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You have searched for "Singapore Airlines"
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Singapore Airlines insisted Feb 21 that cameras on its planes' entertainment systems had been disabled after an outcry online from worried passengers who spotted the tiny lenses peering at them.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has apologised for posting an "insensitive" comment on social media about the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash in crisis-stricken eastern Ukraine.
b>SINGAPORE:/bSingapore Airlines passengers will soon be able to use their mobile or smartphones to make calls and text messages, as well as access the Internet via WiFi at all times, even when flying at 35,000ft.
SINGAPORE Airlines said that it will roll out in-flight WiFi and communications services across its fleet from next year, which could make it the first airline to offer a full 'suite' of connectivity services that include in-flight calling and high-speed WiFi.
A 33-year-old YouTuber claimed that he has received a death threat from a user for posting a negative online review video on Singapore Airlines.
Users of the online travel site TripAdvisor have voted Emirates airline their favorite carrier on a top 10 list that's dominated by Asian airlines.
Some start-ups are taking on one of air travel's last undisrupted bastions – the economy-class cabin.
Airline passengers should not turn on or charge their Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Galaxy Note 7 smartphones during flights or stow them in checked baggage due to concerns over the phone's fire-prone batteries, the US Federal Aviation Administration said.


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Jack Ma, the richest man in China, has stepped down as chairman of the $460 billion Alibaba Group he cofounded.
Business leaders have turned to Ma for inspiration, and over the years he’s shared his thoughts on leadership, success, and education.
Here are some of Ma’s best quotes.
Visit Business Insider’s home page for more stories.
Jack Ma is one of the wealthiest people in the world, with an estimated net worth of $38 billion.
In 1999, the Chinese entrepreneur cofounded Alibaba, and 20 years later, the online retailer has half a billion customers and is among the most valuable on the web. The company rakes in more profit than Walmart and Amazon combined.
On Tuesday, Ma stepped down as chairman of the Alibaba Group, as part of a long-planned succession scheme. Ma had lately shifted his focus toward education and philanthropy, and last year, he announced he would retire from Alibaba to return to teaching.
Emerging business leaders turn to Ma for inspiration, and over the years he’s shared his thoughts on leadership, success, and education.
Here are 27 of the most brilliant quotes from Jack Ma.
“Leadership is your instinct, then it’s your training. Leaders are always positive, …read more
Source:: Businessinsider – Technology

domain: news


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Sprint rebounding with MVNO arrangement with Altice USA
The months of will they, won’t they speculation then formal discussions between Sprint parent SoftBank and T-Mobile US parent Deutsche Telekom are officially done.
The two sides couldn’t agree on terms regarding pricing and corporate governance of a combined entity, prompting SoftBank Chairman CEO Masayoshi Son to scrap the potential deal. Now, the Japanese conglomerate is upping its investment in the U.S. carrier.
“We are entering an era where billions of new connected devices and sensors will come online throughout the United States,” Son said. “Sprint is a critical part of our plan to ensure that we can deliver our vision to American consumers, and we are very confident in its future.”
Sprint President and CEO and SoftBank Board member Marcelo Claure said: “While we couldn’t reach an agreement to combine our companies, we certainly recognize the benefits of scale through a potential combination. However, we have agreed that it is best to move forward on our own. We know we have significant assets, including our rich spectrum holdings, and are accelerating significant investments in our network to ensure our continued growth. As convergence in the connectivity marketplace continues, we believe significant opportunities exist to establish strong partnerships across multiple industries. We are determined to continue our efforts to change the wireless industry and compete fiercely. We look forward to continuing to take the fight to the duopoly and newly emerging competitors.”
T-Mobile US CEO John Leger said: “The prospect of combining with Sprint has been compelling for a variety of reasons, including the potential to create significant benefits for consumers and value for shareholders. However, we have been clear all along that a deal with anyone will have to result in superior long-term value for T-Mobile’s shareholders compared to our outstanding stand-alone performance and track record. Going forward, T-Mobile will continue disrupting this industry and bringing our proven Un-carrier strategy to more customers and new categories – ultimately redefining the mobile Internet as we know it. We’ve been out-growing this industry for the last 15 quarters, delivering outstanding value for shareholders, and driving significant change across wireless. We won’t stop now.”
Legere made that statement on Nov. 4. Then, on Sunday, the social media-savvy CEO took to Twitter to share a recipe for Maine corn chowder. Meanwhile, Sprint on Nov. 5, in line with its comments regarding industry partnerships, announced plans to launch an MVNO with Altice USA. Per Sprint, “Altice USA will utilize Sprint’s network to provide mobile voice and data services to its customers throughout the nation, and Sprint will leverage the Altice USA broadband platform to accelerate the densification of its network.”


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Home Chef, one of the largest meal kit delivery services based in the U.S. has suffered a data breach that has seen details of eight million of its customers being sold online.
Home Chef confirmed that the company “recently learned of a data security incident impacting select customer information,” in a statement on its website, and looks to be one of a number of victims of a widespread campaign by a group known as the Shiny Hunters.
According to Home Chef’s FAQ, “based on the information known to date, the following information was impacted in the incident: email address, name and phone number, encrypted passwords, the last four digits of credit card numbers, other account information such as frequency of deliveries and mailing address may have been compromised.”
“We are taking action to investigate this situation and to strengthen our information security defenses to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future,” the company said.
BleepingComputer is reporting that a hacking collective known as the ‘Shiny Hunters’ that managed to steal more than 73 million user records from a collective of 11 companies around the globe is responsible for the leak of Home Chef personal information. They report that “Shiny Hunters continued their rampage by claiming to hack into Microsoft’s GitHub account earlier this year and leaking files from the company’s private source code repositories.”
Considering that names, email addresses, and order information was potentially implicated in the data breach, there’s ample amounts of information for scammers and cybercriminals to launch extremely convincing phishing campaigns using personalised information. Analysts have also pointed out that encrypted passwords aren’t fully protected, either.
Tech Radar is reporting that “Shiny Hunters was recently selling user records of eleven companies on a dark web marketplace from $500 to $5,000 depending on the number of records each database contained.”
Shiny Hunters is reportedly flooding the dark web’s market, with a total of 11 user databases on offer now.
Home Chef has told its customers that “protection of customer data is a top priority for Home Chef, and we work hard to safeguard our customers’ information,” and that the company was “taking action to investigate this situation and to strengthen our information security defenses to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.”
Anurag Kahol, CTO of Bitglass told Threat Post that “while the customer passwords in the leaked database were encrypted, there are tools that cybercriminals can leverage to decrypt them and potentially gain access to a number of accounts across multiple services that their victims use.”
Kahol told Threat Post that more than 65% of individuals re-use passwords across multiple account logins.
“All consumers, not just users impacted by this incident, should improve their password hygiene by diversifying their login credentials across different accounts in order to mitigate the chances of their account being hijacked,” Kahol concluded.
That report also quotes James Carder who is the chief security officer and vice president of LogRhythm who said that “Home Chef is one of the key players in the multi-billion dollar meal kit delivery industry and is owned by one of the biggest supermarket retailers, Kroger.”
“A company of this size must take responsibility for ensuring that sufficient security measures are in place to protect customer data and rapidly respond to cyberthreats. This is especially true now, as demand for delivery services continues to grow amid the coronavirus crisis. All companies in this sector must not falsely assume that they are immune to attack just because they have become an essential service to help people during a challenging time.
For more information on our ISO 27001 – Information Security Management Systems – as well as for your free ISO 27001 Gap Analysis Checklist, click here.


