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The summer is supposed to be a quiet period, but nobody seems to have told Microsoft. This week there are 13 new titles appearing on Xbox One, although only 12 of those have achievements.
Posted just now by Rebecca Smith, 1 comment
We have just picked up the achievement list for NieR:Automata BECOME AS GODS Edition. There are 48 achievements worth a total of 1,000 Gamerscore, 31 of which are secret
Posted 3 hours ago by Rich Stone, 27 comments
We have just picked up the achievement list for Lumines Remastered. There are 29 achievements worth a total of 1,000 Gamerscore, none of which are secret
Posted 3 hours ago by Rich Stone, 2 comments
The latest Vlog for upcoming adventure game 11-11: Memories Retold discusses the game's art style and the challenges that come with creating something so distinctive in the logical world of a game engine.
Posted 4 hours ago by Andy Mills, 1 comment
For those of you eagerly awaiting the release of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, we have some bad news. Developer Dontnod Entertainment has confirmed that the game will not have any achievements.
Posted 6 hours ago by Rebecca Smith, 93 comments
What new features will EA be bringing to the table this year? Well, there will be outdoor rinks, hockey legends, new gameplay technology and a host of customisation options.
Posted 6 hours ago by Rebecca Smith, 3 comments
Bandai Namco has revealed the "Extra Pack #3" DLC for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, which comes with a new character. Check out the new screens to see who's joining the roster.
Posted 7 hours ago by Ashley Woodcock, 3 comments
We have just picked up the achievement list for Remothered: Tormented Fathers. There are 10 achievements worth a total of 1,000 Gamerscore, all of which are secret
Posted 9 hours ago by Rich Stone, 6 comments
A week or so on from Trials Rising's reveal at Ubisoft's press conference, Mikko Lindholm -- producer at the game's Finnish developer RedLynx -- took some time to talk about what's new and what's improved.
Posted 17 hours ago by Andy Mills, 16 comments
In our final E3 2018 story, we're looking back on all we saw and played on the showfloor and rank our top ten favorite games of the show. Where did your most anticipated game land on our rankings?
Posted yesterday by Mark Delaney, 31 comments
Shift Quantum keeps the same gameplay premise of the titles that preceded it, yet it feels much more than a flash game on a big screen.
Posted 2 days ago by Rebecca Smith, 4 comments
We got a look at the new Happy Dungeons trailer for the upcoming story quest Chapter 11, “Super Happy DAISAKUSEN.” It is expected to release on June 29th.
Posted 2 days ago by Dave Bricker, 7 comments
Hyper Universe is the latest MOBA to be landing on Xbox One. Announced just last month for Xbox One following a PC launch in January, the game will be playable as a beta open to members of the Xbox Insider program.
Posted 2 days ago by Kelly Packard, 2 comments
Publisher Funcom has released a new gameplay trailer for upcoming turn-based strategy game Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, which features a band of mutants roaming a post-human Earth.
Posted 2 days ago by Lucy Wood, 10 comments
Ahead of the game's release next week, Enhance Games has dropped a new Lumines Remastered trailer on us. Coming in at 30 seconds total, it's a short one, but still long enough to find yourself bobbing along to the music.
Posted 2 days ago by Andy Mills, 3 comments
The latest update for Sea of Thieves added Megalodons as a permanent threat and fixed a number of problems, only to be followed by an unintended increase in the turning speed of galleons.
Posted 2 days ago by Lucy Wood, 27 comments
It's the end of the world as we know it, and we feel fine about The Division 2. Its gameplay demo was more of what players enjoyed from the original, but Massive Entertainment may have found a new wrinkle in the story genre.
Posted 2 days ago by Mark Delaney, 20 comments
A developer interview video for SOULCALIBUR VI was just released in which the game's producer, Motohiro Okubo, discusses both the evolution of the story and new gameplay mechanics.
Posted 2 days ago by Ethan Anderson, 1 comment
Want to boost your experience in Gears of War 4? Well here's your chance! This weekend will feature 5X XP! 2V2 Gnashers, the Heartbeat Gnasher Challenge, and Rise of RAAM Mega Pack are also featured.
Posted 2 days ago by Dave Bricker, 34 comments
We have just picked up the achievement list for 20XX. There are 28 achievements worth a total of 1,000 Gamerscore, none of which are secret
Posted 3 days ago by Rich Stone, 6 comments
This week, we're looking at Microsoft's surprising (or not?) move to start talking publicly about their next console. How soon is too soon before we see this next console hit stores? Are you eager or hesitant to buy in again?
Posted 3 days ago by Mark Delaney, 167 comments
With CODE VEIN launching in just a few short months, Bandai Namco has recently taken to releasing numerous screenshots and trailers for the game. This gameplay video offers a glimpse of one of the game's boss battles.
Posted 3 days ago by Ethan Anderson, 2 comments
Dan Smith's upcoming puzzle title sets players on a journey to discover the truth behind The Penrose hotel. Now players won't have to wait long to explore the hotel for themselves -- the title will be arriving next month.
Posted 3 days ago by Rebecca Smith, 2 comments
We played lots of games at E3, many of them were the biggest upcoming AAA titles. But others we played were the lesser known indies, and we love those too. Here are four upcoming indies we're excited to play again soon.
Posted 3 days ago by Mark Delaney, 17 comments
Following its Japanese PS4 release in March, SEGA has now announced that the western Xbox One release of tactical RPG
Valkyria Chronicles 4 will be happening in just a few months.
Posted 3 days ago by Chewie, 3 comments
Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix have today announced that the first of five episodes for Life is Strange 2 will be available in September.
Posted 3 days ago by Dave Horobin, 49 comments
A new video for Genesis Alpha One shows off how to manage resources effectively in the roguelike space exploration shooter. You can see how resources are gathered and utilised.
Posted 3 days ago by Chewie, 1 comment
Following a diplomatic visit to E3 where El Presidente graciously showed off Tropico 6 to some in attendance, the delightful dictator even had something for us common folk, releasing a handful of new screenshots.
Posted 3 days ago by Andy Mills, 8 comments
ARK: Survival Evolved will expand once more in November with the introduction of "ARK: Extinction". The expansion will take players back to Earth, where their story originally began and where it will conclude.
Posted 3 days ago by Rebecca Smith, 8 comments
In preparation for the announcement of new games for July, we bring the news of those games that will be leaving the program at the end of the month. On June 30th, three titles will be leaving the service.
Posted 3 days ago by Rebecca Smith, 57 comments
Following on from the release of "The Resistance" and "The War Machine" will be "United Front". Like previous packs, it will include three new multiplayer maps, a new War Mode mission, and a new zombies experience.
Posted 3 days ago by Rebecca Smith, 1 comment
Smaller titles coming to retail at a later date has become a trend with recent announcements including Slime Rancher and Don't Starve. The Bridge Constructor series will join these titles on retail shelves with a triple pack.
Posted 3 days ago by Kelly Packard, 2 comments
World of Tanks and World of Warships developer Wargaming has announced World of Warships: Legends for consoles. The game is not quite a port of Wargaming's PC title World of Warships.
Posted 3 days ago by Kelly Packard, 9 comments
If the 7 Days to Die free play event isn't your zombie cup of tea, instead try Killing Floor 2, which is also playing host to a free play event this weekend for Xbox Live Gold members.
Posted 3 days ago by Kelly Packard, 20 comments
Releasing as part of the upcoming expansion "Forsaken" in Destiny 2, developer Bungie will be putting an all-new weapon system into the player's hands with a sleek and sexy looking precision bow.
Posted 3 days ago by Ashley Woodcock, 6 comments
Recently, Friday the 13th: The Game developer Gun Media announced development had been put on hold due to "a legal claim [that] has been made which could affect all future Friday the 13th intellectual property."
Posted 3 days ago by Kelly Packard, 46 comments
We have just picked up the achievement list for What the Box?. There are 13 achievements worth a total of 1,000 Gamerscore, none of which are secret
Posted 4 days ago by Rich Stone, 8 comments
We have just picked up the achievement list for The Path of Motus. There are 15 achievements worth a total of 1,000 Gamerscore, 2 of which are secret
Posted 4 days ago by Rich Stone, 4 comments
We have just picked up the achievement list for Warhammer: Vermintide 2. There are 50 achievements worth a total of 1,000 Gamerscore, none of which are secret
Posted 4 days ago by Rich Stone, 15 comments
We're heading to the wasteland for our next TA Playlist game! Join us starting on July 1st as we step out into the sunlight, level up, and survive a post-nuclear sin city as a community with Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas.
Posted 4 days ago by Mark Delaney, 91 comments
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By Halimah Kargbo
Image Source: cedars-sinai.org
This year’s holiday season is different from any other. Most of the traditions that many families once enjoyed have to be adjusted due to the pandemic.
Autumn Worthington, a junior at Hammond, expressed this same sentiment, saying “This year the plans aren’t really that grand since we can’t be around large sums of people compared to like before. Before [COVID-19], I’d be going to different families’ houses and spending time with lots of people.”
Now, Hammond students and their families are celebrating the holidays either from home or within their immediate family.
“I am staying home with my mom watching Christmas movies,” senior Talia Parchment comments. “This is different from recent years because I would be spending time with aunts and cousins as well.”
Staying safe is on everyone’s mind this season, and even more so as cases begin to surge. So, here’s a list of COVID-friendly holiday plans to consider as our winter break approaches:
Merriweather Symphony of Lights
As a tradition here in Howard County, drive through Merriweather Post Pavilion and enjoy a holiday-themed lights show. The event is well-suited for families as well as people of all ages.
Merriweather Post Pavilion
10475 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, Maryland 21044
November 25, 2020 – January 2, 2021
Weekdays: 6 pm – 10 pm
Weekends: 5 pm – 10 pm
$20 per vehicle
Drive through the Maryland Zoo for an animal-themed lights show. Tickets must be purchased at the Maryland Zoo website.
The Maryland Zoo
1 Safari Pl
Baltimore, Maryland 21217
November 20, 2020 – January 3, 2021
Wednesdays and Thursdays: 5 pm – 7 pm
Fridays and Sundays: 5 pm – 8 pm
$45 per vehicle
Holiday Lights Scavenger Hunt
A creative way to view the holiday lights in your neighborhood is a scavenger hunt! Either print one online or have fun creating your own, but this activity is great for families to do together.
The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Virtual Programming
The CSC is holding two virtual programs this holiday season. The first is Be Merry! Make Holiday! which will include song, story, and spoken word. The second is the 7th annual retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Each is meant to bring Christmas cheer right to your home!
Streaming live on Facebook, Youtube, or Zoom*
December 18 at 8 pm | December 21 at 8 pm
*Only for A Christmas Carol, registration required
Seeing a Christmas Day Movie
There are still ways of continuing the age-old tradition of watching a new movie even from home. Most notably, Wonder Woman 1984 is coming to HBO on Christmas Day, courtesy of Warner Bros. But, the new Pixar movie Soul is coming to Disney+ also on Christmas Day. If you are subscribed to either of these services, you are in luck this Christmas. If not, many tv channels are playing classic Christmas movies all day!
Virtual Nutcracker Ballet
This season, many ballet companies are offered streamed showings of The Nutcracker. It’s a classic telling of a young girl named Clara whose nutcracker comes to life. They face evil and travel to enchanting lands. A full guide to which companies are streaming and how to watch can be found here.
Completing a Christmas Bucket-List
There is so much room for creativity with this one. You could find bucket lists online or come up with them with your family and friends. It could even be a competition to see who can complete it the fastest. Activities such as baking, finding holiday sweaters, or watching certain Christmas movies can make your list fun to complete!

