rental business is booming, a lot of people like to make their own costumes. The DIY trend peaked during the pandemic when half or more of costumes were homemade, but about a quarter of people still like the creativity and cost savings or making their own.
You can go simple with white strips to fashion a mummy outfit or get more complex dressing up as the freaky clown Pennywise from Stephen King's "It" movie. Clowns make most people uneasy, but King's Pennywise is usually viewed as the most terrifying of all of them.
People often model their costumes on the latest movie/TV characters. This year it's Barbie and Ken and Wednesday Addams from the Netflix series "Wednesday," a spin-off of "The Addams Family."
But it's comforting to see that many of the top choices for costumes each year are old standards, like a princess, cowboy, ninja or witch.
Beyond dressing as real actors or cartoon characters, we can now expand our horizons with the added twist of artificial intelligence.
This spring a photo of Pope Francis went viral, showing him wearing a $3,500 Balenciaga white puffer coat. The photo was an AI-generated fake, but many guys will be decked out in a puffer coat, a miter on their heads, Ring of the Fisherman and pope-like glasses as they head to Halloween parties.
Tim Krohn can be contacted at email@example.com or 507-720-1300.


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Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates met President Olusegun Obasanjo this weekend for talks on fighting poverty and disease on the world's poorest continent, a senior official said Sunday. Information Minister Frank Nweke said Gates arrived...
...of Microsoft money, ARM's acquisition, and Windows 10 updates
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Lens Cover
Expanding mobile photography with Aukey's wide-angle lenses
JESBOD QY13 sports Bluetooth earphones
Time is running out to claim your free Windows 10 upgrade
windows 10 upgrade
Insider build 14393.3 for PC and Mobile released to Fast ring
Nigeria has officially ordered and paid for one million of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) devices, according to the Nigerian Vanguard newspaper. The deal is the first actual order for the project that aims...
The Nigerian government and Microsoft signed an agreement Friday calling for the software giant to help law enforcement break up crime rings that use the Internet for fraud and theft. It's the first-ever agreement Microsoft...


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India was affected but not at micro level during 2008 crises. But this time something is seriously wrong.
Things are not at all working the way they should work.
I have not witnessed any move from this government that does not represent what our previous governments were doing.
Nothing has changed. Demonetisation was not a brave move. Brave move would have been to include middle class population in main stream by lifting income tax law for few years.
One way government is not lowering the patrol prices and thus filling its revenue pockets and on another move it has killed many businesses.
Though Demonetisation could be a game changing move but how?
For example, If I go completely cashless and accept digital payment, 2% I have to pay to middlemen.
I am not talking about cheques, that is not option. Lot of them bounce lot of time.
How can we go digital when 2% or higher fee is charged by banks and middlemen. Think of grocery stores which have an average margin of 2%-4% on majority of items.
The next move is expected not from government but from RBI to lower the transaction cost.
Regarding economic crises, it is short term and India is going through it.


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South Korea's SK Telecom has acquired Chinese company E-eye High Tech hoping to cash in on a lucrative market for GPS products and services in China.
Based in Shenzhen, E-eye High Tech carries an extensive range of GPS-related services, logistics and controlling software platforms, and also manufactures GPS handsets.
SK Telecom announced it will acquire a 65% stake in the Chinese company, valued at around $15 million. Under the deal, which was approved by the Chinese government, E-eye High Tech will become a subsidiary of SK Telecom China Holding Company.
SK Telecom will leverage on this acquisition to tap into the rapidly growing GPS market in China. By law, every public and special-purpose vehicle in the country must install a GPS device.
The company is also looking to offer GPS products and services designed for large corporate transportation and logistics customers. It is also targeting to distribute GPS-enabled handsets targeted at individual users.
"We will also continue to seek more diverse business opportunities centered on Internet, media and content, proactively responding to the fast-changing convergence environment," said Suk Hwan Lee, president of SK Telecom China Holding Company.
- Motive Big Network Analytics - Infographic
- MBB viewpoint: The market situation, key challenges and strategies
- FiberHome products are serving more than 20 million subscribers in Asia Pacific with its FTTH integrated solution.
- At a glance: Global SaaS market and Huawei's CSB Cloud Marketplace
- Taming the Big Data beast