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Do you still remember the Android 2.1 powered LG Ally, which was launched back in May on the airwaves of Verizon Wireless? We have a good news for the LG Ally users. After the long wait, Android 2.2 (FroYo) update is finally coming to this mid-range smartphone in February.
LG Ally features a 3.2 inch touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixels resolution, 600 MHz processor, Android 2.1 OS, Slide-Out QWERTY Keyboard, 3.2 megapixel camera with Autofocus and Flash, 512MB ROM, 256MB RAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, A-GPS, Visual Voice Mail, Android Market, 3.5mm Headset jack, Up to 450 mins talk-time, up to 500 hrs stand-by time and more.
LG Ally recently received a software update, but the owners were disappointed since it was just a minor software update and not the Android 2.2 (FroYo) update. A moderator at the LG Forum recently said that LG Ally owner will finally get the much awaited Android 2.2 update in February 2011. It is still unknown whether the Froyo upgrade will allow them to run Adobe Flash Player 10.1, since the specs of this handset is lower than the Adobe’s hardware requirements.
Last month, Micromax launched the cheapest Android phone, Micromax Andro in India. Wynncom and Olive also promised to launch Android phones soon in India. According to the folks at Telecom Yatra, Intex Mobiles will soon join the bandwagon and will launch the cheapest Android phone in India.
After the successful launch of Intex V.SHOW, India’s first projector phone, Intex will launch the cheapest Android phone for around Rs.5,500. This handset will be powered by Android 2.2 (FroYo) OS and it is expected to launch in February 2011. Currently Micromax Andro is the cheapest Android phone in India. It comes with a price tag of Rs.6,999.
“Intex will launch four more models of V Show – a mobile phone with built in projector, which was recently launched. The new models of V Show will support Office applications and therefore be useful for professionals. People who want to watch movies, videos, picture galleries and even read e books on their mobile phones will also find some interesting applications in the new model. We will launch an Android 2.2 phone in the first week of February and it will priced at around Rs 5,500″, said Sudhir Kumar, Assistant General Manager of the telecom division at Intex.
The Intex Android phone will come with a 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS and Wi-Fi Connectivity. Android powered Huawei Ideos is also expected to launch early next year in India for around Rs.8,000.
Samsung recently announced the Android powered Samsung Galaxy Player (YP-GB1). It will compete with popular music players such as iPod Touch and Microsoft Zune. Galaxy Player has almost all the features of Galaxy S except the cellular connectivity. It comes with Android 2.2 (FroYo) OS and it will allow you to access more than 100,000 apps from the Android Market. This device will be showcased at the upcoming CES 2011.
Galaxy Player features a 4 inch Super Clear LCD display with 800 x 480 pixels resolution, 1GHz processor, Android 2.2 OS, 3.2 megapixel rear camera, HD (720p) video playback, VGA front facing camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, SoundAlive audio enhancing technology, T-DMB, microSD card slot, Android Market, Samsung App store, 1200mAh battery and more.
Samsung Galaxy Player will be available in three sizes – 8 GB, 16 GB and 32 GB. The price and availability of this handset is still unknown. Samsung is also expected to unveil two new entry-level Android PMPs like YP-G50 and YP-GB70. Stay tuned for more updates.
Samsung has been slowly rolling out the Android 2.2 Froyo update for the Galaxy S handsets all over the world. A couple of days ago, Samsung started offering the Froyo update for all the operator branded Galaxy S handsets in the U.K. Today, the company has started rolling out the Froyo update for the Vibrant as well as the Fascinate in Canada.
The Vibrant is offered by Bell, SaskTel and Virgin mobile while the Fascinate is offered by the TELUS. Earlier, Samsung released the Android 2.2 Froyo update schedule for the Galaxy S line-up in Canada. The schedule stated that the TELUS branded Fascinate will get its update in early 2011.
Surprisingly, Samsung managed to release the update just before the current year ended. Vibrant and Fascinate owners can update their handset to Android 2.2 Froyo by using Samsung KIES.
While analysts predict that Apple’s iPad will still be the most popular tablet by 2012, there is no stopping the upcoming surge of the Android tablets in 2011. The recent manufacturer to enter the Android tablet bandwagon is BenQ.
The Taiwanese company, BenQ has expressed its plans to launch its first tablet PC in China and Taiwan during the first quarter of 2011. BenQ is to enter the market with the model R100 which will boast a 10.1-inch LCD resistive touchscreen with 1024 x 600 resolution and will be powered by Samsung’s ARM based processor that runs at 833MHz. R100 will run on Google’s Android 2.2 operating system and will be equipped with WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, a mini USB port and 8GB of internal storage.
The official pictures and price of the tablet is not yet disclosed by the company representative and will be available during the official launch of the tablet.
Samsung has been slowly rolling out the Android 2.2 Froyo update for the various Galaxy S variants in different regions of the world. Today, Samsung UK gave a surprise to all Galaxy S owners in the U.K by making the Android 2.2 update available on all networks.
The company made this announcement from their official Twitter account. Here is what the company tweeted-:
This piece of news is surely going to please a lot of Galaxy S owners in the U.K. Galaxy S owners need to use Samsung KIES software to update their handset to Android 2.2. Users can download KIES from this link. Samsung had earlier released the Android 2.2 update for Three UK and T-Mobile UK branded Galaxy S variants.
I seriously hope that Samsung will release the Android 2.2 update for the various Galaxy S variants in the United States before the year ends. Otherwise, Samsung sure are going to piss off a lot of Galaxy S owners in the States.
The team behind the popular desktop browser Firefox Mozilla has released an updated beta of Firefox for Android and Maemo. The new update brings with it number of bug fixes and features including copy/paste in URL bar and new style menus. Firefox for mobile is based on the same platform as Firefox for desktop.
Here is the list of the new features introduced in Firefox 4 Beta 3 for Android -:
- Improved support for Android keyboards, both hardware and on-screen
- New Android-style menus
- Fixed a bug in opening links from other apps
- Support for uploading files
- “Save as PDF” command in the site menu
- Fixed rendering of Arabic and Farsi text (on devices with Arabic/Farsi fonts installed)
- Firefox Sync
- New UI for simpler setup
- Support for custom Firefox Sync servers
- Full-screen open video
- Improved audio performance
- User interface
- Copy/paste in URL bar
- Search engines appear in the awesome screen as you type
- Browse recommended add-ons through the add-on manager
For developers -:
- localStorage API
- orientation events (new on Android)
- Crash reporting for crashes in web content
I had tried the previous beta of Firefox for Android and was left totally unimpressed. The application was slow, took forever to start and by the time it loaded the desktop version of Engadget on my phone I was able to finish a level of Angry Birds. I am yet to try to the new beta but I hope that the Mozilla team has solved these issues.
Android and Maemo handset(s ) owners can download Firefox for their handset from here.
The Motorola Droid is one of the most popular Android handset out there. The unlocked bootloader and the vanilla Android experience made it a favorite in the United States. Motorola did launch a European version of the Droid the Milestone. However, that phone was destined to meet doom right from the word go.
Unlike the Droid, the Milestone had a locked down bootloader. This meant that modding the phone was a very difficult job and it still is. While the original Droid got its Android 2.2 update right after a few weeks of Google announcing it, European Milestone owners are still waiting for their share of Froyo love.
Now, the European division of Motorola has posted on their Facebook wall that the company is still working closely’ with operators and carriers to deliver the Android 2.2 update for the Milestone. The company says that they expect to roll out the update by Q1 of 2011.
With Motorola set to launch some killer handsets and tablets based on Nvidia Tegra 2 at the upcoming CES 2011, I wonder if the company will actually find it useful’ to work on the Android 2.2 update for the Milestone.
Milestone owners can vent out their anger on Motorola Europe’s FB page.
Quite a few months ago, HTC announced that the HTC Desire, Legend and the Wildfire will be getting their share of Froyo love. The company started first rolled out the Froyo update for Desire and recently started rolling out the Android 2.2 update for the Legend in Europe. Now, the Taiwanese handset manufacturer has announced via an FB status update that they will start rolling out the Froyo update for the Wildfire from this week.
Here is what the company announced on Facebook:
So Wildfire users in Europe will get their Android 2.2 update before Christmas (hopefully), whereas Wildfire owners in other regions of the world will get it by February next year. However, by that time the whole world will be going gaga over their Android 2.3 and Honeycomb (Android 2.4 if rumors are right) update.
Sprint announced that it will begin rolling out the much awaited Android 2.2 (FroYo) update for its entry-level smartphone, Samsung Intercept. This handset is also available on the airwaves of Virgin Mobile in the US, but the Android 2.2 update is currently available only for Sprint customers. Check out the complete list of fixes and improvements below. Enhancements/Fixes:
- Sprint Navigation
- Dropped calls after unacknowledged call waiting
- Force Close message when opening up contacts
- The software version is: S:M910.05.S.DL05
- The build version is: Froyo.DL05
It also comes with the Sprint Navigation, for those who don’t want to use the Google Maps. This update is pushed by Google and being rolled out in phases, so it may even take few days for the update to be available on your handset. You can also open your dialer and type *#*#CHECKIN#*#* to register your device with Google’s servers.
Welcome to our third edition of the Best Mobile Apps Of The Week. This week we would like to introduce our readers to a very popular Twitter app for the iOS as well as for Android. Along with that, we would introduce our readers to a very popular VOIP client for Symbian.
Here are the featured mobile apps of the week for iOS, Symbian and Android:
Twitter for iPhone/iPad is the official twitter client from the company itself Twitter. The app has a very slick UI and I especially love the sliding panels’ UI feature in Twitter for iPad. The app also supports push notifications and inline media display. I have been using Twitter for iPad right on my iPad since the day it was launched. The app literally blows the competition away!
iOS owners can download Twitter For iPad/iPhone from the App Store for free.
Skype is one of the most popular VOIP services out there. The company also has an official Skype client for all the major mobile OS including Symbian. Skype for Symbian allows users to make free calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world for free via Wi-Fi or 3G. It also allows Skype owners to chat for free.
The company recently rolled out an updated version of Skype which supports the latest generation of Symbian phones like the Nokia N8, C7 and E5. The update also added SILK’ Skype’s own audio codec which helps improves voice quality on a low-bandwidth connection. Symbian owners can download Skype for their handset for free from here.
TweetDeck is one of the most popular third party Twitter client for Windows. The app is also available for other major mobile platforms including Android. The Android version of TweetDeck has a great looking UI and functions really well. I personally switched to TweetDeck and have been using it ever since on my Galaxy S since the day it was released.
The application also supports other major social networking sites like Facebook, Google Buzz and Foursquare. The application however does lack some features like no support for creating lists, no auto-fill while entering @username and some totally useless widgets. However, I am pretty sure the folks behind TweetDeck for Android will fix all these issues sooner than later. Android owners can download TweetDeck for free from the Android Market.
The highly anticipated update of Google Maps version 5 – has finally hit the Android Market. The new update brings with it tons of new features like 3D maps, new multi-touch gestures and offline maps. Here is the small change-log posted by Google in the Android Market :
- Explore the map in 3D. Two finger drag down/up to tilt; twist to rotate on supported devices.
- Use compass mode to rotate the map to where you’re facing. Center the map with My Location then tap again.
- Improved map caching and offline Navigation rerouting if you lose your connection.
However, not all Android handsets will support the new features offered by Google Maps 5.
Here is the list of handsets that fully support Google Maps 5 :
- Galaxy S
- Droid X
- Droid 2
- Droid Incredible
- EVO 4G
- Nexus S
- T-Mobile G2/ HTC Desire Z
- HTC Desire HD
The upcoming high-end Android handsets will also be able to make use of all the features of Google Maps 5. Other handsets like Nexus One, HTC Desire won’t be able to enjoy the new multi-touch gesture feature offered by Google Maps 5 due to hardware restriction.
Here is the official blogpost from Google about Google Maps 5.
LG has unveiled its next generation high-end Android phone the Optimus 2x. The LG Optimus 2x is the first Android handset to sport an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor. Other key specifications of the handset include a 4-inch WVGA (800×480) screen, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory along with a microSD card slot.
At the heart of the phone is a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor running at 1GHz and packs 512MB of RAM. The back of the phone sports an 8MP camera while the front sports a 1.3MP camera. The phone is capable of playing back 1080p videos as well as recording them. The usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and a 3.5mm jack are also present. The handset also packs in DLNA and HDMI mirroring’. This beast of a phone will be powered by a 1500mAh battery.
Sadly, the LG Optimus 2X will launch with Android 2.2 on board. However, LG has promised that the handset will get the Android 2.3 update in due course. The handset will hit Korea next month with Europe and Asia to follow.
Last month, Dell started rolling out the Android 2.2 update for its tablet-cum-handset crossover the Streak. However, Dell was rolling out the update for only un-branded Streak handsets at that time. Now, Streak owners in the UK who own an O2 branded Streak will get their share of Froyo love starting from today.
Here is the official change-log from O2 itself :
- Adobe Flash 10.1
- Native Microsoft Exchange Support
- Pre-loaded Swype keyboard app
- New Dell Stage user interface
- Backup & Restore app
- Numerous system optimisations and updates
The update will be rolled out in OTA form in batches to all the Streak handsets. Dell Streak owners can read about the Android 2.2 update here.
The NOOKcolor eReader from Barnes & Noble runs a highly customized version of Android 2.1 but without the Android Market. However, the modding community has hacked the NOOKcolor to get the Android Market working on the device.
Nevertheless, Barnes & Noble has now promised that the NOOKcolor eReader will get the Android 2.2 update in January. The update is going to be a huge’ one and will turn the NOOKcolor into a tablet.
The update will also bring with it pinch-to-zoom in browser and the typical Android 2.2 home screen. NOOKcolor users will be given an option to switch between the highly modified NOOK’s UI and the Android 2.2 UI. The Barnes & Noble representative also told that the eReader will be getting access to the Android Market with this update. However, users might not get access to all the available applications.
The update will also fix the battery life and performance issues that many NOOKcolor owners are currently experiencing. The Android 2.2 update will bring performance improvement, better memory management and Flash 10.1 to the NOOKcolor.
A full blown Android 2.2 based tablet for only $249! Stellar deal!