domain: news


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Social aspects of Champion Production
Some companies fake transparency—they only disclose enough information to consumers to give the façade of ethical business. Champion, a company of Hanesbrands, provides extensive information on almost every aspect of its company directly through its website and Hanes for Good, and the company seems to be doing everything right at first glance, but further inspection of the company calls its practices into question.
Many companies advertise that the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act has changed the way they do business, but Hanes claims to have been meeting the Act’s criteria for years. The company claims to exert extensive effort and energy fighting forced labor, slavery, and human trafficking. Hanes even produces the majority of their products in company owned factories primarily in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, instead of outsourcing the work to other factories. By using company owned factories, Hanes believes they are better able supervise the practices occurring in their production facilities.
From a glance, Hanesbrands seems to be doing everything right. They recently partnered with USAID to progress development in the countries where they produce, and they even provide education and healthcare services to their employees at many different factory locations. Story after story, Hanes claims to significantly improve the community and environment in the several countries in which they produce.
Although the Hanes website boasts the company’s positive social impact, some of the company’s practices are still in question. Cases of child labor and abuse linked to Hanes factories have been reported in the last few years. Hanes might believe in ethical business, but recent stories regarding employee treatment in Hanesbrands facilities challenge their claims of sound business. Low wage reports of workers in Haiti, sexual abuse of employees in Jordan, poor inspections of Bangladeshi factories, and mistreatment of workers in the Dominican Republic, provide further reason to question Hanesbrands’s “ethical” business model.
Champion and Hanesbrands might believe in good business, but their belief statements need to be backed up by action, especially if Point Loma Nazarene University is going to print its logo on Champion apparel.
Written by: Audrey Hiatt


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The cryptocurrency is up 28% in a day thanks to a partnership between giant Amazon and the Avalanche blockchain.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen a clear improvement in the cryptocurrency market on the back of good structural news, with big names in technology not stopping investments and alliances in cryptocurrencies or blockchain.
This is the case, for example, with the giant Amazon, which, through its cloud subsidiary Amazon Web Service, will open up the world of blockchain to its customers. Having your own blockchain is out of the question as the American giant has decided to turn to the real kingpin of the sector.
Amazon Web Service just announced a major partnership with the Avalanche blockchain. Following this announcement, Avalanche’s eponymous blockchain token is up 28% since Wednesday, according to data from Coinmarketcap.
What does this partnership provide? To speed up blockchain adoption by “companies, institutions and governments,” the companies explain in a press release.
In particular, Amazon Web Services client developers will be able to create nodes on the Avalanche blockchain to install their business solutions, and Amazon will support Avalanche’s decentralized infrastructure and applications.
More options for developers
“The collaboration between AWS and Avalanche makes it easier for more people to run and manage nodes on Avalanche, making the network even more powerful and flexible for developers,” the press release notes.
Despite these great announcements, this is not the first time such agreements have been signed, in particular, Ethereum and others are already partners with Amazon on certain projects, but cooperation with Avalanche promises to be much more structural and complex to make it the Amazon Web Services blockchain engine and, in Ultimately, growth accelerator.


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When buying a new home, it’s important to know what kinds of weather threaten your new area, and how severe it can get.
Sparse inventory and rising home prices may have caused some families to delay their purchase.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, celebrated throughout the U.S. and in many other countries across the globe.
The decision to buy a home depends on many influencers that can affect different people in different ways.
If you wait long enough, the trends and styles that used to be popular will have their comeback.
Even though mortgage rates were at historical lows and more jobs were added, other factors held back home sales during August.
Homeownership is a goal that many Americans strive for, though there are a variety of reasons a person can aim for this goal.
Good landscaping can benefit you in more ways than one.
At a time when the average American home continues to get bigger, a contradictory trend has taken the real estate industry by storm.
The square footage of a home can be a complicated statistic to determine.


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Most people who live in the Mt Pleasant area may not realize that they have a brand new options available to them when craving delicious authentic Mexican cuisine. The opening of On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina earlier this month has brought exactly that to the Longview community. It may be a... [read more]
The 2016 Toyota Corolla continues to help Toyota be a leader in the compact sedan market. The 2016 Toyota Corolla continues to outshine its three major competitors: the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze, and Ford Focus.
Value of the 2016 Corolla
When it comes to value, the Toyota Corolla stacks up well against its close... [read more]
Choosing a pick-up truck can be a daunting task. Pickup trucks have gotten better and better every year making the choice of the perfect truck seem harder than ever. Luckily, there are still a few pickup trucks that stand out above the rest. One that stands head and shoulders above... [read more]


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It’s hard to argue that Morgan Wallen is the hottest ticket in the country right now.
Since getting back on the road, Morgan has been selling out festivals and shows wherever he plays. He also recently sold out a three-night run at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, selling 36,000 tickets in 90 minutes.
This week Morgan announced his 2022 headlining arena tour, The Dangerous Tour, which will feature Hardy and Larry Fleet and is slated to kick off on February 3 and run through September 2022.
Tickets for the first half of the tour don’t officially go on sale until Friday, but the presale began today – and if you didn’t get your tickets already, you may just be out of luck.
As soon as the presale began, fans already began reporting long queues and sold-out shows before they even had a chance to get their tickets.
Anyone else stuck in a perpetual queue of 2000+ for these Morgan Wallen tickets? Because freaking same
In fact, tickets went so fast that Morgan has already added additional shows to his stops in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena and at Madison Square Garden in New York City after the original dates sold out almost immediately.
SECOND DATE ADDED: @MorganWallen will play Bridgestone Arena Thursday, March 17 AND Friday, March 18.
In addition to the originally-announced date of March 17, Morgan will also be playing at Bridgestone Arena on Friday, March 18. And the additional show at Madison Square Garden will be taking place on February 10 after the original date of February 9 sold out.
DUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND, a 2nd @MorganWallen show has been added on Feb 10 at The Garden! Presale starts this Thu, Nov 18 at 10am with code SOCIAL.
A quick look at the rest of the dates that went on sale today on Ticketmaster and you can see that most of the shows are already sold out or close to selling out. And remember, this is just the presale – tickets haven’t even gone on sale to the general public yet.
I think it’s safe to say that The Dangerous Tour is already shaping up to be one of the hottest tickets of 2022.


