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Amazon Will Now Put An End To Sale Of Fake and Knockoff Goods On Its Platform In India
Whenever we shop on Amazon, there would have been times when you would have stumbled across various counterfeit or 'knock-off' items -- whether it is headphones, smartwatches or basic commodity items like butter, cheese etc. However, Amazon will now take down such products with the help of its Project Zero in India.
With Project Zero, Amazon will implement a set of stringent and proactive methods to identify fake goods on its e-commerce platform. Amazon has already commenced Project Zero in the US, among other countries and now India is joining the bandwagon.
Dharmesh M Mehta, Amazon's vice president of worldwide customer trust and partner support, said in a statement, "With this launch, we're excited to see many more brands in India, from small and emerging entrepreneurs to large multi-national brands, partner with us to drive counterfeits to zero and deliver a great shopping experience for our customers. Project Zero builds on our long-standing work and investments to ensure that customers always receive authentic goods when shopping on Amazon."
Why is it necessary?
Sale of counterfeit goods might seem to be impacting major conglomerates. However, the products these brands sell go under a tight scrutiny among stringent health norms so that the end product must not harm its consumers. Take for example counterfeit butter. You don't know how it was manufactured or how what harmful chemicals are added to make it look just like the real deal.
Similarly in case of electronics a real looking knockoff of an Apple Watch for just a fraction of an original might seem like a tempting deal, but you don't know whether the battery has gone through necessary protocols to be deemed safe for use. With so many battery exploding incidents, you won't want that explosion to occur on your wrist, would you?
While e-commerce brands add a badge to trustworthy sellers (like Flipkart Assured), it doesn't fix things the way one wants it to.
How will Amazon do it?
Various Indian brands were a part of the pilot project in India to make this work. Project Zero will carefully understand brands and their products along with their intellectual property. With this information, it will make carefully identify whether a product being sold is genuine or not.
They will take help of automated protections, self-service counterfeit removal as well as product serialisation. Basically, every product will have a unique serial number that will authenticate whether it is genuine or not. Amazon, before selling it to consumers will cross-verify this, to keep customers away from harm's way.
Mehta further adds, "If for some reason, our automated protections miss a counterfeit listing that makes it onto our marketplace, a brand can on their own find that item and pull it down. It's the first time that we've put this much power in a brand's hands."


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Tesla Breaks Earnings Record as China Boosts Production and Demand
(Nikkei Asia) — Tesla reported record profits and revenue for the third quarter on Wednesday, defying supply chain challenges that are haunting automakers.
For the three months ended September, Tesla reported $1.62 billion in profit, an all-time high, and more than quadrupled the $331 million in the same period last year. It registered $13.76 billion in revenue, up 57% from a year earlier, which is also a record for the American electric carmaker.
But the revenue and profit records were not easily earned amid a global chip shortage and other logistics challenges.
“A variety of challenges, including semiconductor shortages, congestion at ports, and rolling blackouts, have been impacting our ability to keep factories running at full speed,” the company said in an earnings release.
Power shortages in China caused by a transition to clean energy, strong industrial demand and high commodity prices, have halted production at numerous factories including suppliers since late September.
However, Tesla still has China to thank for the record-beating quarter, as the country has been fueling both demand and production.
The company does not break down deliveries by country. But according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), 133,238 vehicles were shipped from Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory in the July to September quarter, including 59,579 units for export and 73,659 were sold domestically.
During its annual shareholder meeting this month, Tesla revealed that in terms of output, its Fremont, California factory had been overtaken by its Shanghai plant during the September quarter.
“For all of Q3, China remained our main export hub,” the company said in Wednesday’s earnings release. “Production has ramped well in China, and we are driving improvements to increase the production rate further.”
The company set a new China sales record in September with 52,153 vehicles sold in the country, according to CPCA.
Thanks to the China boost, Tesla delivered 241,300 vehicles globally in the July to September quarter, up 73% from a year earlier, despite “global supply chain and logistics challenges,” the company said.
“The increase in production rate has primarily been driven by further ramping of the Model Y at our Shanghai factory,” Tesla’s chief financial office Zach Kirkhorn said on an earnings call with analysts.
The Shanghai Gigafactory has also helped Tesla achieve a 30.5% gross margin on the automotive business, a new record for the company, thanks in part to lower labor and other operating costs in China.
“This benefit primarily comes from higher [production] volumes, particularly out of the Shanghai factory,” Kirkhorn added.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not on the earnings call Wednesday. He previously announced he will not attend quarterly calls any more unless there is “something really important” that he needs to say.
This story was first published in Nikkei Asia.
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“First automated trend forecasting platform” predicted the Rainbow Bagel
Santa Monica-based Tilofy is looking to transform the labor-intensive effort needed to predict the future.
The makers of a new trend-forecasting platform claim they predicted the Rainbow Bagel before it was a thing.
Santa Monica, California-based Tilofy is currently in a private, invitation-only beta of its new platform, which it says is the first automated trend forecaster. Unlike services that, say, spot current trends in social media, Tilofy utilizes machine learning, artificial intelligence and machine vision of imagery to forecast trends weeks or months before they become mainstream.
“There’s a bagel store in Brooklyn that was doing something interesting, tapping into the LGBT community” by creating a rainbow-colored bagel, CEO and founder Ali Khoshgozaran told me.
He recalled that Tilofy predicted the future mainstream popularity of the Rainbow Bagel in November of last year. In February, The Wall Street Journal wrote an article about it, and now The Bagel Store is restructuring around its hit product. Khoshgozaran acknowledged he has not yet tasted the concoction.
Also predicted by Tilofy, which was founded in 2013: the rise of the minimalist lifestyle, the success of Chef Ray Garcia (who recently won a Chef of the Year award), and the trends of millennials traveling solo and more women smoking cigars.
Khoshgozaran suggested that such forecasting knowledge could be useful on many marketing fronts, such as a video network looking to create content that will be popular in a few months.
To date, about 140 businesses have requested and been granted access to the platform. Khoshgozaran said any business can request access. Although the required 12-month subscription is “not cheap,” the platform currently is not self-service, and the present emphasis is on creative agencies, brand and marketing agencies and video networks.
By the end of this year, he said, the platform will be released to the public, at which point it will be self-service, after initial training.
The platform monitors over 40 million subjects for months, looking for interest swings in a topic, concept, brand or individual, not just a count of the mentions. It then makes forecasts about the velocity of the interest over time, with peaks representing the possibility of breaking into the mainstream.
Trend detection then results in demographics, psychographics, geographic and other contextual depictions. Data sources include several years of social media, news sites and blogs and a variety of RSS feeds.
Khoshgozaran noted that existing trend prediction leaders like Nielsen and CB Insights “rely mainly on researchers to look at historical data,” he said, while Tilofy is fully automated.
“We have replaced an army of hundreds of thousands [0f] human curators and data-gathering individuals,” he said, “with 600,000 lines of code and machine intelligence for forecasting trends.”
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