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Regulation – if developed appropriately – could be the catalyst that propels nascent applied sciences into the mainstream, particularly within the advanced world of economic companies. And the European Commission (EC) has simply confirmed its place on the forefront
of fostering fintech innovation, writes Isabelle Corbett, Head of Regulatory Affairs at R3.
Last month, the EC introduced its intention to ship a authorized framework for digital finance – offering the readability and authorized certainty required for sustainable innovation and adoption in areas equivalent to digital currencies and crypto-assets.
The EC’s proposals have 4 principal priorities: eradicating fragmentation within the digital single market; adapting the EU regulatory framework to facilitate digital innovation; selling data-driven finance, and; addressing the challenges and dangers with digital
transformation, together with enhancing the digital operational resilience of the monetary system.
While these proposals nonetheless have a big journey to go on earlier than they arrive into regulatory impact, this can be a main step ahead for the digital transformation of finance in Europe, and additional proof of the EC’s continued push to be a frontrunner in embracing
rising applied sciences.
The EC’s transfer has undoubtedly been nudged alongside by the financial challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the accelerated shift to all issues digital in each the patron and B2B areas. Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis even commented
that the EC had been pushed by how, in the course of the lockdown, folks have been solely capable of get entry to important monetary companies because of digital applied sciences equivalent to on-line banking and new fintech options and apps.
By offering the standardisation required for a digital single market, the EC’s package deal may very well be a key a part of Europe’s financial restoration from the pandemic. Technologies equivalent to blockchain and AI, and new strategies of worth switch equivalent to digital currencies
and tokens, can present the idea for brand spanking new monetary merchandise for customers and new funding channels for corporations at a time after they want them essentially the most.
Given the inherent means of expertise equivalent to blockchain to supply frictionless cross-border companies in areas equivalent to funds, it requires a standardised regulatory framework that won’t impede its means to attach customers and companies in several
international locations and, the truth is, will permit for the best benefits.
By offering a pan-European framework, the EC’s package deal additionally has the potential to boost monetary market integration within the banking union and the capital markets union, and thereby strengthen Europe’s financial and financial union. This isn’t any small promise
and is testomony to the potential of those highly effective digital applied sciences.
Regulating digital belongings
Previously unregulated crypto-assets, together with ‘stablecoins’, are a serious focus of the EC’s package deal and an space by which it proposes a bespoke regime with strict necessities for crypto-asset issuers and repair suppliers looking for to supply their companies
within the single market.
The areas highlighted by the EC are ones which R3 has thought of carefully as a part of our digital belongings technique. Regulators around the globe are grappling with the creation and deployment of crypto-assets. It is important that as a part of that exploration,
all regulators comply with the EC’s instance and study and perceive the underlying expertise and the conduct of the platforms which commerce these new belongings.
Digital belongings provide the promise of a brand new, decrease friction technique of asset and capital formation. Such tokens, if developed appropriately and for enterprise utilization, can automate or simplify a lot of the asset origination, issuance, execution, and secondary
buying and selling processes that make up a lot of banking at the moment. Issuers of securities in every single place see the worth in a extra environment friendly, efficient connection to these seeking to allocate capital, all in a protected, regulated, and automatic atmosphere.
Naturally, it’s important that such token issuance and the lifecycle of the token be carried out in a safe and controlled method. The EC’s package deal displays this precedence and raises essential areas for consideration.
Safeguards proposed by the EC embrace capital necessities, custody of belongings, a compulsory compliant holder process out there to buyers, and rights of the investor towards the issuer. Issuers of great asset-backed crypto-assets could be topic
to extra stringent capital necessities, liquidity administration and interoperability necessities.
We imagine attaining these safeguards is reliant on the usage of open, permissioned blockchain platforms with well-defined governance, settlement finality and powerful id administration capabilities.
Modernising market infrastructure
The EC can also be proposing a pilot programme for market infrastructures for monetary devices equivalent to crypto-assets, based mostly on blockchain expertise.
This new programme will present a managed atmosphere for experimentation, or ‘sandbox’ – an strategy that R3 has pioneered since its inception. This collaborative digital workspace will permit momentary derogations from current guidelines in order that regulators
can acquire expertise on the usage of blockchain expertise in market infrastructures, whereas making certain that they’ll cope with dangers to investor safety, market integrity and monetary stability.
This is a really promising transfer that has the potential to supply authorized certainty to the enterprise blockchain group and help additional innovation on this area. The incontrovertible fact that the EC is embracing blockchain on this method and nurturing its growth
displays the more and more widespread adoption that the expertise has skilled in current occasions.
The coming years might be pivotal for the evolution of blockchain expertise within the monetary companies area, and the tempo of digitisation will solely proceed ramping up because the world adapts to new methods of transacting and doing enterprise within the wake of the pandemic.
Regulators, expertise companies and market contributors should proceed to work collectively as we attempt in direction of the shared aim of digitising finance. Forward-thinking regulation have to be developed to help purpose-built expertise that permits for acceptable
information confidentiality controls, scales to financial institution transaction volumes and throughput, and helps an data safety design that’s suitable with the monetary companies trade’s excessive requirements. This distinctive mixture holds the important thing to unlocking the longer term


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If you invested in one vintage decor piece in 2020, it's probably safe to guess that it was a mushroom-shaped Murano glass lamp. It was basically the trend heard round the world — every influencer had one, every vintage store sold them, and even Urban Outfitters made a version, because it was that mainstream. If you finally burnt out on the item, though, you're not alone — but you're also in luck, because the next vintage decor trends of 2021 are on their way, and experts predict that the mushroom lamp (at least, of that variety) isn't one of them.
"It could be just me, but I’m over with mushroom Murano lamps," says Ji Henriques, the founder of Nice Vintage Things. "Or anything mushroom-shaped. It’s not that it’s not pretty — they're absolutely adorable pieces and beautifully made, but it’s become way too popular and I just have to walk away." Maison Singulier founder Elif Filyos concurs, saying that she's also seeing a decline in demand for mushroom lamps and Art Deco lamps, as well as a few other trendy pieces, like tiled tables, foam mirrors, and plastic wavy mirrors.
So what's "in?" Don't worry — there will still be plenty of status vintage trends to lust over in 2021. "I think the space age trend will continue to be popular, as well as postmodern and modernist designs," says Filyos, who also explains that Art Deco furniture in general is seeing an increase in popularity.
And as for those specific "It" decor pieces — i.e. the ones that you soon won't be able to scroll through Instagram without seeing — keep scrolling for six predictions from seasoned vintage sellers, ahead.
We only include products that have been independently selected by The Zoe Report's editorial team. However, we may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
2021 Vintage Decor Trend: Organically Shaped Tables
"Marble and travertine tables have always been popular and always will be," says Henriques. "They're classic and timeless." That said, according to the founder, a certain trend within that category is emerging for 2021. "I've noticed people are now more into round and organic shapes than traditional rectangular tables, which I absolutely love."
2021 Vintage Decor Trend: Curvy Room Dividers
According to Filyos, room dividers have seen an uptick in demand recently — specifically of the curvy variety, which is unsurprising since organic, curvy shapes in general have been trending lately. Etsy also confirmed that in a just-released trend report, saying that people are "finding ways to reimagine their homes and incorporate pieces that help restore balance to our multi-functional spaces," and on its platform alone, there was a 134% increase in searches for room dividers in the last three months, compared to the same time the previous year.
2021 Vintage Decor Trend: Glassware
As for Rosemary Home founder Rosemary Blanch, the glassware category is seeing a ton of increased demand. "We can’t keep up!" says Blanch. "Maybe it’s because everyone is working from home and starting happy hour earlier. But vintage glassware, whether it’s Art Deco crystal, 1970s cocktail glasses, or simple mid-century colored glass tumblers, have become some of our most desired pieces."
2021 Vintage Decor Trend: Funky Sofas
You've probably seen one or two (or 10) interesting sofa shapes on your Instagram feed over the past few years (like the Mario Bellini Camaleonda couch, which Henriques said was everywhere in 2019), but 2021 will be all about a few select styles. "In 2020 people have been obsessed with De Sede's DS600, and De Sede's Terrazza DS1025. I think these two couches will be still strong in 2021, or at least I won’t be over it." Additionally, predicts Henriques, the Togo sofa is "so coming back" for 2021.
2021 Vintage Decor Trend: Practical-Yet-Playful Pieces
If there's one theme of 2021, says Blanch, it will be embracing individuality and breaking the mould. "I’ve been so surprised to see some of the most ‘out there’ pieces become the most coveted," she explains. "Trompe L’oeil-inspired homewares depicting fruits and animals sell out instantly, brightly colored Murano vases and chic little espresso sets fly out the door the minute they’re available too. I think these simple and practical yet playful pieces will continue to spark joy in 2021."
2021 Vintage Decor Trend: IKEA Cloud Lamps
There's a new status lamp in town, and no, it's actually not *that* much different from the Murano mushroom-shaped lamps that dominated 2020. "I think IKEA orange and blue cloud lamps have just begun to get popular," says Henriques, who also predicts that Murano lamps "that aren't mushroom shaped" will be one of 2021's It-items as well.