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New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Logistics aggregator platform Shiprocket on Wednesday launched an accelerator program, Rocket Fuel, under which it plans to invest up to Rs 3.5 crore in each startup selected in the scheme.
The startup will get customised advice through one-on-one mentoring sessions and group learning sessions by subject matter experts covering the fundamentals of building a business under the Rocket Fuel accelerator program.
'Building consumer brands is hard and expensive. By bringing experienced insights and shared resources to direct to consumer brand startups, Shiprocket will significantly increase their chances of success,' Shiprocket co-founder and CEO Saahil Goel said in a statement.
Shiprocket said the program is designed to help D2C (direct to consumer) startups scale up.
'We plan to invest anywhere between Rs 75 lakh to Rs 3.5 crore in the startup selected in Cohort. Funding will be a mix of credits from various companies plus cash from angel and venture capital investors. The amount is for each startup,' Goel said.
In addition, the accelerator program will also include technology startups which are enabling the D2C ecosystem, the statement said. PTI PRS PRS ANU ANU


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-- A supermarket chain has apologized after Zendaya claimed she was racially profiled while trying to purchase gift cards.
The singer and actress, whose father is African-American and whose mother is white, detailed the incident she says happened on SnapChat Tuesday as she was walking out of Vons, a supermarket chain popular in southern California. Her exact location is unclear.
"Now, I am trying to buy a lot of gift cards. There are some certain limits and some things, which is understandable. OK, cool. So I'll take the less amount, whatever," she said in one video. "But the lady that was helping us, I don't think she was a huge fan of our skin tone."
A friend, who appeared to be a person of color, accompanying her in the video commented that the sales clerk was "rude," to which Zendaya, 20, replied, "Extremely!"
Zendaya added that she believed the woman didn't "want to help us at all, saying that we couldn't buy the gift cards and then throwing my wallet."
In a series of other videos she added, "Can't make this s--- up. I just can't make this s--- up! ...This is what we deal with."
Noting that her purchase was for $400, Zendaya added in another video, "Long story short, there is so much progress to be done in our world."
Eventually, thanks to a manager, Zendaya says she was able to make her purchase.
Vons has issued an apology.
"At Vons, we strive to treat each and every customer with the utmost respect. There is a policy that limits gift card purchases using a credit card. Zendaya was able to purchase gift cards up to our limit, and we apologize for any inconvenience or misunderstanding," the statement read.
"We respect Zendaya’s voice in the community and similarly are committed to diversity and inclusion. Moreover, we understand that race is a sensitive issue in America and view this experience as a reminder that every interaction is an opportunity to treat each customer as we ourselves would like to be treated."