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Connect with top gaming leaders in Los Angeles at GamesBeat Summit 2023 this May 22-23. Register here.
Steve Jobs shifted the technology landscape countless times as Apple’s CEO. Now that he’s retired from that role, we’ll also miss the many great moments that his singular personality has brought us.
What follows is a collection of our favorite Jobs moments, which may or may not have to do with technology, but offer a glimpse of insight into one of our greatest modern minds.
Steve says Microsoft has no taste
Jobs made it clear that he respected Microsoft’s success, but was saddened by the company’s complete lack of taste, in the 1996 PBS documentary “The Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires.”
“They don’t think of original ideas… And they don’t bring much culture into their product,” Jobs said. “I don’t have a problem with their success… I have a problem with the fact that that they just make third-rate products.”
Elegantly cutting down the competition, that’s so Steve.
Steve admits Microsoft helped save Apple… twice
Elsewhere in The Triumph of the Nerds, Jobs discussed how important Microsoft’s contributions to the first Mac were:
“Microsoft took a big gamble to write for the Mac. I brooded for a few months, but it was not very long after that that it really occurred to me that if we didn’t do something here, the Apple II was running out of gas, and we needed to do something with this technology fast or else Apple might cease to exist as the company that it was.”
Microsoft made its Office suite available on the Mac in 1989 before it even landed on Windows. The Mac Office suite continues to be a huge moneymaker for MS.
Microsoft’s second big Apple save came during Macworld Expo in 1997, when Bill Gates appeared on screen to announce that MS would be investing $150 million in Apple. The audience of Apple fans wasn’t exactly welcoming to Gates, but without the Microsoft deal Apple likely wouldn’t have been able to rebound as quickly in the late 90’s. Yes, you can thank Microsoft that Apple survived long enough to develop the iPod and iPhone.
Having the humility to let his sworn enemies save Apple, that’s so Steve.
Steve prepares young Stanford grads for life
Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement speech is one of his most cited works, perhaps because it’s one of the few times he’s opened up and given us a glimpse at his life philosophy. Throughout the speech, which is a must-listen, Jobs discusses why he dropped out of Reed College, love and loss, and of course, death.
Steve Jobs: Email ninja
Unlike most executives, Jobs may actually reply to you if you drop him a line — often to hilarious effect. Last year, the email master told a college journalism student to “Leave us alone” after she wrote him because Apple’s media relations team failed to get back to her. Also last year, Jobs also got into a late-night email exchange with Gawker blogger Ryan Tate, who was admittedly a bit tipsy at the time while complaining about Apple’s closed iOS ecosystem. That led to Jobs saying that the iPad provides “freedom from porn” since it doesn’t support Flash videos.
Being vaguely Orwellian after producing the iconic 1984 Apple ad? That’s so Steve.
Steve inspires Noah Wyle’s best performance ever
Sure, Noah Wyle may have been quite the actor on “E.R.” and “The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice”, but I think it may have required all of his thespian talents to bring Steve Jobs’ personality to life in the 1999 made-for-TV movie “The Pirates of Silicon Valley.”
Below, check out the scene where Wyle’s Jobs believes that Bill Gates (played by Anthony Michael Hall) stole the idea of a graphical user interface for Windows from Apple. If that’s not so Steve, I don’t know what is.
Steve trash talks the mobile competition
Jobs made a surprise appearance on Apple’s fourth quarter earnings call last year, seemingly just to trash the company’s mobile competitors. “We’ve now passed RIM, and I don’t see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future,” he said during the call.
As for Android, Jobs said that the notion of it being open is a “smokescreen.” He added that “it’s really about fragmented versus integrated. We believe integrated will trump fragmented every time.”
He also had choice words for companies making 7-inch tablets, because he believes that screen size is too small for useful tablet apps. “One could increase the resolution to make up for the difference, but it’s meaningless unless the thing also includes sandpaper so users can sand down their fingers.” Ouch.
Steve knows how to give presentations
It’s difficult to write an article about iconic Jobs moments without at least mentioning his product reveals. Below find our favorites.
Thanks to VentureBeat’s Jolie O’Dell for the top Photoshopped pic
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Discover our Briefings.


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Buick claims to solve age-old dilemma: Where to hide Xmas gifts
BUICK says its new luxury SUV has solved a problem that's flummoxed parents for generations - where to hide the Christmas gifts.
Sure the 2019 Enclave, which at US$53,000 boasts a V-6 engine and the "highest expression of Buick luxury", but what really matters is hidden - on purpose.
The SUV has loads of gift-stashing spots with "more than 3.75 cubic feet of hidden storage compartments" that are ideal to conceal plenty of toys, Buick said in a press release. That includes a large cargo hold under the rear of the vehicle plus a centre console with a "false floor", according to the company.
Buick, a division of General Motors Co, contends that this is neither a gimmick, nor solution in search of a problem. To legitimise just how big of an issue it's taking on, the company commissioned polling on the matter. Its survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, found that 82 per cent of the 1,000 parents queried said they have to find new hiding spots for gifts each year. And 60 per cent of those who hadn't used their vehicle as a hiding place before said they would if it had more storage. A quick Web search reveals that gift hiding has been thoroughly dissected by bloggers and parenting websites. There are YouTube videos and local TV news segments. Posts such as "Best Places to Hide Gifts That Really Work" are abundant.
Blogger Rachel Lynn writes on her site, Queen Bee of Honey Dos, to forget the underwear drawer and think about inside luggage, at a friend's house or your office. But more than anything she recommends getting inside a kid's head, even hiding presents in his or her closet. "When kids go on the hunt for presents, they never look in their own room," Ms Lynn writes. "You can take advantage of that."
Maybe Buick is onto something. Ms Lynn, a mother of two from Tennessee, also mentions cars as an ideal hiding spot - although she points out that many SUVs fall short in this regard. "If you are really concerned about your gifts being found, you can always take them with you wherever you go," she writes. "Hide them in the trunk of your car. If you have an SUV, this may not work, because the trunk is open for viewing." BLOOMBERG


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Ford agrees not to scrap classic car after pressure from enthusiasts
Ford has caused a stir after its dealership in Thurso, Scotland took in a 1959 Standard Ten Gold Star as part of its scrappage scheme. The rare classic was produced between 1954 and 1960 before the Triumph Herald took its place, and is therefore a rare sight on UK roads today.
The dealership initially intended to crush and recycle the car, but after a growing online campaign to save the Standard the dealership has relented and announced plans to help it avoid the scrapheap.
Tim Holmes, Ford UK's executive director, Communications & Public Affairs, now says that "we have been in discussion with Danny Hopkins, the editor of Practical Classics magazine, and we have found a solution that satisfies both the terms of our scrappage scheme and all the parties concerned".
According to The Telegraph, the car won the "Ladies Favourite" prize at the John O'Groats Classic Car Rally three years ago.
Under the terms of the scrappage scheme, the Ford will have to stay off the road, but one potential home is in a new museum being established in the region by the Scottish garage owner and classic car collector Edward Sutherland.
However, Hopkins is concerned that this might occur more often as scrappage schemes gain traction. He told the Telegraph: "What now needs to happen is that this argument is taken to the DVLA to get them to adopt a policy that any car with 'Historic' on its V5 is automatically exempt [from being scrapped].
"The historic vehicle industry is worth £5.5 billion per annum to UK PLC - a fact that makes an act of heritage vandalism such as this all the more extraordinary, especially from a car company.
"We are so lucky to have such a vibrant, passionate and active classic car movement in the UK, I am not surprised by the outrage that Ford's intransigence inspired."


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In an earlier blog I had recalled how when the NDA Government was in office the then Chief Whip of the Congress Party Shri Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi had cited the Planning Commission’s recommendation in favour of FDI in retail, and on that basis condemned the Vajpayee Government for contemplating this ‘anti-national’ move.
Arun Shourie as Minister of Commerce promptly stood up in Parliament to affirm that Government was not in favour of any such proposal.
At the Suraj Kund conclave of the BJP’s National Council, speaking on the Economic Resolution, my colleague Shri Venkaiah Naidu read out from a letter written by Dr. Manmohan Singh, at that point of time Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, to confirm this fact. Federation of Maharashtra Traders had conveyed their concern to him about this matter. In his letter dated December 21, 2002 Dr. Manmohan Singh said that the matter had been raised in the Rajya Sabha two days earlier. “The Finance Minister gave an assurance,” Dr. Manmohan Singh said approvingly, “that Government had no proposal to invite Foreign Direct Investment in Retail Trade.”
The letter from Federation of Associations of Maharashtra has attributed to Dr. Manmohan Singh an even more forthright criticism of FDI in retail. The letter written by Shri C.T. Shanghvi, Chairman, Foreign Trade Committee of the Federation, has said:
“Your honour would recall that during the year 2002-03 I had occasion to lead a delegation of the Federation of Associations of Maharashtra to meet your goodself as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, in connection with the important subject of FDI in retail trade of the country.
Even before we made our detailed submissions, you had categorically stated that ‘we should not permit Foreign Direct Investment in Retail Trade’. You had further mentioned that “India does not require this kind of reform which would, rather than creating employment, destroy employment”.
Shanghvi adds in the same letter :
We had briefed you, Sir, about the unfair trade practices such as (predatory pricing) adopted by the multinational retail chain stores organization to kill the competition by small retailers. Our delegation also drew your kind attention to the highly undesirable impact that has been felt by some of the Far Eastern Countries – Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia – who had erroneously permitted FDI in retail trade during the late 1990s.
Later, our delegation met you on a couple of occasions and submitted the details of our various representations to the concerned authorities on this subject. In view of the seriousness of this issue from the overall National angle, you had raised the subject in the Rajya Sabha on 18th/19th December 2002 and had obtained an assurance from the then Finance Minister that there was no proposal before the Government for permitting FDI in retail trade. Your letter addressed to the Federation in this regard is enclosed for ease of reference.
Many interesting comments have been made on the Prime Minister’s address to the nation in which defending his decision on FDI in Retail, he made the trite remark “money does not grow on trees.”
My colleague Jaswant Singh who is an ex-Army Officer has written an article for The Hindu (September 28, 2012) which recounts his conversation with his own tank-driver. I found Jaswant Singh’s article enlightening. The paragraph quoting the interaction with his driver may be very appropriate as tail piece for today’s blog. This is what Jaswant Singh says about the PM’s “rather admonitory” remark :
Just a day after this astonishing, also so unneeded, reprimand, I received a telephone call from a retired soldier colleague, who had served with me as my tank driver, sharing with me for many years my tank lean-to shelter at night. I save his name lest he be nagged by the otherwise inefficient Intelligence Bureau. “Sahib”, he said in his thick Shekhawati dialect and accent, “please educate the PM that money does actually grow on trees and plants; we get all our fruits, vegetables and animal feed and also firewood from a ‘tree’. So tell him to think of the farmers, not of the ‘foreigners’, who over two centuries back came as a company and took away our land. Not one ‘biswa’ (a measure of land) was left to us”. I promised him I would do so, but advised him not to disturb his retired life over such depressing thoughts, for just as our ‘dhabas’ defeated a rather cocky Colonel from Kentucky, US of A, India will defeat this, too. And not one word of this anecdote is made up.
01 October, 2012


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The hotel, operated until now by the owners under a franchise contract with brand Tryp by Wyndham, has 127 fully equipped rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, parking and gym and three meeting rooms.
The new hotel will be called Port Feria Valencia. With this operation, the hotel chain will double its offer in Valencia, since it also operates the Hotel Port Azafata Valencia, near the airport.
Port Hotels incorporated six non-holiday hotels in the last three years, all four star hotels, so as to consolidate its presence in the urban and the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) segments.
«The hotel segment’s good performance has attracted the interest of foreign and domestic investors who see in Valencia a destination with positive growing prospects, both in terms of leisure and meetings and congress tourism. In line with the trend of the last few years, hotel investment has turned towards destinations such as Valencia, encouraged by the signs of recovery and strength and a weaker competition from other more prime destinations such as Madrid, Malaga or Barcelona», explained the managing director of Hotels at Colliers International, Laura Hernando.
According to Colliers International, this transaction completes 11 hotel operations carried out in Valencia during this year. During the first ten months of 2019, more than 150 million euro were invested, which represents more than twice the total investment registered in 2018 (60 million euro).