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A Swindon web developer is warning businesses to keep their websites safe, as part of an initiative to tie in with Safer Internet Day today (Tuesday, February 9).
The annual event aims at encouraging people to work ‘together for a better internet’ by adopting online safety.
But web developer DMJ Computer Services, based in Swindon, believes safety on a website is sometimes overlooked.
“We’re generally well aware of the measures we need to take to stay safe when using the internet, like using complex passwords, regularly changing passwords, and being vigilant over opening phishing emails,” said Martin Jarvis, managing director of DMJ.
“But businesses also have an obligation to make sure their websites are safe for visitors. This is all the more important now, with so many more transactions being carried out online, while bricks and mortar premises are shut due to Covid.
“Just as you’d have security at a physical premises – guards, locks, alarms etc – you need an online equivalent for a website.”
Martin says an essential first step is to check a website has an SSL certificate installed, and that it is properly configured. This ensures that when visitors interact with a site they do so in a secure way, because SSL encrypts website traffic.
“It’s not just e-commerce sites that need SSL,” said Martin. “Any site that provides contact forms, forums, comments and feedback, really need it too. Not only does SSL increase security, but search engines – including Google - look more favourably on pages with this security measure.”
Controlling what happens to any stored data is also an essential security element, as is keeping tabs on who has access to the data. Only those who currently need to have access to a website admin area should have login details. It is important to remove admin rights to, for example, former employees – anyone who may have needed access in the past but doesn’t any longer.
Finally, working from home can throw up website security challenges. Martin’s advice includes setting up a computer lock, and password protecting any files and apps containing customer data.
Martin added: “Making your website safe to use will not only benefit your visitors, but will improve your engagement, and ultimately your sales, if it gives them confidence in your site.”


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During the last six decades there has been incessant chanting by every government that ruled India that food processing is critical to the development of country's economy. Every politician with every hue does not lose an opportunity to give an expose regarding the low value addition to agricultural commodities achieved in the country and predominance of low value food items in the basket of national exports. That food industry is a logical corollary to agricultural sector is indisputable and GOI did recognize this truth when the specialized MFPI was set up in late 1980s. That this ministry was invariably "managed" by a junior minister. is another matter that reflects the gap between preaching and practice. Umpteen number of seminars, conferences, workshops, meetings with GOI babus have been making the point that processed food must not be taxed at all for at least for a few years to enable the processing industry to establish itself on a firm foundation and making packed foods available to the consumer at the lowest cost possible. Every Finance Minister (FM) of GOi had ignored this so called sun-rise industry and tried to milk it as much as possible to enrich its coffers! Here comes the latest blow to the industry with the present FM putting another economic burden on the food sector through his ill-advised levy in the form of excise duty which ought to be condemned in no uncertain terms.
"The entire food processing industry is feeling the pinch of this announcement (excise duty). We have written a letter to the Finance Minister. I hope he will look into it," Minister of State for Food Processing Harish Rawat told reporters here. He said that industry bodies have complained that the 130 items on which 1% excise duty has been increased include food items as well and this will lead to an increase in prices. Food inflation came down to 9.52% for the week ended February 26 from 10.39% in the previous week. Rawat, while inaugurating the National Seminar on food ingredients and additives on the sidelines of the Aahar 2011 international food and hospitality fair, said, "The ministry has requested the Finance Minister to keep GST and other taxes at a minimum level." The All-India Food Processors Association (AIFPA), which organised the seminar, has sought the removal of 1% excise duty on food and agricultural commodities, besides the waiver of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on food items. "With GST also, there should be no tax on food. When you tax food, you are taxing the value addition in the sector and this will lead to price rise as cost of inputs will go up and my worry is this will further increase the inflation," AIFPA President Piruz Khambatta told PTI.
No wonder many industry captains feel that they do not need any prop from the government and they would be happy if the rigid bureaucratic stranglehold by the government is done way with immediately. If governments do not want to help in any significant way, at least there should not be any road blocks that can affect the morale as well as the motivation of the entrepreneurs. Interestingly total revenue collected by various government agencies through their multiple taxation regimes on food industry is so minuscule that fore going the same will not be a sacrifice in any way. On the other hand, such a step will provide the necessary spark for a strong industry capable of generating millions of job opportunities and a host of products so vital for the consumers. Probably a strong industry after attaining some critical size may even contribute to the exchequer substantially in the long run.


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Britain’s unemployment rate jumped above 4 per cent in the second quarter of the year as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic took their toll on the country's job market, according to UK government data.
The rate rose to 4.1 per cent in the three months to the end of July from 3.9 per cent the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement on Tuesday – the first increase since the coronavirus lockdown began in March.
“Some effects of the pandemic on the labour market were beginning to unwind in July as parts of the economy reopened. Fewer workers were away on furlough and average hours rose. The number of job vacancies continued to recover into August, too,” said Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at ONS.
“Nonetheless, with the number of employees on the payroll down again in August and both unemployment and redundancies sharply up in July, it is clear that coronavirus is still having a big impact on the world of work.”
While restaurants, shops and pubs started to reopen in July after the three-month lockdown, many employers fear a second shutdown as infections in the country rise and the government rolls out new movement restrictions to curb the spread of the disease. On Monday, a further 2,621 new cases were reported and nine people died, according to worldometer.
Early data for August is also gloomy with the number of employees in the UK on payrolls down by about 695,000 from March compared to 659,000 in July, according to the ONS. The number of people claiming for jobless benefits has risen to 2.7 million, an increase of 121 per cent since March.
Over the second quarter, the ONS noted a large drop in the number of young people in employment, with those aged 16 to 24 years decreasing by 156,000 to 3.63 million. While redundancies were still historically low across all age groups, both the quarterly and annual changes are the largest seen since 2009 increasing by 58,000 on the year and 48,000 on the quarter to 156,000.
This has placed pressure on the government to extend its furlough programmes, which has helped companies retain about 10 million workers since March and is set to conclude on October 31.
On Tuesday, the UK’s opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer will urge the UK government to replace the job retention scheme – which pays employees on leave 80 per cent of their pay up to a maximum of £2,500 - in a virtual address at the Trades Union Congress’ annual conference. The Labour leader will also call for a ban on “firing and re-hiring” to avoid the “scarring effect” of “mass unemployment” according to UK media reports, and propose targeted support for heavily affected sectors.
Analysts expect the end of the furlough scheme to cause a sharp rise in the unemployment rate.
"With workers continuing to lose their jobs, as shown by the rising unemployment rate as well as the ever growing number of payrolls lost, it is clear that the negative labour market impacts of the coronavirus crisis are far from over," said
Josie Dent, senior economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research. "We expect [unemployment] to peak at 8.9 per cent in Q4, before dropping back again in 2021 as the UK economy recovers from the crisis."
While second-quarter figures show an increase in the unemployment rate and a rise in the number of redundancies, the employment rate actually rose and economic inactivity rate has fallen.
Some sectors, such as retail, benefited from the nationwide lockdown because consumers were forced to shop online. Earlier this month, British supermarket Morrisons said it was hiring about 6,000 new permanent staff to meet booming online demand.
Meanwhile, US e-commerce company Amazon is rolling out 7,000 new permanent jobs in the UK by the end of the year and Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, is planning 16,000 new permanent roles.