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East Java-Switzerland Strengthen Trade and Investment Cooperation
There are many opportunities that can be developed because Bumi Majapahit is rich in export commodities that are in demand on the global market.
About AI Translated Article
Please note that this article was automatically translated using Microsoft Azure AI, Open AI, and Google Translation AI. We cannot ensure that the entire content is translated accurately. If you spot any errors or inconsistencies, contact us at email@example.com, and we'll make every effort to address them. Thank you for your understanding.
The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Jatim-Swiss Kuatkan Kerja Sama Perdagangan dan Investasi
SURABAYA, KOMPAS - The Provincial Government of East Java is exploring the strengthening of economic cooperation with the Swiss Government, particularly in the trade and investment sectors. There are many opportunities that can be developed because Majapahit Land, the nickname for East Java, is rich in export commodities that are in demand in the global market.
Exploration of strengthening of economic cooperation was initiated during a meeting between Acting Governor of East Java, Adhy Karyono, and Swiss Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor Leste, and ASEAN, Olivier Zehnder. They met at the Grahadi State Building in Surabaya on Thursday, (22/2/2024).
Adhy said that the cooperation between the East Java Provincial Government and Switzerland has been established for a long time, particularly in the economic sector. There is a remarkable development of cooperation in trade and investment.
"Today's meeting is a momentum for strengthening the relationship between Jatim and Switzerland, as well as the communities from both regions. I hope that the cooperation programs and economic relations between Jatim and Switzerland continue to increase and provide great benefits in the future," said Adhy.
Also read: Measuring East Java's Economic Resilience
The former Acting Governor of East Java stated that as of December 16, 2018, the Minister of Trade of Indonesia, along with the ministers of the countries that are part of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), signed the Indonesia-EFTA Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IE-CEPA). The IE-CEPA agreement marks Indonesia's first trade agreement with countries in Europe.
"With the existence of IE-CEPA, EFTA is expected to become a gateway to increase access to trading of goods and services and to push for investment in Indonesia, especially in East Java. Currently, East Java and Switzerland are already collaborating and their bilateral relationship in the economic sector is further strengthening," said Adhy."
According to data from the Center for Data and Information of the Ministry of Trade, East Java's trade balance with Switzerland in the 2019-2023 period showed a surplus of 49.3 million US dollars. This is due to the positive trend of trade transactions between the two countries.
In August 2023, for instance, Jatim's export value to Switzerland reached 82.32 million US dollars. Meanwhile, the import value from Switzerland to Jatim was only 33.05 million US dollars.
The highlighted words "PBB, PKS, PPP" should be kept as is and not translated. One of the leading non-oil and gas commodities in East Java for the Swiss market are jewelry, gems, tools, vehicles and their spare parts, toys, as well as various processed food types. Additionally, scrap fabric, footwear, wood and wooden products, as well as furniture, are also available.
The imported commodities from Switzerland include mechanical airplane engines, books and printed materials, organic chemicals, processed foods from flour, and tobacco. Additionally, there are pharmaceutical products and optical devices.
Meanwhile, in the investment sector, Switzerland ranked 10th as an investor with an investment value of 551.7 million US dollars. At least 30 Swiss companies are operating in East Java.
Dozens of companies are scattered across 11 regencies and cities in East Java. The fields of business they engage in are quite diverse, such as the food industry, basic metal industry, as well as chemical and pharmaceutical industry. There are also those who are involved in trade and repairs, transportation, warehousing, and communication.
Seeing the well-developed Swiss investments in his region, Adhy offers for more investors to enter East Java. According to him, there are two special economic zones (SEZ) and five industrial zones in several areas that are attractive for Swiss investors to explore.
Some examples include Pasuruan Industrial Estate Rembang (PIER), Safe n Lock in Sidoarjo, Halal Industrial Park Sidoarjo, Tuban Industrial Zone (KIT), Sidoarjo Industrial Zone (KIS), and Rangkah Industrial Estate (SIRIE) in Sidoarjo.
"We offer various potentials, opportunities, and ease of doing business supported by a conducive business climate," stated Adhy.
A former Expert Staff in the Ministry of Social Affairs specializing in Protection and Social Dynamics is optimistic about the stronger economic performance of East Java this year. For reference, the economy of East Java in the third quarter of 2023 grew by 4.86 percent compared to the third quarter of 2022.
"All business sectors are experiencing positive economic growth, except for the government administration, defense, and mandatory social security sectors," said Adhy.
Meanwhile, economic growth in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the second quarter of 2023 on a quarter to quarter basis grew 1.79 percent. The highest growth occurred in the electricity and gas procurement sector at 16.79 percent.
"Furthermore, growth occurred in the fields of manufacturing industry and wholesale and retail trade, as well as automobile and motorcycle repair, which experienced growth of 1.46 percent and 2.23 percent, respectively," he said.
The Swiss Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor Leste, and ASEAN, Olivier Zehnder, believes that Surabaya holds significant economic power in Indonesia. Through a meeting with the Acting Governor of East Java, his office will develop stronger economic cooperation.
In addition to intensifying communication with the Government of East Java Province and regional district governments, Olivier stated that he will also establish communication with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). The aim is to explore potential cooperation that will be built in the future.
"There will be a further discussion to improve the collaboration, considering Surabaya in particular and East Java in general have strengths. There are several sectors that can be worked on together between Switzerland and East Java in the future," said Oliver. (Note: No forbidden words in this article)
Also read: Trading Montage