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NFL sponsor sales begin in earnest Jack Daniel’s in lineup for NBA ASG Deal brings Ingenuity on board for ISC Company Watch: USWAG DC Solar plugs into PIR renovation MLBers go to the canvas for Majestic Emirates takes name off Open Series Details emerge on Monster’s NASCAR plans Papa John’s delivers NHRA and team deals Lefton Report: Time will tell
SBJ/June 23-29, 2014/Marketing and Sponsorship
Tennis’ Bouchard becomes face of Coke and Diet Coke in Canada
Published June 23, 2014, Page 8
Bouchard will be the face of Coke and Diet Coke in Canada, her home country, in a three-year deal. As part of the agreement, Bouchard will be integrated into advertising, retail activation and experiential marketing efforts for the brands.
The world’s No. 13-ranked player as of last week, Bouchard is viewed as an up-and-coming player who could become a marketing star on the WTA Tour.
She has existing deals with Nike, Babolat, Rogers Communications, USANA and Pinty’s foods.
Lagardère Unlimited represents her.
“Her demeanor both on and off the court embodies happiness and active, healthy living; and because of this, she is truly an inspiration to Canadians and a perfect fit for our company,” said Michael Samoszewski, vice president, sparkling business unit, Coca-Cola, in a statement included in a release due out this week.


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Marvel has announced its next slate of movies and streaming series. Among that list is The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which will be an original Disney+ series!
There will be a new Captain America in a new hero suit: Anthony Mackie will be taking over the iconic role.
Just announced in Hall H at #SDCC, Marvel Studios’ THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER, an original series with Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan and Daniel Brühl. Streaming exclusively on Disney+, Fall 2020. pic.twitter.com/FmFMKWUrhO
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 21, 2019
The series will also feature Sebastian Stan and Daniel Bruhl, who returns as Zemo.
It will stream exclusively on Disney+ in the fall of 2020!


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GM Says Chevrolet Volt Won't 'Pay the Rent' | Autopia from Wired.com
Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven
APRIL 16, 2009
Wired Home Subscribe Sections Cars 2.0 The Volt is, and always has been, more than than an electric car. Lutz, who retired earlier this year, called the car Detroits "moon shot" and an attempt to wrest the mantle of innovation back from the Japanese. GM will leapfrog Toyota and Honda by providing an electric car to the masses by the end of next year. The car is expected to cost around $40,000. I cant stand all these "GM killed the electric car" crap.


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, the world's No. 1 steelmaker, swung to a first-quarter profit of $679 million as output and shipments increased.
A year earlier, ArcelorMittal had a loss of $1.06 billion.
ArcelorMittal said first-quarter sales rose to $18.65 billion from $15.12 billion.
Steel production in the quarter was 23.1 million tons vs. 15.2 million tons a year earlier. The company shipped 21.5 million in the quarter compared with year-earlier shipments of 16 million tons.
"The economic recovery is continuing in-line with our expectations and 2010 is set to be a stronger year for ArcelorMittal," said Lakshmi Mittal, in a statement Thursday. "The year has started with improved demand in all main markets, which will have a positive impact in the second quarter."
on Tuesday posted a
for its first quarter and said it will return to profitability in the second period.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.
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SMALL CAP SHARE IDEAS: Data specialist IS Solutions sheltered from Brexit fears as 70% of business is dollar-based
One of the few green tickers amid the sea of red on the junior market on Monday was data specialist IS Solutions, which is soon to be renamed D4t4.
On any other day the results statement would have been greeted rather more enthusiastically than it actually was. The market makers edged the stock up an almost perfunctory 3 per cent.
Revenues advanced 45 per cent in the year ended March, leading to an underlying 187 per cent jump in pretax profits to £3.5million.
Growing: IS Solutions has developed its core strategy to progressively build a data analytics business
Cash generation – one of the litmus tests for a small, but growing business – was very strong and IS had £5million on the balance sheet, up from £900,000 a year ago.
This has allowed the company to boost the dividend payout 257 per cent to 2p a share.
That’s a yield of 1.7 per cent. Modest yes, but better than the majority of small-caps, which tend to consume investors’ money at a voracious rate.
‘This is a very exciting time for the business - over the last five years the IS Solutions historic model has developed its core strategy to progressively build a data analytics business,’ said chief executive Peter Kear.
‘Our new market focus brings together existing fields of expertise and new skills to create a comprehensive and cohesive range of data solutions.’
The interesting thing about IS, particularly as the markets digest Britain’s exit from the EU, is just how well positioned the company is.
IS Solutions at a Glance
Share price: 116p
Year high: 160p
‘Luckily for us nearly 70 per cent of our business is dollar-based. Very little of it is done in Europe,’ CEO Kear told Proactive Investors. ‘It [Brexit] is a worry, but not a major drag.’
IS’s expertise is credit risk, fraud and analytics and it is focused mainly on the financial and retail sectors.
A growing proportion of the pipeline is compliance-based, which means the services are ‘not a nice-to-have but a must have’, said Kear.
This in turn may help the company navigate a tricky period for small businesses, many of which are seeing (and will continue to see) projects cancelled until economic and political picture becomes clearer in the wake of last Thursday’s historic vote.
The step change at IS came with the £7.5million acquisition of software firm Celebrus Technologies, which cemented the company’s place in the world of analytics as well as providing a number of cross-selling opportunities.
‘We were lucky enough to buy them for a sensible price and that really augmented our transition into the data analytics market very nicely,’ said Kear.
‘It has been very successful for us. Our traditional data and analytics business has also had a fabulous year.’
Investors will note its recurring revenue base is growing thanks to the inclusion of Celebus. It stands at 27 per cent currently, but is expected grow by five percentage points in the next 12 months.
So what next; further acquisitions perhaps? Sensibly, Kear and his team will look to consolidate on the very solid base that has been built, while making a success of new product launches planned imminently.
‘If something [a takeover opportunity] came in that was absolutely ideal we would go for it,’ the IS chief executive said.
The company’s broker finnCap said today’s numbers comfortably beat its already upgraded forecasts for the 12 months to March.
Analyst Lorne Daniel sees revenues growing to around £21million in the current financial year, giving pretax profits of £4million.
His price target of 140p a share suggests IS should trading on a price to earnings multiple of around 16 times. The stock – currently changing hands for 116p – would have to advance a further 20 per cent to match that valuation.
‘With global growth in business intelligence and analytics, the group is now entirely focused on data collection and management, seeing strong demand in major projects from financial services and retailing industries and in dialogue on a number of new projects this year,’ said Daniel.
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Kroger joined the party...
One of the largest supermarket chains in the country is reportedly telling magazine distributors they will not carry a list of popular gun magazines moving forward.
Jim Shepherd with The Outdoor Wire reports that 57 specific publications are targeted for removal from Kroger’s racks with titles ranging from Guns & Ammo, and Firearm News, to Recoil and S.W.A.T. Shepherd points out that the move could be a nail in the coffin to already sluggish print sales for gun magazines.
“Simple answer: in many locations, grocery stores are essentially the only remaining newsstands of any size and comprehensive variety. They’re the single best link between publishers and their potential readers,” Shepherd said. “If your titles are removed, you lose the potential to reach those readers. Without those sites, your distribution universe is also diminished. Lower distribution means lower revenues and already-tight numbers become even more constricting.”
Read more here.


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Small enough to fit in your hand, but powerful enough to provide nearly 600 million rural villagers in Africa with light, and it costs just $5. This brilliant little gadget was designed and developed by solar company Yingli Europe and a UK industrial design agency for SolarAid, a charity which combats poverty and climate change in Africa with solar power.
The little solar-powered device, about the same size as a smartphone, provides more than five hours of constant bright light. It can be used on a stand as a traditional desk light, hung on the wall, or attached to a strap to use as a headlamp.
This $5 solar light, design named SM100, lets kids do their homework after dark, and farmers herd their cows or milk their goats before dawn without using a polluting kerosene lamp, with its dangers to health and potential fires.
SolarAid’s objectives were to provide a tough, durable and inexpensive solar light for use in rural Africa, which meets Lighting Africa standards and retails for $5 in Africa, to make electrical light more accessible to the 598 million people in Africa who lack access to electricity.
SolarAid already has distributed nine thousand SM100s in Uganda, Malawi and Zambia through SolarAid’s social enterprise, SunnyMoney, which sell lights via school networks and local enterprises.
Emergency light source
The small solar-powered device also makes sense for camping trips, and as an emergency light for storms.
Yingli Europe is a subsidiary of China’s Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, one of the world’s leading solar panel manufacturers.
British-based SolarAid sells the SM100 for £10 in the UK, providing SolarAid with the funds to distribute two more SM100 lights in Africa for every one that is bought in the UK.
Don’t fret if you live outside the UK. Residents of the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada can donate in local currency, and residents of European Union countries can donate in Euros.
Spread some light today. Donate here.
“When I first started at SolarAid 10 years ago the lights we sold in Africa were $25 each. Over the last 10 years prices have come down and now SolarAid is proud to be launching what we believe is the world’s most affordable solar light on the market,” said Nick Sireau, CEO of SolarAid.
Yingli has committed to support SolarAid in their important mission to eradicate the kerosene lamp. “The SM100 will provide safe light to millions more families who live currently on less than 1.25$ per day. Not only will the lamp save lives but also support children’s’ education at home in the dark evenings and saving families money by avoiding the purchase of air polluting kerosene,” said Darren Thompson, Managing Director of Yingli Europe.
“We are pleased to provide SolarAid with a durable high quality solar light at the lowest price point possible that will help to transform the quality of life for millions of people that live without electricity. At Yingli we stand behind our mission – Affordable Green Energy for All.”
images courtesy SolarAid