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Microsoft has reached an agreement with a company headed by Hollywood producer and talent manager Peter Safran to produce original shows...
Microsoft has reached an agreement with a company headed by Hollywood producer and talent manager Peter Safran to produce original shows for distribution on the Xbox 360 console.
Safran represents clients like the actor and producer Sean Combs (“Monster’s Ball”) and actor and writer Nia Vardalos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”).
Safran said his first round of programs would all be scripted, as opposed to reality shows, and would probably run under 10 minutes.
He said he planned initially to focus on genres, like comedy and horror, that appeal to the Xbox 360 audience.
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That audience is heavily concentrated from the ages of 14 to 34 and tends to be more male than female.
The first shows are expected to be available by the fall.
3-D virtual chat moving live online
Silicon Valley startup Vivaty is creating 3-D virtual chat rooms that people can add to the Web pages and social-networking profiles on the sites where they spend their Internet time.
The Menlo Park, Calif., company will begin a private test period on Facebook this week in advance of a wider introduction in the summer. It is backed by blue-chip venture capital firms Kleiner, Perkins Caufield & Byers and Mohr Davidow Ventures.
Vivaty turns a flat profile page into a three-dimensional live chat room. Users choose characters to represent themselves and proceed to one of a dozen environments, like a gothic urban warehouse or seaside villa.
Up to 15 others can choose avatars and enter the same room at the same time for text-based live socializing.
Vivaty plans to make money partly by allowing companies to start their own virtual rooms on their own Web sites, where they can control the decor and their marketing messages.
Web site targets women, ages 25-54
Yahoo today is launching Shine, a site for women between ages 25 and 54.
The move is aimed largely at giving the struggling Internet company more opportunities to sell ads targeted to the key decision-maker in many households.
Amy Iorio, vice president for Yahoo Lifestyles, said internal research also shows women are looking for a site to aggregate various content and communications tools.
Yahoo is entering a market already served by Glam Media and iVillage. It is Yahoo’s first site aimed at a single demographic.
Shine likely will replace the existing Food site over time, although Yahoo plans to keep its Health site operating to serve men and other age groups as well as women.
Yahoo is partnering with media companies like Hearst Communications and Rodale for exclusive content.
Unlike most other Yahoo sites, Shine will be in a blog form, with newest items on top and commentary from an editor.
Japanese traders accused of fraud
Lehman Brothers sued Japanese trading company Marubeni today, demanding $350 million in a case of alleged fraud.
The investment bank seeks to recoup money it gave another Japanese company that it says Marubeni employees helped secure.
The money went to a unit of LTT Bio-Pharma that filed for bankruptcy March 19, leaving investors stuck with millions in outstanding loans.
LTT Bio-Pharma acknowledged in a statement this month that its unit’s bankruptcy was related to “an alleged illegal transaction.”
Marubeni fired two employees after acknowledging they may have collaborated with the fund’s managers to forge documents, according to the statement. It added that Marubeni has filed a separate criminal complaint against the fund’s managers.
Tokyo-based Marubeni has said it did not secure the funding and that documents to that effect are fake.
Compiled from The Associated Press and The New York Times