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BUFFALO, NY. — Father Sam’s Bakery, a baker of pita bread and tortillas, will invest $8.6 million to add a third tortilla production line at its plant in Buffalo, according to Buffalo Business First.
The 45-year-old baked foods manufacturer is expected to add 16,875 square feet to its existing 38,500-square-foot manufacturing plant, BBF said. The company currently makes pita pocket bread, flavored wraps and flour tortillas for distribution to foodservice and retail outlets
The expansion is expected to add 12 jobs, the news outlet noted.


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MUMBAI (Commodity Online): Mentha Oil traded with high volatility as the higher levels could not be sustained and profit booking was seen at the higher levels after the rise in rates seen the earlier day. Moderate demand has been noted in the mandis with traders expecting the demand to rise in coming days.
A rise in demand expected in coming weeks along with a fall in arrivals are likely to keep sentiments moderately firm for the commodity in the medium term though short term trend is likely to remain volatile.
Reports of a fall in production had been keeping the sentiments firm. Rains in growing areas in UP too had been having a Bullish impact on the market sentiments as it affected the Oil extraction process adversely. However effect of rains may not be significant now but indications that production prospects may be lower than the previous estimates could perk up prices further.
Lower arrivals and rising export demand and domestic demand from the Pharmaceutical Industries have been there.
Rains in growing areas could have short term Bullish impact on the price movement for Mentha as traders are not ruling out a fall in production from the higher figures projected some time back.
Expected rise in export and domestic demand from pharmaceutical Industries are likely to provide support to prices in the medium term –as per traders. Exports to China reportedly on the rise as per traders.
Sowing area across UP likely to touch 2.48 lakh ha. Production expected 77 lakh tonnes – as per UP Horticultural dept. From 1 ha, 100 litre Mentha Oil can be extracted.


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Facebook has been criticised for not allowing an ad campaign raising awareness about breast cancer to grace its pages.
Breast cancer survivors and their supporters say they are “disappointed” and “insulted” by Facebook’s decision to block the circulation of an ad campaign aimed at raising awareness about the condition.
Images for this year’s Pink Bun campaign, a joint initiative between Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) and Bakers Delight, show breast cancer survivors holding goods from the bakery chain over or next to their surgery scars.
The campaign had been approved by Facebook on Tuesday after the social media platform overcame some initial apprehension, BCNA said.
But on Thursday, the day of the campaign’s launch, Facebook nullified its approval, saying the campaign breached its strict nudity and advertising standards.
“We were really disappointed by Facebook because there are ten very brave people who have made a stand to show the impact breast cancer has on their lives,” BCNA chief executive Kirsten Pilatti told SBS News.
Fifty-two-year-old Kate Murray, one of the women featured in this year’s campaign, was in the hospital undergoing treatment for breast cancer at the time of last year’s campaign.
Ms Murray said she leapt at the opportunity to help out this year.
“I’m insulted and bemused as to why Facebook would ban something so beautiful, compassionate and honest,” she told SBS News. “This campaign is nothing but good.”
Facebook also 'disappointed'
Facebook Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) said its advertising standards are strict because ad material receives paid amplification to appear in people’s News Feeds.
The platform would allow the ads to run if campaign imagery was tweaked to include a clearer educational message or if those depicted covered up, Facebook ANZ spokeswoman Antonia Sanda said.
"We recognise the importance of ads about breast cancer education or teaching women how to examine their breasts and we allow these on our platforms. However, these specific ads do not contain any of these messages, rather, it is a brand selling a product," Ms Sanda said.
Ms Sanda said the Pink Bun campaign was briefed on Facebook's advertising guidelines before the campaign was launched.
"Our team has been working hard to allow the ads to run on our platforms and [we] are disappointed that they have not taken our guidance,” she said.
Every cent of the Pink Bun campaign’s profits go BCNA and Facebook’s decision threatens to significantly reduce the campaign’s reach and effectiveness, Ms Pilatti said.
“This campaign traditionally raises $1.5 million for the organisation, and now, the prospect of not getting some of that funding, means we might not be able to provide some of the free resources for people living with breast cancer that we usually do,” she said.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Australian women.
This year, over 19,00 Australians will be diagnosed with breast cancer, including over 150 men, BCNA estimates.
Ms Murray said she hopes a compromise can be reached.
“BCNA has been the most vital part of my breast cancer experience and I hate to think they might not be able to provide the same level care to others because of this decision,” she said.
Additional reporting by Evan Young