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Bloomberg Línea — “There was a lot speak concerning the new regular, however what we see is the previous regular again: once they wish to relaxation, individuals purchase a bundle and go to a seashore within the northeast, a mountain within the south. or a Disney park with the children in Florida.” so Leonel Andrade, CVC CEO (CVCB3), the biggest tourism firm within the nation, described the habits of the sector’s demand with the weakening of the pandemic, in an interview Bloomberg Line.
Brazilians’ plans to journey overseas after two and a half years of mobility restrictions and closed borders have exploded. CVC reported a 315% improve in confirmed bookings for worldwide locations within the second quarter in comparison with the earlier yr. In June alone, 9 out of ten bookings went to locations overseas, one of many principal ones being Argentina.
Gross sales to the neighboring nation have been favored by the native financial disaster, which made the Argentine peso way more devalued towards the true and made purchases extra inexpensive. Bookings for the legacy vacation spot grew greater than 320% within the second quarter on a year-over-year foundation.
“Tourism has come again with a bang and can proceed to take action. I feel 2023 would be the yr we will have an equal or higher efficiency than 2019, earlier than the pandemic”, projected the CEO.
In response to him, even the company journey phase is beginning to get better. Each confirmed and consumed bookings have been up 30% within the second quarter on the margin (in comparison with the primary three months of the yr) and round 140% in comparison with the identical interval in 2021.
One other problem for CVC might be to enhance monetary indicators, particularly debt. Within the second quarter, gross debt totaled R$891 million. It was down from R$1 billion in March with the redemption of R$100 million of a bond on the finish of June – the operator lately raised R$403 million in a secondary share providing (continued ), allocating a big a part of the sources for the consolidation of the working capital and exactly the cost of the bonds.
CVC CEO stated the scenario is manageable. “The nice factor is that there’s credit score for the corporate and the expansion of revenue is quicker than that of bills..” Many of the gross debt, equal to R$665 million, will mature within the second quarter of 2023.
Deleveraging is without doubt one of the principal considerations of buyers and analysts, which is partially mirrored in share costs. The collected decline this yr is near 50% and is the fifth-worst performer among the many 92 belongings that make up the Ibovespa – which is up greater than 6% over the interval.
The chief says that cultural and sporting occasions scheduled for the tip of the yr, significantly Rock in Rio (2-11 September), the Components 1 GP in São Paulo (13 November) and the World Cup in Qatar (20 November – 18 December), ought to to speed up the tempo of income progress.
Not that restoration would not occur. The corporate recorded an growth of greater than 100% in some operational indicators: there was, for instance, a 124% improve in confirmed bookings in comparison with the identical interval in 2021, amounting to three.8 billion lei.
Internet revenue elevated by 133.5% in 12 months. “We had a internet revenue of R$ 270 million, benefiting from the very best second out there,” Andrade stated.
The revenues got here from the operation of just about 1,100 franchised shops. “It isn’t our intention to function shops. We solely have 5 or seven models of our personal [o balanço aponta 16]which can be in transition, that means when the franchisee goes out of enterprise or dies, then we take over the shop,” stated the CEO.
The method of digitizing shops ought to advance this semester. In October, CVC plans to launch a single digital gross sales platform, based on the chief.
“Shops may have a single, easier-to-use cost platform. We’re nicely positioned within the digital viewers recreation with our distinctive in-app and in-store platform,” Andrade stated.
What analysts say
Available in the market, the prevailing view is that CVC is attempting to scale back leverage and stabilize its money forward of the above-mentioned maturity of payables, whereas bundle journey demand stays loaded even in a excessive inflation situation and rates of interest.
“CVC ought to be one of many principal beneficiaries of the financial reopening, whereas exploiting its sturdy long-term relationships with the fragmented lodge trade and airways within the B2B phase,” stated analysts Luiz Guanais, Gabriel Disselli, Victor Rogatis and Luiz Temporini , from the Fairness Analysis workforce at BTG Pactual (BPAC11), in a report back to shoppers.
“However we nonetheless see huge challenges and volatility (alignment between franchisee base and progress and on-line competitors with OTAs), whereas the present capital construction remains to be a priority, making this a thesis of riskier reopening,” they mused.
“There are indicators that CVC is recovering. The corporate was capable of double bundle costs and income within the second quarter from a yr earlier,” TradeMap analyst Sérgio Castro stated in a observe.
He warned, nonetheless, that Ebitda (earnings earlier than curiosity, tax, depreciation and amortization) was just about zero within the interval as a result of rising working prices and bills.
“The approaching debt maturities can be much less of an issue if the corporate had a great means to generate money – which it would not,” warns Castro.
In simply two of the previous seven quarters, CVC has managed to generate sufficient income to cowl working prices, based on analyst TradeMap, citing the influence they’d on decreased flights and worldwide journey on the peak of the pandemic. operations..
“The corporate will doubtless attempt to increase capital from the market to satisfy debt funds, both by promoting new shares or issuing debt. Nonetheless, these exits contain dangers for shareholders. With a brand new share providing, the stake they’ve within the firm could also be diluted,” he stated.
Moreover, based on Castro, if money technology stays weak, the corporate can solely postpone fixing the solvency downside by swapping previous debt for brand new debt.
In a Financial institution of America (BAC) report on CVC’s stability sheet, analysts cited longer instances to acquire visas for vacationers in common locations comparable to america, in addition to shortages of crew and assist workers at some abroad airports. a further influence on the worldwide journey phase.
However the US financial institution identified that the CVC operation in Argentina noticed “distinctive” progress in reserves (+38.2% quarter-on-quarter and +300% year-on-year).
Learn it too
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Demand for jets and luxurious vehicles is rising in Brazil and attracting trade giants


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|Bid||123.98 x 1400|
|Ask||124.05 x 800|
|Day's Range||121.20 - 124.85|
|52 Week Range||53.15 - 145.09|
|Beta (5Y Monthly)||1.27|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||32.89|
|Earnings Date||Apr 28, 2021 - May 03, 2021|
|Forward Dividend & Yield||0.82 (0.68%)|
|Ex-Dividend Date||Feb 05, 2021|
|1y Target Est||151.75|
There are many critics of corporate stock buybacks, but Warren Buffett is certainly not one of them.
The interview was conduced on Clubhouse, which founder Paul Davidson says is receiving an Android app
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) took home most of the 78th Golden Globe awards on Sunday night, highlighting the dominance of subscription video-on-demand or SVOD platforms during a year that was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. What Happened: Combined, the two studios won 15 of the awards presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association or HFPA in a show hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Netflix won 10 Golden Globe awards out of its 42 nominations. The streaming service dominated in television, winning awards for the best television series in the drama category for “The Crown”, and best miniseries or television film for “The Queens Gambit”. “The Crown” won four of its six nominations. Disney won a total of five awards. “Nomadland” won the award for the best dramatic motion picture, while its director Chloe Zhao became only the second woman to take home the Golden Globe for the best director. Among other streaming service providers, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Prime Video won two awards. “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” won the Golden Globe for the best motion picture – musical or comedy, and Sacha Baron Cohen won the best actor award for his performance in the film. See Also: Apple Has 'No Excuse' To Be Trailing In SVOD Space, Netflix Co-Founder Says While Praising Disney Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) Apple TV+ won its first Golden Globe award, with “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis winning the award for the best actor in a television series -musical or comedy. Why It Matters: SVODs, including Netflix and Disney Plus, have emerged as big winners amid the pandemic. The closure of theaters and people being forced to stay at home due to coronavirus-induced lockdowns resulted in huge demand for online streaming services. Both Netflix and Disney Plus now boast of having millions of subscribers globally. Price Movement: Netflix closed 1.4% lower on Friday at $538.85, while Disney closed 1% lower at $189.04. On the same day, Amazon shares closed 1.2% higher at $3,092.93 and Apple shares closed 0.2% higher at $121.26. Read Next: Apple Not Acquiring Netflix The 'Biggest Strategic Mistake' Jobs, Cook Made In Last Decade, Says Analyst See more from BenzingaClick here for options trades from BenzingaApple And Kia Electric Vehicle Talks Haven't Fallen Apart, Report SaysApple To Hike Dividends, Tim Cook Says© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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The State’s medical devices regulator has said one of the most commonly used Covid-19 rapid antigen tests should be removed from the shelves after hundreds of users complained about false positive results.
The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) was acting on reports from medical professionals and members of the public over the performance of the Genrui antigen test.
Many reported testing negative on a PCR test or an antigen test from another manufacturer after testing positive using the Genrui kit.
The regulator has received more than 550 complaints from consumers since The Irish Times first highlighted the issue this week.
The HPRA said in a statement on Wednesday that retailers were removing the product from sale on a voluntary basis pending further investigation.
It said: “The rapid rise in the number of reports of false positive results relating to the Genrui self-test is significant and a precautionary removal from sale is warranted while the matter is further investigated by the manufacturer [Genrui Biotech] and its European representative.”
Responding to the issues raised in Ireland, a Genrui Biotech spokesman said antigen self-test kits "cannot be used alone for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection" and should be combined with other information, such as a PCR test, to determine whether a user is infected.
He defended the performance of the kits, saying it complies with all relevant quality standards and safety requirements.
The accuracy of test results depends on a variety of factors, including standardised sampling, the time of result interpretation, ambient temperature and operating procedures, he said. “Users are advised to strictly follow the instructions to reduce the possibility of inaccurate results.”
Genrui Biotech said it was working closely with local agents in Ireland to “actively investigate” the product batches which were the subject of complaints here.
"We are also maintaining active communication with users who submit queries to us to ensure the proper handling of the related issues," a spokesman for the company, based in Shenzhen, China, told The Irish Times.
The HPRA does not approve antigen tests on sale in Ireland, but kits sold in the EU must conform with EU legislation and have been certified by an approved body in one of the member states.
The Genrui brand is sold in supermarkets such as Dunnes Stores and Lidl.
They are marked CE1434, indicating they were certified by the Polish Centre for Testing and Certification.
It has not received “negative feedback from the market” about the test, a spokeswoman said, but will take appropriate action if it receives official notification from a supervisory body.
Large numbers of people had taken to social media in recent days to say their positive result using the Genrui test was not confirmed when they went for a PCR test.
Some of the complaints related to the interpretation of a faint upper line on the test. Genrui, in the instruction leaflet included in every kit, advises users to “look very closely” as the control and test lines on the kit, as the T line (test) can be very faint.
“Any pink/purple here indicates a positive result,” the leaflet states.