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How much of Tesla does Musk own?
Musk owns a 17% stake in electric vehicle maker Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) worth more than $140 billion. He is also the owner of prominent startups like SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company.
Unsurprisingly, Musk dominates the cap table, with common shares representing about 17% of the company and options that would take his ownership to about 23.5% when exercised. Oracle (ORCL) co-founder and early Tesla believer Larry Ellison is next, with a roughly 1.5% stake.
Who owns Tesla?
Musk has other, larger business interests. He owns 170 million-plus shares, or about 17%, of Tesla. He also has millions of options to buy more Tesla stock for about $70 a share.
How much of SpaceX does Musk own?
SpaceX has flown the Falcon 9 series of rockets over one hundred times.
|Headquarters in December 2017; plumes from a flight of a Falcon 9 rocket are visible overhead|
|Revenue||US$2 billion (2018)|
|Owner||Elon Musk Trust (47.4% equity; 78.3% voting control)|
|Number of employees||12,000 (April 2022)|
Is Jeff Bezos richer than Elon Musk?
In the latest Forbes list, Musk increased his net worth to $282 billion, which is over $100 billion richer than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose net worth is $183.6 billion, reports the Daily Mail.
Can I invest in SpaceX?
While the short answer is “no,” you cannot buy SpaceX stock because the Hawthorne, California-based commercial space company is privately held and does not have shares listed on a public stock market. However, there are other indirect ways to invest in SpaceX.
Is Elon Musk rich?
Musk is worth $257.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Much of that fortune is held in Tesla and SpaceX stock, which can grow indefinitely untaxed.
What does Elon Musk own?
What companies does Elon Musk own? Musk has founded or co-founded several major companies. The list includes Tesla, SpaceX, OpenAI, Neuralink, the Boring Company and Starlink.
Who is the CEO of Tesla?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is the world’s richest human.
“In 2002 Elon Musk got $176 million when PayPal sold to eBay , ” writes Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research. “He reinvested much of that into Tesla , SpaceX, and other startups. Now, he is worth $274 billion.”
Who is investing in Tesla?
Top 10 Owners of Tesla Inc
|Stockholder||Stake||Total value ($)|
|The Vanguard Group, Inc.||5.72%||63,642,885,739|
|Capital Research & Management Co….||3.55%||39,510,479,866|
|BlackRock Fund Advisors||3.35%||37,270,861,759|
|SSgA Funds Management, Inc.||3.14%||34,985,059,872|
Who is the CEO of SpaceX?
SpaceX became the second-most valuable private company in October when its valuation skyrocketed to $100 billion — a 33% jump from its February valuation of $74 billion. The space company is accumulating cash as it continues to launch rockets, complete missions, and pursue its satellite internet service, Starlink.
How much is SpaceX worth today?
SpaceX has apparently become the second-most valuable private company in the world.
Who is the richest person in the world 2022?
Jeff Bezos $171 billion. Bernard Arnault & family $158 billion. Bill Gates $129 billion. Warren Buffet $118 billion.


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March 20th, 2017
Loresk Apparel founder featured in the Yarmouth County Vanguard Newspaper – Print & Online.
Founder of Yarmouth clothing business believes in ‘planet profit’
Thank you to the Yarmouth County Vanguard for this amazing article. The support that has been received across Nova Scotia is amazing. This article allowed for a lot of clean water to be provided to people in need.


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Cbd oil banned in ny
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Miranda Lambert is one of the biggest names in Country music and her trio, The Pistol Annies, is climbing the charts with a new album, which makes a newly minted deal with a local startup company an announcement worth toasting with a glass of wine.
Perhaps with her own wine to be produced, bottled, labeled and marketed right here in Brownfield.
Texas Custom Wine Works has cemented a deal with the country singer to manage her “Red 55” line of seven wines at its new facility nearing completion southwest of the city, just off C.R. 460 between F.M. 403 and the Lamesa Highway.
The line is well known and available at multiple retailers in East Texas, but TCWW’s involvement, as well as an agreement with a large distributor, will ramp up production of the seven wines, as well as distribute them through as many as 28 states.
Every bottle will include fine print saying that the wine was produced and bottled in Brownfield, Texas.
“This is a big deal for our company and it’s a big deal for Brownfield,” said Tony Bowen, Vice President of Sales for TCWW.
“We’re very excited to be working with Miranda and she’s excited about it also. It’s a win-win for us all.”
The local company is equally excited about a new venture featuring Lambert’s Pistol Annies.
TCWW is creating an entirely new product that will carry the country trio’s likeness and isn’t available anywhere else.
“We have developed four flavors of highly carbonated wines that we are going to sell in a four-pack of 12-ounce beer bottles,” Bowen said. “The product is called Pistol Annies Punch. Three of the bottles will be three different flavors, with each featuring one of the girls. The fourth bottle will be a mixture of the other three that we call the punch. It’s a very tasty drink that we think will sell very well and the group is thrilled to be involved.”
Bowen said Lambert is a Texan to the core and is excited to be working with a Texas company.
He said she could have chosen to market the new product through a larger company like Budweiser or Coors, but she wanted to “start small and grow big” rather than being just another product in a long list at a bigger company.
The deal with Lambert, which is only one contract the company is working, calls for TCWW to produce as many as 20,000 cases of her wine annually — the same amount the company’s founders estimated they would have to produce each year to be financially successful.
“We are already outgrowing everything we thought we would have,” Bowen said. “The response has been out of this world. I think we’ll probably handle 100,000 cases this year and will only continue to grow from there.”
The TCWW building in itself is impressive.
What looks like just another metal barn from a distance actually is a ground-breaking facility in the wine making industry.
It features the largest cold storage room of any winery in Texas, a barrel room with a capacity for 3,000 barrels, a tasting room, office space and two apartments ready to house visiting wine makers.
Terry County is known in the wine industry across the state and the nation as one of the best locations in the world to grow wine grapes.
Having this facility only optimizes the potential of local fields, according to Dusty Timmons, co-manager of TCWW.
“This facility gives vineyards and wineries much more flexibility,” Timmons said. “We really allow them the option of a safety net that helps them even out their business through the highs and lows of growing grapes. And the vineyard business is only going to grow in Terry County.”
Timmons said there are currently about 800 acres of grapes in the county, but 8,000 are needed.
“We’ll get there,” he said. “It’s going to take a while, but I’ll see it in my lifetime. This facility will help spur that growth. We allow the growers to reduce some risk.”
TCWW will also help local vintners decide which varieties of grapes do best in Terry County.
Bowen said plans call for a vineyard on site with different varieties and experimental vines to see which do well in the sandy loam soil of Terry County.
Other plantings will include fruit trees and hops, a key ingredient in making beer.
“Our future expansion could include a brewery on site as well,” Bowen added. “Our options are wide open and we are looking forward to what the future holds. Brownfield has so much potential, it’s hard to even keep up.”
By Brian Brisendine, Courtesy The Brownfield News


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Düsseldorf Volkswagen is intensifying its cooperation with the Indian car manufacturer Mahindra. In the UK, the companies signed a contract under which Volkswagen will supply Mahindra’s new SUV range with electrical components.
These include, among other things, the electric powertrain, the battery system and the standard battery cell, which are used in Volkswagen’s current MEB series. The vehicles of the series include, among other things, the all-electric ID models.
The binding supply agreement is to be finalised by the end of 2022. The first components are to be delivered from 2024. The companies do not provide any information on the terms of the contract.
The aim is to achieve a volume of more than one million units over the lifetime of a vehicle generation and the supply of five electric SUV models with MEB components, according to a joint statement.
In May, Volkswagen and Mahindra had already reached a contractual agreement to examine cooperation in the supply of MEB components. In addition to the Indian group, the US car manufacturer Ford also relies on components of the MEB series.
Thomas Schmall, Chief Technology Officer at Volkswagen and Head of the Components Department, sees great opportunities in the Indian market: “Together, Volkswagen and Mahindra can make a significant contribution to the electrification of India, a huge automotive market with ambitious climate protection goals.“
It does not yet look as if electrification in India is making strong progress. But according to Schmall, the government is pursuing an aggressive expansion plan. According to forecasts, around four million vehicles will be registered in India every year from 2030, about half of which will be purely electric.
The cooperation between Volkswagen and Mahindra could be further expanded. In the long term, the companies are examining the establishment of a cell production facility in India. According to Schmall, the requirement of at least 20 gigawatt hours would have to be available for such a cell plant to be economically worthwhile.
Strong dependence on China
So far, around three million new vehicles have been sold in India every year. This makes the subcontinent one of the five largest car markets in the world. In a globally declining passenger car sales market, only there and in China have new registrations increased in the first half of 2022.
But despite this development and the high number of inhabitants, the Indian market is so far no more than a hopeful value for the car industry. In contrast to China, where German car manufacturers in particular generate large parts of their annual sales, India does not yet play a role.
However, the strong China commitments of Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW are under criticism after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the political tensions between the US and China and the human rights violations in Xinjiang in China and pose long-term economic risks.
In the long term, carmakers are dependent on expanding their sales in other markets. VW, for example, continues to try its hand at the US market, which has not yet been exhausted. The increased involvement in India is likely to be part of the strategic considerations to reduce dependence on China, especially in the Asian market. So far, the People’s Republic as a whole has no alternative: Volkswagen sells around 40 percent of its vehicles produced worldwide there.