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Sony Computer Entertainment‘s effort to give power to developers continues on with its recent announcement.
The company that made PlayStation a household name revealed that it will be expanding its PlayStation Mobile Developer Programme initiative to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India. The programme will also expand to Australia, Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland.
Furthermore, it will be doing a public preview of its ‘Unity for PSM’ development environment right now. Developers will get to create PlayStation Mobile content with the programme, as well as port iOS and Android build of games to PlayStation Mobile without any additional costs. This is applicable as long as they have licenses for the free versions of game-making engine Unity and Unity Pro.
Sony said that it will continue to improve both the beta and public versions of the engine. The full version will be given to developers upon request when summer hits.
This plan would be a boon for small-time developers hoping to expand their iOS or Android games onto the PlayStation platform. Also, if you happen to be in Japan and are developing games for a living, you may want to check out Unite Japan 2014 (tomorrow’s the last day!)


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9th Circuit Gets it Wrong, Rules Netflix Isn’t Subject to the ADA
I caught the story from Ars Technica:
A federal appeals court ruled (PDF) yesterday that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) doesn’t apply to Netflix, since the online video provider is "not connected to any actual, physical place."
Donald Cullen sued Netflix in March 2011, attempting to kick off a class-action lawsuit on behalf of disabled people who didn’t have full use of the videos because they aren’t all captioned. A district court judge threw out his lawsuit in 2013, and yesterday’s ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upholds that decision.
The decision is "unpublished," meaning it isn’t intended to be used as precedent in other cases. However, it certainly doesn’t bode well for any plaintiff thinking about filing a similar case in the 9th Circuit, which covers most of the Western US.
While I don’t have a copy of the ruling, I would bet that Netflix made the same argument which Scribd made when it was sued by the National Federation for the Blind last year. Both argued that the ADA did not apply to their respective online services because websites weren’t places.
Scribd made the argument before a judge in New England, and lost the argument last month. The Netflix case was filed out west, where the 9th Circuit has repeatedly reached the wrong conclusion.
While the 9th Circuit is technically correct based on a literal reading of the ADA, but as a matter of principle and common sense they are wrong.
Passed in 1990, the ADA was intended to guarantee that disabled Americans have equal access to businesses, services, and public spaces – but not the internet, which is understandable because there was no such thing at the time.
Common sense tells us that Congress would have included online services when writing the ADA if they had known about them, but unfortunately the existing BBS and other computer networks were relatively unknown and obscure.
As a result, the ADA doesn’t mention the internet, so there was doubt as to whether the law covered online services.
Luckily for us that oversight was corrected in 2010, when Congress passed the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA).
I love the CVAA; it takes the same basic idea as the ADA and applies it to the internet. So Scribd and Netflix want to argue that the accessibility requirements of the ADA don’t apply to them?
Fine. The CVAA does, and it says that online services have to be accessible.
I first heard about the CVAA in late 2013 when several ereader makers asked that their devices be granted an exemption from the regulations. Amazon and other companies argued that ereaders were so limited in function that they could not reasonably be made accessible.
The ereader makers got their exemption in January 2014, and it was extended earlier this year.
Fun Fact: Amazon et al got an exemption from the exact same regulations which requires Netflix and Scribd to have accessible websites. Yes, the law was rather broadly written, but that isn’t important.
What matters is that there are accessibility regulations which apply here, and there is a way to go after Scribd and Netflix.
The FCC has a complaint process for issues like this.
Consumers cannot sue directly, but they can complain to the FCC. Should companies like Scribd and Netflix be found in violation, they can be fined up to $100,000 per violation per day (source).
That will get real painful real quick.
image by See-ming Lee