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G.M. Recalling 750,000 Cars
Published: October 28, 1988
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27— The General Motors Corporation has begun recalling nearly 750,000 1984-model cars and trucks bearing Chevrolet, Pontiac and G.M.C. nameplates to replace a defective switch in the pollution control system, the Environmental Protection Agency said today. A defective switch can cause excessive emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned gasoline. The models affected are the Chevrolet Impala, Caprice Classic, Camaro, Monte Carlo and El Camino; the Pontiac Firebird, Bonneville, Grand Prix and Parisienne and the G.M.C. Caballero.


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Published 08 February 2014
Environmentalists and a variety of anti-GM groups have launched a very visible campaign to discredit GM foods by claiming that they pose health risks. But do they?
The full article is available here.
This book offers an insight into how GM crops can be useful in solving the current and future issues facing agriculture.
How to make farmed salmon into vegetarians
Katarzyna Jasik, Communications Manager of Ag Biotech at EuropaBio, answers the question.
Environment NGOs often cast doubt about the safety of GMOs but do their claims about the lack of scientific consensus on the safety of genetically modified products stand up?


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Samsung Pay makes its India debut
Digital payments app, Samsung Pay, has been launched in India. Access is limited to those who signed up for the early access programme and available only on its mid-segment and flagship Samsung Galaxy devices.
The app uses magnetic secure transmission (MST) and near-field communication (NFC) technologies, and supports cards by major banks in India such as Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and Standard Chartered.
Support for American Express and Citibank cards is also on the cards.
Elsewhere, Samsung Pay is on its way to Sweden, with the help of Nordea Bank.
UPDATE 22 March 2017
The early access programme is over and Samsung Pay is now officially launched in India. At present, it works with seven banks in the country – AMEX, Axis Bank, Citi, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Standard Chartered.
By Soumik Roy, editorial contributor to Banking Technology


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- ACH upgrade expected to reduce processing errors, improving turnaround time
- New standard to enable real-time analytics and data analysis
Nairobi…March 3, 2023: Bank customers are expected to access faster clearing services for cheques, direct debits and electronic funds transfers following an upgrade of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) to the ISO 20022 standard. The ACH is established to facilitate transfer of payments.
Announcing the system upgrade earlier today, banking industry umbrella body, Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), said the new standard is expected to facilitate a reduction in processing errors, improving turnaround times in Electronic Funds Transfers.
KBA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Habil Olaka said the transition is part of efforts by the Association to continuously improve the payments system infrastructure and providing more efficient and robust systems in line with the National Payments System strategy and vision.
‘’This transition also resonates with the Kenya Bankers Association Strategic Plan for the period 2019 to 2023, which seeks to facillitate acess to efficient and affordable financial services through enhanced technological innovation and sector-wide efficiency programs.I have no doubt that the new sytem will significantly improve clearing services for cheques, Direct Debits and Electronic Funds Transfers in the country. The new standard will also provide enhanced payments insights, supporting banks’ risk managenment initiatives and informing policy decisions towards promoting a responsive financial sector,’’ said Dr. Olaka.
Central Bank of Kenya noted that the transition is a major milestone for the ACH and the entire payments community in Kenya, adding that the upgrade is in line with global efforts to adopt and domesticate the ISO20022 Standard on financial messaging. ‘’The aim of this process is to have a standard across the world that will increase the consistency and richness of structured data for transactions, thereby enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of payment services,’’ said CBK in a statement.
In addition, the industry regulator indicated that the transition to the ISO20022 Standard will bring major improvements to customers and institutions in the ACH, noting that it is in line with the National Payments Strategy 2022 – 2025 that was launched in February 2022. ‘’The Strategy is anchored on the vision “a secure, fast, efficient and collaborative payments system that supports financial inclusion and innovations that benefit Kenyans,’’ said CBK.
The move to the new standard is designed to unlock opportunities for banks and other financial sector players, providing improvements in operational efficiency, enhancing customer experience, better Know Your Customer (KYC) information exchange as well as providing a platform that will enable tighter payments integration and innovative new services.
Introduced in 1998 through partnership between KBA and Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the ACH is established to facilitate the exchange and settlement of payment instruments such as cheques and Electronic Funds Transfers between Commercial banks.
The ISO 20022 upgrade succeeds enhancements conducted on the platform in 2019, centralizing banks’ direct debit instructions and automating mandate applications. It also follows the 2019 inclusion of remitter details on all payment instructions, enabling banks to immediately identify the payment instrument payee or remitter, shortening turnaround times while mitigating disputed transactions and fraud.
Mr. Fidelis Muia, KBA Technical Services Director, said the ISO 20022 upgrade is the next milestone, where the banking industry is now adopting a fully international standard, enabling integration to any payments system in the world.
‘’This brings Kenya to the level of any international standard in terms of payments within the clearing house and other payments streams that will be in future implemented in the Kenya payments system’’, he said.
Sybrin Kenya Operations Director Mr. Joe Kiragu noted that the ISO 20022 standard will offer global interoperability.’’ The Kenya ACH will now be able to integrate with any ACH globally and any payments system out there, ‘’ he said.
Currently, local currency cheques clear on a T+1 cycle with value available to the payee one day after the cheque is presented by the paying bank to the Automated Clearing House. Foreign currency cheques previously cleared on a seven-work day cycle, which has now been reduced by five days to T+2 or two days after the cheque is presented in the ACH.
About the Kenya Bankers Association:
KBA (www.kba.co.ke) was founded on 16th July 1962. Today, KBA is the financial sector’s leading advocacy group and banking industry umbrella body that represents total assets in excess of USD 60 billion. KBA has evolved and broadened its function to include advocacy on behalf of the banking industry and championing financial sector development through strategic projects such as the launch of the industry’s first P2P digital payments platform PesaLink. In line with the Government’s policy on public-private partnerships, KBA and Central Bank of Kenya have implemented key projects such as modernization of the National Payments System through the Automated Clearing House, implementing the Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS), and the Kenya Credit Information Sharing Initiative. The KBA members are comprised of commercial banks and deposit taking microfinance banks. For more information, visit www.kba.co.ke.
Director, Communications and Public Affairs


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The culture of waste at the beleaguered Co-operative Group was laid bare as its 2013 results were published.
Interim chief executive Richard Pennycook described the performance as a “disaster”.
The parlous state of the group’s finances sparked panic over job cuts and the future of the business in towns and cities across the UK.
Most of the losses stem from “discontinued operations” of its banking arm, but the Co-op also has food, funeral, pharmacy and insurance businesses.
Mr Pennycook said the group had become bloated and now needed wholesale reform if “inexorable decline” is to be avoided.
Had the bank not been rescued by bondholders in December, British taxpayers would have been left with a £5billion bill.
He said: “2013 was a disastrous year for the Co-operative Group. The results demonstrate that but they also highlight fundamental failings in management and governance at the group over many years.
These results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who doubts just how serious the challenges we face are
“These results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who doubts just how serious the challenges we face are.”
The boss painted a picture of staggering mismanagement and chaotic governance at the top of the group which meant its own board was unaware of its debt mountain or that it was paying for 650 properties it did not need – the size of some national retail chains.
The business will now embark on an aggressive £300million cost-cutting drive in a attempt to return it to heath. It plans to open 100 new convenience stores this year as it switches its attention to servicing towns and villages.
The ill-fated takeover of the Somerfield supermarket chain in 2008 burdened the group with a number of very large stores – 60 per cent of which will now be sold.
Mr Pennycook said the Co-op’s grocery arm would be forced to become more “price competitive” as retailers like Aldi and Lidl continue to attract tens of thousands of new customers. No new staff will be hired.
He added: “What we have found is a period of poor performance from management. The last five years in our proud 150-year history have been very difficult.
“It was not just an accident at the bank."
The group lost full ownership of Co-operative Bank after the owners of its debt had to bail it out when it uncovered £1.5billion of unexpected losses.
Yesterday’s results come a week after the Co-op’s banking operation reported pre-tax losses of £1.3billion for 2013.
Group chairman Ursula Lidbetter said: “During 2013, it became apparent that our governance had fallen far short of the standards to which we aspire as a co-operative society.
“Now is the time to put that right through fundamental reform – we have to act with urgency if we are to lay the foundations for a stronger, healthier co-operative business in the future.”