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from CNN Money
Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigned Wednesday as a growing scandal over falsified emissions tests rocked the world’s biggest carmaker.
“I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrongdoing on my part,” Winterkorn said in a statement after an emergency meeting with Volkswagen directors.
He said he was stunned by the scale of the misconduct and was accepting responsibility to clear the way for a “fresh start” for the company.
“The process of clarification and transparency must continue. This is the only way to win back trust. I am convinced that the Volkswagen Group and its team will overcome this grave crisis.”
The scandal broke Friday when U.S. regulators said the German company had deliberately programmed some 500,000 vehicles to emit lower levels of harmful emissions in official tests than on the roads.
It exploded into a global crisis Tuesday when Volkswagen (VLKAY) said its internal investigations had found significant emissions discrepancies in 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide.
The company’s stock price has crashed, causing big losses for investors such as the Gulf state of Qatar, and trust has been shaken in a brand that is at the heart of German manufacturing and exports.
Volkswagen, which also owns the Audi and Porsche brands, overtook Toyota (TM) earlier this year to become the world’s biggest automaker by vehicle sales.
Winterkorn had apologized profusely, twice, and the company has set aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) to cover the cost of recalls and other efforts to limit the damage, trashing its profit forecast for the year in the process.
But the final bill could be much higher. The company faces civil and possible criminal fines in the U.S. that are likely to total billions of dollars. And it’s unclear yet whether it will have to issue massive recalls in other markets.
It’s hard to overstate the significance of the crisis in Germany, where making quality cars is central to the country’s reputation as a manufacturing and export powerhouse. The auto industry accounts for about 20% of exports, and employs 775,000 people directly.More News


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The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is set to commence electronic-commerce, gaming and bet taxes in April 2022. There are currently 33 sports betting companies duly registered with the Gaming Commission and 8 legal casinos in the country.
According to the assistant Commissioner of GRA, Dr. Martin Yamborigya as reported by pulse; the activities of the gaming and bet companies have increased over the years and thus their operations needed to be taxed as they are expected to contribute to the government’s revenue. They are working with the Gaming Commission of Ghana and the gaming and betting operators, to ensure that the right taxes are paid.
The Commissioner-General of GRA, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah equally stated that the Authority will be vigorous in its efforts to tax players in the e-commerce market. He however, made the assurance that the introduction of these taxes, coupled with digitization initiatives and the introduction of electronic transaction levy would complement efforts in achieving the ¢80.3 billion ($10.7 billion) revenue target for 2022.
Tier-one operator, PMU has joined forces with the Senegalese National Lottery (Lonase) to allow bettors in the country to bet on the same horse races and with the same payouts as PMU’s customers in France, powered by Honore’s cutting-edge platform and sportsbook offering.
Honore Gaming has emerged as a leading provider of turnkey sportsbook solutions to operators targeting French-speaking countries across the fast-growing African market.
Its omnichannel solution covers retail and online with a powerful back office where operators can manage all activity. Its platform is also fully customizable to ensure that operators will not only meet the exact needs of players in the gaming market but also stand out from their rivals in the game.
The Kenyan Treasury as proposed in their Financial Bill 2022, plans to increase digital tax service (DST), of the gross value of online transactions of foreign tech giants, in the financial year starting July 2022; from the current 1.5 percent to 3%.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has identified foreign firms like Amazon, Netflix, Twitter and PayPal, which derive income in Kenya through digital marketplaces — selling exclusively online or providing platforms for such deals; as significant drivers of tax receipts in a highly digitalizing global economy.
The KRA has projected gross revenue to be generated by foreign firms in Kenya’s digital marketplace, to be at about Sh926 billion. The tax is levied on the sale of e-books, movies, music, games, and other digital content and applies to foreign companies.
Kenya was one of the countries, alongside Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka that did not sign on to the 15% global minimum corporate tax under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Agreement.
Kenya first introduced digital service tax (dst) in January, 2021 to target revenues made by residents and non-resident firms selling products online, but it was later amended to apply solely to foreign (non-resident) companies. Their refusal to vote for the corporate tax pact, might stem from the fact that some clauses on the deal might be a contradiction which will necessitate them to jettison DST.
According to Ugandan Media outlets, some lawmakers from the Committee on Finance, in the African nation of Uganda has proposed a ban on daytime sportsbetting. They opine that sportsbooks operations should be a part-time set-up, which would start from 5 PM and end at around 2 AM. This according to the concerned lawmakers will make the youths more productive and stop them from engaging in the betting from as early as 10.am
The proposal gathered dissenting arguments, from some lawmakers who feel that time limitation will impact negatively on the gambling industry as time of events betted on differ across the globe mostly due to global time difference. Also according to report, one lawmaker expressed the view that limiting time does not equate limiting interest but only shortens it and it might adversely affect family life as bettors will forego family time for evenings spent on betting.
There’s also the issue of enforcement. Trying to limit when sportsbooks can accept bets would be a monumental and possibly insurmountable challenge.
One of the issues being addressed by the Ugandan gaming regulator, Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (LGRB) is that of time limitation. According to LGRB CEO, Denis Ngabirano, who seems to show support for the proposal, the Commission is working on new rules and regulations that will hopefully clean up their gaming industry, and play time is one of the issues they intend to amend.
LGRB has also requested US$567,000 extra to onboard an electronic monitoring system to add safeguards to the legal betting industry and help generate more revenue for the country and help mitigate money laundering.
Tanzania’s gaming business has experienced tremendous growth and has established itself as an important industry that contributes significantly to the country’s GDP.
As of 2022, Sportsbetting in Tanzania has surpassed retail casinos as the country’s main gaming activity in terms of gross gaming revenue (GGR). The GGR generated by Sports betting exceeded TZS 72 billion in the financial year 2021/2022, with gaming tax income of around TZS 20 billion.
This surge in growth can be attributed to high level of mobile and internet penetration and the widespread of usage of mobile money services. Also increase in youth population has also contributed to the expansion in the industry.
The GGR for the country’s online casino, also increased by 97% from the previous year, to TZS 13.8 billion, as more operators integrate online casinos into their platforms, and more players acclimatize to the online form of gaming. The rapid expansion of online casinos can also be attributed to recent technology advancements and extensive use of mobile phones.
Tanzania’s internet user base has continuously grown, from seven million in 2012 to over 45 million in 2022. Tanzania’s internet penetration trend is estimated to be 66% in December 2022. Because of the rise in domestic internet users, gaming companies that provide online services, now have a higher consumer base, to draw from.
In 2015, Gambia completely banned all gambling activities. However, in 2017, casinos, lotteries and betting centers resumed operations in Gambia due to a ‘decree’ by the President, Adama Barrow, which lifted the ban on gambling.
Generally, most forms of online gambling are not regulated as no specific law was issued after the ban was lifted. However, online sports betting is considered to be legal due to the broad definition of betting which includes land-based as well as online versions.
The body responsible for the regulation of legalized gambling in Gambia; is the Gambia Revenue Authority. This body is responsible for supervising the work of the companies in the gambling sector and also for the granting of licenses.


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Via Adotas, MySpace is undergoing a redesign in order to improve design and try to attract in more interactive ads:
The update is aimed to boost navigation and better integrate interactive ads within the site â€" and broaden its appeal and build out its base of 118 million users worldwide.But is it too late? MySpace is rapidly losing ground to Facebook, and it's reached the point of saturation -- anyone who will sign up for MySpace probably has. In addition, years of ugly design (and horror stories of pedophiles) has seen many users (and advertisers) flee. But then, it's maybe social networking as a whole that's done with. From a report today on GigaOm:
But Schmidt's motivation notwithstanding, what he says is true: research agency, lowered its 2008 advertising estimates for U.S. social networks to $1.43 billion from $1.6 billion. They expect Facebook will take in $265 million and MySpace will bring in $755 million, down from earlier projections of $305 million and $850 million, respectively.
The true problem, of course, is that all social networks are hard to monetize because unlike during static web surfing, advertisers are finding it nearly impossible to get those click throughs. Which is why it will be interesting when I attend the SWAT Summit next week, focused on marketing and advertising in social networking, and see if there's any (credible) ways to finally turn the vast number of eyeballs on social networks into any sort of real cash.


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Sony’s first Android tablets, the S1 and S2, are likely going to be released next month (September) in India.
According to Tabletslaunch, Sony India plans to offer the S1 and S2 for about 29,000 INR ($640) each. Both devices will come with Android Honeycomb, a custom Sony UI, dual-core processors, and lots of other nice features.
The two tablets are already featured on Sony India’s official website, where some arguably awesome video promos have been uploaded.
India aside, the Sony S1 (pictured above) may become available for pre-order in the UK starting September 1, while the S2 should be released by AT&T in the US sometime soon – possibly also next month.
If you liked the post, you might find these interesting too:
- Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro to arrive in India this week
- Sony Xperia S released in India. Xperia U, Xperia P, and Xperia Sola to follow
- HTC Rhyme to become available in India soon
- Sony Xperia Ion launched in India, Android ICS presence unclear
- Sony’s S1 Android tablet available for pre-order in the UK starting September 1?


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In October 2021, Qwil, a fintech that provides early payments to staffing firms and managed service providers, and Talent Solutions TAPFIN, a managed service provider for contingent workforces, launched a partnership creating a technology enabled early-payment solution for staffing firms.
LSQ, a provider of working capital finance and payments solutions, acquired Qwil, a San Francisco-based financial technology company that provides early payments to staffing firms.
LSQ, a provider of technology-driven working capital solutions, highlighted its key achievements for 2020, including the continued growth of its LSQ FastTrack working capital platform and its origination of more than $188 million in AR financing.
LSQ added Vikas Shah as executive vice president of supply chain finance. Shah will lead the development of the company’s supply chain finance platform, LSQ FastTrack.
Alternative funder LSQ plans to relocate its headquarters from Maitland, FL to downtown Orlando. Scheduled to commence Friday, April 05, 2019, the move will relocate LSQ’s 130-person staff to the second floor of Landmark Center One.