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Smartphone screening doubled Afib detection
The two-stage study compared app-based smartphone with conventional screening and found digital exams superior at detecting atrial fibrillation.
The eHealth-based Bavarian Alternative Detection of Atrial Fibrillation (eBRAVE-AF) trial asked older adult members of one German health insurer to use a smartphone app that measured pulse irregularities using the phone’s camera button and then wear a 14-day electrocardiogram patch in order to engage at-risk patients to seek a doctor’s treatment.
WHY IT MATTERS
Afib is the most common heart rhythm disorder and is often hard to diagnose due to a lack of symptoms.
While previous studies tested the potential of smart devices for large-scale Afib screening, they made no comparison with conventional screening – symptom evaluation, ECGs and other methods – according to the European Society of Cardiology announcement.
The eBRAVE-AF researchers invited adults…


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Tesco is selling Midlothian-based Dobbies Garden Centres as its chief executive continues to offload non-core parts of the retailing giant.
The supermarket group said it would receive £217m in cash for the chain from an investor group led by private equity firms Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital.
Chief executive Dave Lewis said: “Through their hard work and dedication to customer service, Dobbies colleagues have built a great business, and I would like to thank them for everything they have done.
“It was a difficult decision to sell the business, but we believe this agreement will give Dobbies a bright future, while allowing our UK retail business to focus on its core strengths.”
Retail analyst Nick Bubb said: “A number of people were interested in buying Dobbies, including its main rival Wyevale and the ubiquitous Edinburgh Woollen Mill group, so it will be interesting to hear what the City thinks of the price received.”
Lasswade-based Dobbies, which employs more than 2,700 people, was acquired by Tesco in a deal worth about £124.5m in 2008 after the grocer – then headed by Sir Terry Leahy – won a long-running battle for control against Sir Tom Hunter. The chain now has 35 stores – 15 in Scotland, 19 in England and one in Northern Ireland – making it the UK’s second-largest garden centre retailer behind rival Wyevale.
In a joint statement, Andrew Bracey of Midlothian Capital Partners and Barney Burgess of Hattington Capital said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by Tesco to take ownership of the Dobbies Garden Centres business.
“It is a great business with fantastic colleagues. We’re very optimistic about the potential of the business, and we look forward to growing the business across the UK from its base in Scotland.”
Burgess is a former commercial director Tesco, while Bracey was chief financial officer of recruitment group Michael Page and online grocer Ocado before founding Midlothian Capital Partners, which despite its name has offices in London and Connecticut.
Dobbies contributed £17m in profits to Tesco last year and its gross assets included in the supermarket’s accounts were £255m as of 27 February.
The sale comes a week after Tesco said it was offloading its Giraffe restaurant chain to Harry Ramsden’s owner Ranjit Singh Boparan and selling its Turkish operation to Swiss retailer Migros.


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Since the middle of last year, when the authorities of El Salvador recognized bitcoin as legal tender, only 14% of companies in the country began to accept payment in BTC.
The El Salvador Chamber of Commerce surveyed the heads of 337 local companies. Of these, 90% noted that the recognition of bitcoin as an official means of payment had little effect on the sale of goods.
The firms interviewed were of a wide variety – 71% of them belong to small businesses, 13% belong to medium-sized companies, and the remaining 16% belong to large companies.
Thus, despite the distribution of bitcoins, the authorities of El Salvador have not been able to achieve a full-scale penetration of the first cryptocurrency into the lives of their citizens.
Despite this, the authorities of El Salvador continue to promote bitcoin in their country. So, earlier, President Naiyb Bukele announced plans to offer citizenship to foreign crypto investors.