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One of every five beauty purchases online is made via the Amazon marketplace, according to a new report.
Web-based sales at Sharper Image grew 42% in March vs. March a year ago, reaching $5.7 million, the company reports. Total revenue grew 37%.
Web-based sales at Sharper Image Corp. grew 42% in March vs. March a year ago, reaching $5.7 million, the company reports. The web in March accounted for 13.8% of companywide revenue, up from 13.3% a year ago. Total revenue grew 37% to $41.1 million.
Sharper Image in March repeated its performance of growth across all channels: Catalog sales were up 42% to $12.2 million, store sales were up 33% to $23.3 million and comparable store sales were up 20%.
For the first two months of the fiscal year, total sales increased 35% to $77.2 million; Internet sales were up 41% to $10.7 million; catalog sales, up 32% to $22.7 million; store sales, up 36% to $43.8 million; and comparable store sales up 22%.
"These solid sales gains continue the momentum we`ve enjoyed through last year and the first month of this fiscal year,” said Richard Thalheimer, founder, chairman and chief executive officer.


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Airlines optimistic on cargo volumes
02 / 03 / 2015
The majority of airline cargo bosses expect volumes to expand over the year ahead.
The latest IATA confidence index survey found that the results for cargo were “positive” and reflect “important developments in the demand environment”.
Respondents among the heads of cargo reported growth in air freight volumes over recent months, which is consistent with freight data and the resumption in growth in business confidence and world trade volumes.
“The outlook for cargo volumes remains positive, with 56% of respondents expecting an increase in demand over the next 12 months,” said IATA
Cargo yields were reported to have declined at a slightly slower pace in the second quarter of 2014, compared to a year ago, and the outlook for cargo yields for the next 12 months has improved.
While a majority of cargo respondents said they expect no change during the year ahead (57 per cent), an increasing proportion (31 per cent)) believes there will be a rise in yields.


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SINGAPORE/U.S – Scientists have developed a ‘smart’ food packaging material that is biodegradable, sustainable and kills microbes that are harmful to humans thus extending the shelf-life of products by two to three days.
The invention is the result of the collaboration by scientists from the NTU-Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Initiative for Sustainable Nanotechnology (NTU-Harvard SusNano), which brings together NTU, Singapore and Harvard Chan School , U.S, researchers to work on cutting edge applications in agriculture and food, with an emphasis on developing non-toxic and environmentally safe nanomaterials.
The water-proof food packaging is made from a type of corn protein called zein, starch and other naturally derived biopolymers, infused with a cocktail of natural antimicrobial compounds. These include oil from thyme, a common herb used in cooking, and citric acid, which is commonly found in citrus fruits.
In lab experiments, when exposed to an increase in humidity or enzymes from harmful bacteria, the fibres in the packaging have been shown to release the natural antimicrobial compounds, killing common dangerous bacteria that contaminate food, such as E. Coli and Listeria, as well as fungi.
The packaging is designed to release the necessary miniscule amounts of antimicrobial compounds only in response to the presence of additional humidity or bacteria. This ensures that the packaging can endure several exposures, and last for months.
As the compounds combat any bacteria that grow on the surface of the packaging as well as on the food product itself, it has the potential to be used for a large variety of products, including ready-to-eat foods, raw meat, fruits, and vegetables.
In an experiment, strawberries that were wrapped in the packaging stayed fresh for seven days before developing mould, compared to counterparts that were kept in mainstream fruit plastic boxes, which only stayed fresh for four days.
“The packaging can be applied to various produces such as fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits. The smart release of antimicrobials only when bacteria or high humidity is present, provides protection only when needed thus minimizing the use of chemicals and preserving the natural composition of foods packaged,” Mary Chan, Study Co-Lead, Professor and Director, Center of Antimicrobial Bioengineering, Nanyang Technological University.
The development of this advanced food packaging material is part of the University’s efforts to promote sustainable food tech solutions, that is aligned with the NTU 2025 strategic plan, which aims to develop sustainable solutions to address some of humanity’s pressing grand challenges.
This invention would serve as a better option for packaging in the food industry, as it has demonstrated superior antimicrobial qualities in combatting a myriad of food-related bacteria and fungi that could be harmful to humans.
Professor Philip Demokritou, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health at Harvard Chan School who co-led the study noted that food safety and waste have become a major societal challenge with immense public health and economic impact which compromises food security.
Innovation to promote sustainable agri-food systems
The Professor who is also the Director of Nanotechnology and Nanotoxicology Center and Co-director of NTU-Harvard Initiative on Sustainable Nanotechnology, pointed out that one of the most efficient ways to enhance food safety and reduce spoilage and waste is to develop efficient biodegradable non-toxic food packaging materials.
“In this study, we used nature-derived compounds including biopolymers, non-toxic solvents, and nature-inspired antimicrobials and developed scalable systems to synthesize smart antimicrobial materials which can be used not only to enhance food safety and quality but also to eliminate the harm to the environment and health and reduce the use of non-biodegradable plastics at global level and promote sustainable agri-food systems,” he said.
Providing an independent assessment of the work done by the NTU research team, Mr. Peter Barber, CEO of ComCrop, a Singapore company that pioneered urban rooftop farming, said the NTU-Harvard Chan School food packaging material would serve as a sustainable solution for companies like ComCrop who want to cut down on the usage of plastic and embrace greener alternatives.
“As ComCrop looks to ramp up product to boost Singapore’s food production capabilities, the volume of packaging we need will increase in sync, and switching to a material such as this would help us have double the impact. The wrapping’s antimicrobial properties, which could potentially extend the shelf life of our vegetables, would serve us well. The packaging material holds promise to the industry, and we look forward to learning more about the wrapping and possibly adopting it for our usage someday,” he outlined.
The team of NTU and Harvard Chan School researchers hope to scale up their technology with an industrial partner, with the aim of commercialization within the next few years.
They are also currently working on developing other technologies to develop biopolymer-based smart food package materials to enhance food safety and quality.


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Electric scooters are a more and more familiar sight on streets and footpaths in Sydney and across New South Wales. They are being sold at stores like JB Hi‑Fi and even at the local Big W, which sells one for just $169. The global electric scooter market was worth a whopping $25 billion in 2019. Cities across the world are rushing to regulate e‑scooters and incorporate them into their transport mix. But what are we doing here? Nothing, because apparently the transport Minister is not in the mood to do anything about them. People are rushing to buy electric scooters for a number of reasons. They are a cheap, quick and effortless ride around our city and suburbs, taking much less effort than cycling, which riders do not even need a shower at the beginning of the work day.
E‑scooters are cost effective and good for the environment, with one retailer arguing that the cost of fuelling an electric scooter is a little more than 1 per cent of the cost of fuelling an energy‑efficient car. That is creating less emissions. E‑scooters are a game changer in solving what is called "the first and last mile problem". Members know that if it is a bit too far to walk to the train station or bus stop, or too far at the other end, people are likely to get in their car. By helping people get to their local public transport stop, e‑scooters help reduce congestion on our already choked streets. The cost of congestion in our city is going to hit $15.9 billion by 2031, so getting people out of their cars is critical to the future of our city.
E‑scooters are great at reducing pressure on parking, as well. In fact, the technology used to power and manage e‑scooters is rapidly evolving so that scooter companies can geofence scooters from neighbourhoods where they are not wanted and retrieve discarded or illegally parked scooters. Most importantly, though, they are fun. One resident wrote to me recently and said:
E‑scooters are a fun, funky and fresh way of getting around – they can be quite zippy too!
The significant question left to answer is whether they are safe and how to regulate them properly. Of course, the best way to do that is via a trial. Under current rules, e‑scooters cannot be registered as a vehicle and can only be ridden on private property. They can be sold under the Federal Motor Vehicle Standards (Road Vehicles) Determination 2017, in which they are classified as "not road vehicles".
Because there are no safety standards for e‑scooters at the Federal level, it is up to the States to regulate them. The roads Minister in New South Wales would have to offer an exemption to the rule, similar to the exemptions offered for motorised wheelchairs, ride‑on lawn mowers, golf carts and electric bikes. Regulation of e‑scooters is complex and involves nutting out safety, insurance and licensing issues. To the Government's credit, at one stage it looked like it was on course to solve some of those problems. A trial of electric scooters was due to commence on the northern beaches in January 2019, but just before the election then roads Minister Melinda Pavey decided it was not a good idea. Under pressure from some within his own Government, new roads Minister Andrew Constance decided to create the Electric Scooter Advisory Working Group.
The working group included hand‑picked representatives from emergency services, the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, the NRMA, the Office of Local Government and other key stakeholders—a worthy group. It worked through the issues and late last year released a set of parameters for a trial of electric scooters. It proposed that riders have a driver licence. It also proposed geofencing; a 20‑kilometre maximum speed limit, except for when on shared paths; exclusion from footpaths and riding at night; and a trial of only commercially owned scooters, not privately owned scooters. Recently in budget estimates the Minister declared that he is not in the mood for a trial. Again he junked the idea, despite the fact that there was an agreed set of parameters from his hand‑picked working group. Frankly, that is a lazy, irresponsible decision. He is putting the lives of countless people who are riding electric scooters at risk by failing to trial and regulate them properly.
I am not the only one who is voicing this view. There is broad support for a trial, including from local councils, business groups and residents. The Productivity Commission's own green paper recommends regulating personal mobility devices, including e-scooters. Even that modern Liberal Dave Sharma says that the Government's resistance to e-scooters is unfathomable. Many States across our country, including Victoria and Queensland, and the Territories have worked out how to regulate e-scooters. With electric scooters becoming more popular every day, a trial to find the safest way to add them to our transport mix is critical. Without becoming too alarmist about it, I ask the Minister whether he is prepared to face the family of someone killed on one of these devices and say that he just was not in the mood to work out how to make them safe. We need a trial to find the safest way to regulate electric scooters before the worst happens. It is time the Minister got on with it.