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The wait to butcher cattle at local meat lockers (and those all across the country) has increased
substantially since the start of the pandemic, which means cows are larger once they arrive to the lockers and lockers take longer to butcher them. And so, the cycle perpetuates itself.
Joe Allen, owner of Canton Lockers in Canton, said he normally butchers 10 beef a week during the summer. He’s currently processing 22 a week and is booked out until February of next
year. Mark’s Meat in Halstead is booked through June 2022 and Stroot Lockers in Goddard doesn’t
have openings until 2023. James Gaida, owner of Stroot Lockers in Goddard and Mulvane, said he is normally booked out three or maybe four months, with a decline and chance to catch his breath during the summer.
“I just don’t have the capacity to help all the people that want to get in, even some of my regulars,”
Gaida said. “I am taking on with more than I can handle and if I had the help and more space, I’d
be able to do, like, it would be insane how much we could do. We’re only limited in our space and the amount of employees I have.”
There seem to be two driving forces behind the longer waits. One, a lot more ranchers are selling direct to customers. As reported last week in the Harvey County Now, Sandhill Cattle alone sold over a hundred cows direct to customers, last year. According to the meat lockers, they aren’t the only ones changing their business strategy.
Allen said the increase started last year when feedlots shut down, beef became sparse and prices skyrocketed at grocery stores.
“Their (ranchers) phones probably rang off the hook from their friends and neighbors, ‘Hey, Walmart don’t have meat. Do you have any?’ And so they started booking beef with me and every locker in the country,” Allen said.
Gaida said that the Shop Kansas Farms Facebook page has connected customers who want to buy directly from the
farm instead of the grocery store and allowed the selling of beef directly in a better way.
“I think the biggest thing has been that Shop Kansas Farms Facebook page and now that
website has kind of changed the whole industry,” Gaida said.
The second driving force behind the long waits is the wait itself. Allen said the cattle keep eating and gaining weight while waiting to be butchered.
“We had customers that didn’t realize that the lockers were filling up and then when they finally called to book
their beef we were pretty out,” Allen said. “So now, these animals are pretty much bigger because they gain three
or four pounds every single day.”
He said that 50 years ago, someone might bring in a cow that might weight 500 pounds, but now, he is producing half beefs that are more than 500 pounds. Gaida said it depends on the rancher whether or not the longer waiting
time produces better quality in the final butchered product.
“The fatter it is the better flavor, but you do have a lot of waste, depending on the breed of cattle,” Gaida
said. “It’s probably better to feed them out for the guys that know what they’re doing, know how much to do and when to do it. Sometimes, you get ones that are just really, really fat, just a lot of waste and is real greasy hamburger.”
Gaida said that Stroot Lockers also butchers hogs and lamb. He shuts down the cattle butchering in December in
order to focus on deer. Stroot Lockers is located at 111 N. Main in Goddard. Their phone number is
316-794-8762. At Canton Lockers, located at 131 N. Main in Canton, Allen does primarily cattle all year
round. Their phone number is 620-628-4495.


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Tag Archives: 2k australia
Mon, Nov 28, 2011 | 01:38 GMT
“We had a number of open positions on BioShock Infinite. When we found out our former sister studio 2K Australia was becoming available, we thought they would perfectly fill those roles. If every decision was this easy…”
– Irrational Games boss Ken Levine, speaking to Joystiq about the freshly renamed 2K Australia’s involvement with BioShock: Infinite. The multiplatform title is expected in 2012.
Fri, Nov 25, 2011 | 06:12 GMT
2K Australia is once more collaborating with Irrational Games.
Tue, Jun 14, 2011 | 22:25 BST
Drew Smith has the team behind XCOM is taking elements that made the previous games in the fun and “bringing it” with the revamp slated for next year. During E3, the producer spoke with GamePron in the video posted below regarding what has been going on behind the scenes on the tactical FPS. Sounds like research will play a bigger role this time around as well. XCOM is slated for March 6 in the US and March 9 in the UK on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Fri, Jun 03, 2011 | 13:20 BST
2K’s announced that XCOM will make its way to stores on March 6 in the US and March 9 in the UK next year for 360 and PC. And PS3 too.
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 | 22:05 GMT
2K has confirmed the resignation of Martin Slater, head of the Australian slice of 2K Marin, but denied the “big changes” to XCOM rumour which surfaced a fortnight ago.
Wed, Feb 16, 2011 | 13:40 GMT
According to semi-retired internet sluth superannuation, the 2K Australia-made reboot for XCOM has seen “some big changes” since its announcement last year.
Sat, Jun 26, 2010 | 18:30 BST
2K’s Jonathan Pelling, creative director for XCOM, has said that revamping the strategy series as a first-person shooter seemed like the right thing to do.
Fri, Jun 25, 2010 | 23:38 BST
With the exception of a certain single most popular subscription-based fantasy MMO in the entire world, radical genre reinventions and videogames have something of a checkered past. In the eyes of many, it’s like tracking mud all over holy ground, lighting a national flag on fire, or saying Firefly was overrated. In other words, a criminal offense of the highest order.
That, however, did nothing to dissuade 2K from taking the reigns to XCOM and steering it in an entirely new direction. Bye bye, turn-based strategy game. Hello, first-person shooter. 2K just painted a big red target on its back, angered a bull, then allowed itself to be chased into a minefield full of hornets’ nests. But was it worth it?
Creative director Jonathan Pelling sure seems to think so. We had a chance to sit down with him during E3, and – while we’re not entirely convinced just yet – he spoke with the kind of conviction that only plenty of thought and a determined, consistent direction can produce. From the sound of things, XCOM is in good hands. But enough from us. Pelling’s words speak for themselves. Click past the break to hear his thoughts on why XCOM may be truer to the franchise than the original X-Com, what the deal is with those blob aliens, what 2K’s doing to create a strategic first-person shooter, and tons more.
[Interview by Nathan Grayson]
Thu, Apr 15, 2010 | 08:00 BST
Wed, Apr 01, 2009 | 20:44 BST
2K Boston may be changing its moniker to Irrational Boston.
This speculatory information is thanks to both a trademark filed by Take-Two,and t-shirts sported by GDC attendees plastered with “email@example.com” on the back.
Joystiq contacted 2K Boston for verification earlier today and the official response was “no comment” with more to be revealed “very soon.”
Wed, Jun 04, 2008 | 17:50 BST
SCEA’s revealed that a studio other than 2Ks Boston, Australia and Marin is working on the PS3 version of Bioshock in this US PlayStation Blog post.
“Because this is the first PS3 title from 2K Marin, 2K Australia and 2K Boston, we’ve also got another development partner with some outstanding PS3-specific coding chops helping out with the project,” said a spokesperson. “We can’t talk about what studio that is yet, but we look forward to revealing that in the future.”
The piece also confirms that there are “as-yet-unannounced components” to the new version, but, obviously, doesn’t hint as to what they are. Multiplay, please.
Take a look. Thanks, Blerk.


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A group of Williams College students are tapping into a local co-op to provide needy community members with fresh food. A product of Williams’ Kinetic, a student think tank, Suspended Groceries allows shoppers (members and non-members alike) at Wild Oats, a co-op grocery store in Williamstown, to purchase coupons for extra items when they reach the register. These coupons are then distributed at the nearby Berkshire Food Project, whose clients can pick up their free items at Wild Oats.
The program—spearheaded by Jessica Bernheim, Catharine Parker, Meg Richardson, and Lucas Elek—was modeled after Naples, Italy’s Suspended Coffee tradition, in which café-goers can purchase an extra espresso, which is given to a later customer, who simply needs to ask if there is a “caffè in sospensione.”
Although the group’s plan did not initially revolve around partnership with a co-op grocery store, they eventually opted to work with Wild Oats over other more conventional choices.
“Wild Oats had appeal because it has a community approach on health food,” Bernheim said.
Suspended Groceries is furthering the community reach of co-op grocery stores, which are by nature based on community involvement. Food co-ops are locally owned and sell products from local farms and food producers, providing the fresh products typically found at a farmer’s market, with the added benefit of being open every day. Although anyone can shop at the stores, members enjoy the added benefit of becoming co-owners.
Bernheim said Kinetic is looking at other stores to partner with, as well as other nearby food banks, and hopes Suspended Groceries can become a national trend.
The Williamstown, MA initiative comes on the heels of the growing co-op scene—they are difficult to track, since they are not governed by a single institution, but Stuart Reid, director of Minnesota’s Food co-op Initiative, estimates that there are approximately 330 fully functional food co-ops in the country, including 68 founded over the past eight years.
“Co-operatives tend to be very stable organizations in a community,” said Anne Reynolds, assistant director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Co-operatives. “Once created and successful for a few years, they really tend to last. For many communities the independent grocery stores have disappeared, and those communities that have locally owned co-op grocery stores still have them.”
David Durfee, general manager of Wild Oats, credits the Williams students for their initiative in finding a way to tackle local food insecurity.
“Both the Williams students and Wild Oats Market hope to see Suspended Groceries expand and become an integral part of our culture,” Durfee said.


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New Fortnite secrets have been found away from Epic Games patch notes
Epic Games appear to have squeezed in a lot of new Fortnite skins and other items into the latest update.
And what’s more, none of them were listed in the official Patch Notes.
There was plenty of bugfixes and items confirmed, such as the new Port-A-Fortress, but nothing hinting at what’s coming next.
Lucky for us there are droves of data miners out there who were just waiting to have a look through the new update.
And it appears they found a treasure trove of skins which have now been leaked online.
You can expect a wealth of new content for the Fortnite item shop in the coming weeks, which are likely to go live during season 6.
The new skins include male and female clowns with seemingly evil counterparts. There's also an ice warrior, which bears a small resemblance to the White Walkers from Game of Thrones.
The clown skin is called Nite Nite and comes with Creepy and Creepier unlockables. There's also the Valkyrie skin, as well as the Frostwing Legendary Glider.
More leaked skins have been found in today's update
And away from that stuff, data miners may have also found some future events gear.
This includes a new fireworks in-game event which will culminate in a massive Llama being featured in the sky.
This was found in the latest build of the game, along with a “Work-in-Progress” Dark Bomber skin.
This was recently hinted at in a loading screen released by Epic Games during Week 10.
The details found are pretty basic, but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest this skin will be part of season 6.
Then there are the new files found that link the in-game Cube with Loot Lake.
The current theory surmises that it will remove the water and replace it with a volcano and lava.
More season 6 details are expected to be announced soonq
And it appears that new found in the game’s code back up that idea with a little more evidence.
“Hopefully, these files being added to “Kevin” will light the fuse on the event starting, as it ever slowly approaches the Lake," a post from Fortnite Intel explains.
“The files found inside of the Cube’s data, while water-related, also have nods to different sizes and depths of water – such as “Water_Shallow”.
“The Shallow water materials are also under a “UniqueMaterials” folder, meaning that it might be related to the possible Water-sucking Cube theory.
“There was also a “Destination” event added to the cube’s files, meaning we’re almost at its completion!”
It certainly looks like Epic Games are putting the last touches on their upcoming Season 5 end event.
And if it is something that will be available to watch live in-game, you can expect some kind of announcement from Epic Games in the near future.