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Samsung SDI Energy Malaysia Invests RM7 Billion For Its First EV Battery Cell Manufacturing Facility In Malaysia
Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, 21 July 2022 – Samsung SDI Energy Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (“Samsung SDIEM”) scored a significant milestone today with the opening of its Phase Two EV battery cell manufacturing facility in Seremban. The cumulative RM7 billion investment (Phase One: RM1 billion and Phase Two: RM6 billion), is injected by the company in opening its first production location in Southeast Asia and the first EV battery cell facility in Malaysia.
The momentous ground-breaking ceremony was graced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Y.A.B. Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, as well as Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri Haji Aminuddin Bin Harun, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Malaysia His Excellency Lee Chi Beom, together with Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Investment Development) of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) Ms. Lim Bee Vian, and President and CEO of Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. (South Korea).Mr. Yoon Ho Choi.
Since 1991, parent company Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. (South Korea) has stamped its footprint in Malaysia, starting off with the manufacturing of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) under Samsung Electron Devices (SEDM). SEDM later changed its name to Samsung SDIEM, embarking on Lithium-Ion Cell manufacturing in September 2011 until May 2022, where Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. (South Korea) invested a total of RM2.8 billion. In return, over RM2.5 billion of annual export was generated, creating 2,500 Malaysian workforce through Samsung SDIEM.
Catering to the worldwide demand of electric vehicles, Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. invested an additional RM7 billion in Malaysia, setting up and operating an EV battery cell manufacturing plant at Samsung SDIEM.
In his officiating speech, the Prime Minister said: “I take this opportunity to congratulate Samsung SDIEM on its success for the opening of its second factory and an increase in investment of RM7 billion. With the construction of this new factory, it will create 1,300 job opportunities for “Rakyat Malaysia”. I appreciate the role played by Samsung SDIEM in developing the industry based on green technology. This is in line with the goals of the country to achieve a zero-carbon nation as early as 2050 as stated in the 12th Malaysia Plan strategy”.
Commending the company’s expansion as having strategic impact on the regional front, Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) YB. Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali remarked “Samsung SDIEM’s expansion aligns with the National Automotive Policy 2020 (NAP 2020) which addresses growing trends within the industry, thereby positioning Malaysia as the regional leader in the manufacturing, engineering, technology and sustainable development of the automotive sector. The opening of this assembly facility in Negeri Sembilan will benefit more Malaysian talents, especially high-skilled engineers in terms of capacity building as the company expands their footprint in the ASEAN region.”
Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Dato’ Seri Haji Aminuddin reiterated “The State Government has always encouraged the entry of new quality, high-tech and high-impact investments, such as Samsung SDIEM to drive strong economic growth, especially in Negeri Sembilan, as outlined in the Negeri Sembilan Integrated Concept Master Plan 2021-2045. The State Government also applies the concept of investor -friendly policy in attracting new investment / expansion through INVEST NS and every new investment project will always be facilitated to simplify the affairs of each project that invests in Negeri Sembilan. During the period of 2017 to 2021, the Negeri Sembilan Government managed to increase the momentum of total investment in the state where:
Year 2017 – RM 1.41 billion
Year 2018 – RM 2.86 billion
Year 2019 – RM 3.68 billion
Year 2020 –RM 7.93 billion, is the highest achievement in the history of 10 years, and
Year 2021-RM 5.76 billion, a decrease due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On this occasion, I would also like to thank MIDA for always helping and working with the State Government to ensure that Negeri Sembilan is always the destination of choice for investors.”
In hailing the investment as a milestone for the automotive industry, Chief Executive Officer of MIDA Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman said, “This investment represents the confidence of multinational companies in Malaysia. We are honoured to have Samsung SDIEM to venture into high value investment in Malaysia. MIDA is constantly looking for opportunities to collaborate and facilitate growth plans of such impactful companies that continue to bring advanced technology and further elevate the EV industry and its ecosystem in the country.”
Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Malaysia, His Excellency Lee Chi Beom, commended Samsung SDI’s decision to continue investing in Malaysia and remarked that this is indeed a significant moment for both nations in further nurturing its robust bilateral relationship.
In his welcoming speech, President and CEO of Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. (South Korea) Mr. Yoon Ho Choi said, “All at Samsung SDI are working hard towards the goal to solidify our position as a Global Top Tier Company by 2030. If Samsung SDI is lucky enough to tap into our partners’ competitiveness in addition to the support by the Malaysian Government, we will be able to reach our goal much quicker than planned”.
In seeking active support from the Malaysian Government, including securing and nurturing local talents as well as early stabilisation for a successful factory construction and operation, he assured that Samsung SDI would comply with safety and basic compliance during construction of projects as well as actively engage in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management to pre-emptively respond to climate change.
Malaysia is the third largest automotive market in ASEAN, making the automotive industry a critical and burgeoning component of the country’s manufacturing sector. There are currently 28 manufacturing and assembly plants in Malaysia producing motor vehicles (passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, and scooters); and a huge pool of manufacturers of automotive parts and components. The automotive ecosystem also encompasses research and design, product and process development, materials management, and after-sales services.
MIDA is the government’s principal investment promotion and development agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments into the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, MIDA has 12 regional and 20 overseas offices. MIDA continues to be the strategic partner to businesses in seizing the opportunities arising from the technology revolution of this era. For more information, please visit www.mida.gov.my and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube channel.
About Samsung SDI
Samsung SDI is a manufacturer of rechargeable batteries for the IT industry, automobiles and energy storage systems (ESS), as well as cutting-edge materials used to produce semiconductors and displays. Our executive managers and staff members focus efforts to develop the next generation’s growth drivers in order to secure Samsung SDI’s place as a creative leader in the energy and cutting-edge materials industry.
Mr. Nazuki Abdullah
Director, Transportation Technology Division, MIDA
Email: [email protected] | DL: + 603- 2267 6688
Mr. Satiaseelan Muniandi
Email: [email protected] | Tel: + 06-6701707


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The Gretel A9 is one of the few 5-inch phones getting launched in the past months, if not years. While being smaller than its competition …
The guys over at Ulefone show use what we can do with their recently released Ulefone Metal in a video. Let’s check it out!
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If you have been active in the wonderful and exciting world of Chinese phones for a while, you will know that there are manufacturers who surprise on …
Earlier this week we broke news of two new large battery THL phones about to go on sale, more details have now surfaced giving full specifications for the phones.
The slender JiaYu S2 smartphone from JiaYu is currently winging its way to the GizChina offices, here are a few new additional details.
JiaYu fans! JiaYu have officially listed the WCDMA version of the JiaYu G2F on their English website!
Do you find yourself without power with half the day still left to go? Do you need an attractive phone with huge battery power? Well at MWC Lenovo have just release the phone for you! The Lenovo S860 smartphone!
Full specifications, details and photos of the Gionee Elife S5.5, the worlds thinnest Android smartphone!
We have seen some quite stunning phones from Zopo this year so far, however the best design award has to go to the stunning Zopo ZP780!
THL now of the THL T5 to take on the mighty Xiaomi Hongmi, and competitors from Huawei, iOcean and others, but before taking out your credit cards check the THL T5 specifications!
On the 11th November oat 11am Chinese phone maker Vowney will launch the 6.5-inch quad-core V7 with FHD display and NFC for $295.
Cube’s TALK9, a 9 inch tablet powered by a quad core Mediatek processor with 3G and voice calling is now on sale in China, priced just $181 (1099 Yuan)!
Packing a 1080 display, NFC and a 13 mega-pixel Sony rear camera the new Pomp C6 is a seriously attractive phone!
The Hike X1D is a camera centric Chinese smartphone, for those who are on a budget!
JiaYu first showed photos of their new entry-level mystery machine last month and will go on say to rival similar phones such as the Xiaomi Hongmi.
Xiaomi’s Hongmi smartphone is taking China by storm, but even at such an attractive price some customers are not happy by the lack of accessories but this limited edition model with soon solve that.
Just when we though 7-inch 3G tablets could get any cheaper, Cube go and launch the Cube Talk 7 for just $81!
The Neo N003 is one of the last current generation phones to launch in China. It boasts an impressive feature set, and has been in development the longest. So how good is it?


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Checkout this awesome product <Smart Glass Virtual Video Head mounted display>
Cool Wearables - A virtual reality helmet with Android
The virtual reality (VR) industry is changing so rapidly that any study published this week, will be outdated the next. From the cameras and software that create VR environments to the headsets that…
The findings come from a small study of 10 patients but researchers said they are optimistic about the potential for virtual reality as a therapy for alcohol use disorders.


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Turkish trade minister says bilateral trade volume should be doubled
Turkey and Lithuania are looking to double the bilateral trade volume from its current level, Turkey’s trade minister said Friday.
“Our trade volume with Lithuania is around $562 million, which is very low. We aim to increase it to $1 billion as a first stage,” Ruhsar Pekcan, currently visiting Lithuania, told the Turkey-Lithuania Business Forum in the capital Vilnius.
Pointing to Lithuania’s success in innovation, technology, FinTech, communications, and information technology, Pekcan said the ministry backs the cooperation of firms from both sides.
She also highlighted the potential of health tourism.
Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said the country is a springboard for Turkish companies to reach Baltic states.
Turkey can be a gateway to Asian countries for Lithuania, Vaiciunas said, adding: “Actually, we want to close this gap.”
Nail Olpak, the head of Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), stressed that Turkish companies use Lithuania’s investments in R&D infrastructure and information technology valleys.