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Sept 5 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Wednesday:
** The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc on Tuesday said it would sell its retirement plans business to life insurer MassMutual for $400 million cash, part of The Hartford's plan to shed assets and focus on its property insurance business.
** Kirby Corp, the largest U.S. inland tank barge operator, will buy the assets of Allied Transportation Co for $116 million as it looks to grow the petrochemical segment of its offshore operations.
** South Korean rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI Co Ltd said on Wednesday it would pay $95 million to buy its German partner's 50 percent stake in electric battery maker SB LiMotive Co Ltd, ending a joint venture formed in 2008 with Robert Bosch GmbH.
** 3M Co said it is not dropping the purchase of Avery Dennison Corp's office products groups, in response to the U.S. Justice Department's statement on Tuesday that the company is abandoning the plan following threats of a civil lawsuit by antitrust authorities.
** British luxury jewellery designer Theo Fennell Plc , whose customers include celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Helen Mirren, confirmed it was in preliminary takeover talks with EME Capital LLP.
** Private equity fund Mid Europa Partners (MEP) plans to sell healthcare group Lux Med by the end of the year after building it up into one of Poland's top providers of medical services, one of the fund's partners told Reuters.
** British soft drinks maker Britvic Plc confirmed it was in preliminary merger talks with smaller rival AG Barr Plc and said an agreement had been reached on certain deal terms.


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During three days of competition, grooming contestants took to the stage at the SuperZoo tradeshow to put their grooming skills to the test.
Pet Product News honored one store as its Retailer of the Year and recognized with 11 additional stores with awards for their business achievements in a variety of categories.
Harrison Forbes, the host of Pet Talk and author of Dog Talk, presented this year’s New Products Showcase awards on July 26.
SuperZoo exceeded attendance expectations and continues to draw the most qualified pet industry buyers of any similar trade show in North America, said show organizers.
The World Pet Association named the winners of its Good Works program’s #WPAGoodWorks social media contest this week at the SuperZoo trade show.
The box is designed for the busy pet boutique store owner that wants new products but is tired of searching online.
While at the booth, SuperZoo visitors can see the Organic Train-Me! treats.
The reception is open to every woman (and the smart men) who are either exhibiting or attending SuperZoo.
The stars of Nat Geo Wild's “The Incredible Dr. Pol,” will be at the company's booth on July 25.


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Companies that invest in AI-driven branding strategies gain a distinct advantage in the market. Uppercentile’s new strategy highlights the importance of anticipating and adapting to emerging tech, staying ahead of the curve.
HOLLYWOOD, CA, March 09, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ — California-based healthcare insights firm, Uppercentile LLC, has announced the launch of its new branding strategy this week, designed to meet the needs of the digital age in which AI is set to play a crucial role.
The company has spent months planning and building a new visual identity since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which became available to the public in November 2022.
Joseph Letke, the Founder of Uppercentile, noted that AI will eventually use physical, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) environments to communicate messages, requiring brands to be highly versatile in their approach. Given Uppercentile’s work in the healthcare industry, which is undergoing significant transformation through AI advancements, the company has carefully considered the potential opportunities presented by this trend.
Letke emphasized the evolution involved in Uppercentile’s new branding strategy, saying, “We’re open to adjustments based on the natural use by AI, iterating as the technology figures out which forms belong where in attention-grabbing spaces.”
He added that the company aims to be a forerunner in this new digital fluidness and versatility, recognizing that the vast majority of graphics in the market today were designed pre-mainstream AI trends.
The new branding strategy is just one part of Uppercentile’s broader plan to stay ahead and innovate in the healthcare industry. Letke noted that the company is exploring other modalities beyond branding, including those driven by AI technology.
Clients can expect to see the new branding incorporated into all of Uppercentile’s products and services going forward, with the company continuing to provide high-quality research and insights to its clients. As Letke observed, “We’re focused on meeting the evolving needs of our clients in the healthcare industry, and we believe our new branding strategy positions us well to do so.”
At Uppercentile LLC, we are passionate about helping healthcare executives and purchasing departments make informed decisions that drive successful transformations without sacrificing cost containment goals. Our solutions optimize third-party services and streamline insights delivery to help healthcare organizations achieve specific goals and save millions through better contracts. Our north star is creating happier, healthier, and more diverse and effective workforces that powerfully change communities for the better. Founded in response to COVID-19 challenges, we offer innovative solutions that are focused on results. For more information, visit our website at https://www.uppercentile.com.
For the original version of this press release, please visit 24-7PressRelease.com here


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KALAMAZOO, Mich. — All across the country, communities are finding ways to support Ukraine and Ukrainian people who had to flee their country.
In West Michigan, local businesses are some of those showing that support, selling products and donating the proceeds to organizations helping Ukrainians.
The Victorian Bakery in Kalamazoo has already raised over $1,000 to be donated to a nonprofit feeding Ukrainian businesses.
"I just thought we need to do something," said Maria Brennan, the co-owner of The Victorian Bakery.
Walking into The Victorian Bakery, the front counter is full of blue and yellow in support of Ukraine and its people.
"During the pandemic, I did some online classes with Dinara Kasko, who's a pastry chef out of Ukraine. She was posting, ‘Somebody help us.’ It was horrific. She was like, ‘Please post about Ukraine,’ and we started making her cakes and putting them out. All the pastry chefs all over the world that use her molds have been flooding Instagram," said Brennan.
Kasko's brand new bakery and studio was destroyed by Russian bombs.
The baking community decided to show their support, including The Victorian Bakery, using the molds she made and selling the pastries to donate proceeds to World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit feeding Ukrainian refugees.
"The top one is a heart-shaped mold, and we sprayed it the colors of the Ukrainian flag," said Brennan. "Then on the shelf below it, we have her spheres' mold here, and then her rose, so that's our Ukrainian rose mold. We want to represent her as much as we can during this time."
Cherri's Chocol'art on the Kalamazoo mall followed suit, making chocolates with the Ukrainian flag's colors.
"I think it is just super awesome. It is really heartfelt. It means Kalamazoo cares. I think everyone around the world is looking to help in some way. We are kind of limited on that, so this is one way we can help. I think it is pretty awesome," said Ashley Rafferty-Billman, Cherri's Chocol'art general manager and chocolatier.
Businesses here in #Kalamazoo are showing their support for Ukraine by selling products & donating the proceeds.— Lauren Kummer (@LaurenKummerTV) March 2, 2022
The Victorian Bakery & Cherri’s Chocol’art have teamed up to donate money to World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit feeding Ukrainian refugees. @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/QlKgtQHz8q
Both stores said they've already seen an incredible amount of support and hope to see it continue so they can help as much as they can.
"This is the first time that I felt we had the opportunity to support them like Kalamazoo saved us during the pandemic, so now it's our turn to, you know, give back," said Brennan.
Both fundraisers are going until the end of the week. You can visit the individual stores to purchase the pastries and/or chocolates as well as to make a donation.
The Victorian Bakery is located at 512 North Park Street next to the Park Street Market in Kalamazoo.
Cherri's Chocol'art is located on the Kalamazoo mall at 101 South Kalamazoo Mall.
You can also click here to make a donation directly to World Central Kitchen.
RELATED: Blue Bridge in GR to be illuminated in solidarity with Ukraine


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The largest undeveloped industrial property in Squamish has been bought.
Does that mean well-paid jobs at industrial businesses are to follow?
Garry Fawley, Denciti CEO, said the plan is to develop the site with industrial space serving local manufacturing, technology, cleantech, greentech, and food processing companies.
Denciti is preparing plans for the site and expects to file a formal development permit application soon.
Fawley said construction is slated to begin in the fall of 2022.
"I like what is happening in Squamish. It has a really strong vibe about it... there's a lot of energy, so I see it attracting new businesses, some of those businesses will hopefully include clean energy and things like that," he said.
These types of businesses bring "good employment, good wages," he told The Chief and are likely to be in town long-term.
That is what Squamish needs to not become a bedroom community, he added.
"We've really got the perfect storm going here for industrial demand," said Darren McCartney of RE/Max Sea to Sky Real Estate in a news release about the purchase. "I'm excited to see Denciti stepping up. With their expertise, this site will provide a steady supply of high-quality light industrial space that's long overdue."
McCartney told The Chief there are businesses in the corridor that want to expand, but they haven't been able to due to the lack of space. Thus, this project will be a welcome option for some.
"On top of that, what we have going on, secondly... is we have obviously got a huge influx of residential population moving to Squamish with all the development taking place," he said, adding that many of the new entrepreneurs moving here for the lifestyle want to relocate their businesses.
"In many, many cases, they are a light-industrial user of some sort. There's substantial demand for this type of product."
While it may look to some like there is already a lot of development in the business park, the reality is the demand is at least twice what the supply is, McCartney said.
"It is very challenging. It is tough for the market to keep up, and then on top of that, in Squamish, we are very geographically constrained."
He noted this pent-up demand for industrial space is not just happening in Squamish but throughout the Lower Mainland.
And it is something that has been talked about in Squamish for 15 years or so.
The Solterra Sea to Sky Business Park has been successful, and now this development will add to the inventory down the line, he said.
"People have seen it coming, and we are living it now, and I am just really excited to see a capable, quality developer stepping up and taking out the last large remaining tract of light industrial land."