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Bobby Unser is one of the great American racing drivers of his generation, having won the Indianapolis 500 in 1968, '75 and '81 and belonging to the Unser racing dynasty. But he might be getting the oddest tribute of his life at the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Infiniti has created a tribute to his Indy-winning 1968 car out of a Q60 Convertible (previously the G37), and he will be driving it around the event.
INFINITI Q60 IPL News
Infiniti is preparing to roll out its hotly anticipated 2014 Q50, a car that not only ushers in a new alphanumeric naming strategy, it ostensibly replaces the G37 as the brand's bread-and-butter sport sedan. That will happen, but not in the short-term, as the G37 will continue to be manufactured and sold alongside the Q50, at least for the rest of this year.
The pricing and configurator for the 2014 Infiniti Q50 were revealed a couple months ago, and now InfinitiQ50.org has uncovered leaked order guides for Infiniti's all-new luxury sedan as well as the renamed Q60 Coupe and Convertible.


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|Exports expected to increase this year |
Taiwan Headlines, Thu 25 Mar 2004
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|The nation's exports are expected to reach a four-year high of US$162.67 billion this year, 12.75 percent up from last year, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Bureau of Foreign Trade. |
Imports are expected to hit US$14.96 billion, 17.61 percent more than last year, the report, which was researched by the Chunghua Institution for Economic Research, said.
The recovery of the global economy, led by the United States, seems to be continuing despite recent terrorist attacks. As a result, the Britain-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) forecast that the global economy will grow 4.4 percent this year.
The ministry on Tuesday said that export orders last month increased 34.7 percent to NT$500.60 billion (US$15.04 billion). The figure was NT$463.99 billion in January.
The ministry has previously predicted that export orders, an indicator for future shipments in one to three months, might increase by double digits during the first half of the year.
But political instability following Saturday's presidential election "will somewhat affect the economy," said Chang Yaw-tsong, the head of the ministry's statistics department.
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IBM’s new Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) services helps to manage how employees gain access to their preferred business applications on cloud or on-premise
Spirent’s latest update of CyberFlood brings new features and capabilities that include the industry’s first pre-emptive means to validate exposure to the recent WannaCry ransomware
Digitally enabling our existing products and services will drive growth: ZF Group’s CDO Mamatha Chamarthi
Under the ZF 2025 Strategy, ZF Group’s CDO Mamatha Chamarthi is driving a major digitalization plan to transform company’s existing products and services digitally and build new business models for future growth
Applications for NetApp Excellerator program are now open for start-ups from areas related to IOT, cloud, big data and analytics, machine learning, virtualization, data security, data management and storage
Indian business intelligence (BI) software revenue is forecast to reach $245 million (in constant currency) in 2017, a 24.4 percent increase over 2016 revenue of $206 million, according to Gartner
In an interview with ETCIO, Anant Bajaj talks about the digital transformation of the company, the recently launched digital center and the technology led product innovations at Bajaj Electricals.
Germany based new Industry 4.0 Competence Center brings together Fujitsu’s Industrial IoT know-how, IoT platform, device management and services, as well as first hand manufacturing experience
New StruxureOn connects customers’ assets to Schneider Electric’s cloud to deliver faster issue resolution and digital services and also harnesses the power of IoT to predict and prevent incidents and downtime in data centers
IDC predicts that the worldwide installed base of IoT endpoints will grow from 14.9 billion at the end of 2016 to more than 82 billion in 2025.
When it comes to IoT, India should aspire nothing less than the leadership, a leadership that is visionary and truly understands the potential of technology.
Asia/Pacific organizations are missing opportunities to advance digital business according to Gartner survey
Dell-EMC and European IT services provider Atos on Wednesday announced a collaboration to address the growing Internet of Things (IoT) and business analytics markets globally.
The coding event is one of the largest coding contests in the world and has entered the Limca Book of Records as India's Largest Coding Contest in 2015 and 2016.
The managing director stresses how Accenture Security takes a holistic view — considering everything from a strategy and risk perspective — wherein the audience is the CEO.
The segment is in its nascent stages and real application of use cases and processes have just started to crystallise for the industry, Mehta said.
The multi-year project was awarded shortly after LTTS and Microsoft expanded their existing partnership for Smart City, Campus & Building (SCCB) solutions based on Microsoft Azure.
Vodafone claims to be the first global IoT provider to have over 50 million connections


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“In the rapidly growing realm of Wi-Fi, consumers can choose from dozens of products that untether their computers from wires while still giving them access to the Internet. But Apple Computer’s new AirPort Express does it in a trim ivory package that exemplifies Apple’s vaunted design prowess,” Clint Swett writes for The Sacramento Bee.
“Like Apple’s wildly popular iPod music player, the AirPort Express doesn’t do anything really new. Its genius is that it packs a host of attractive functions into a small package – this one about the size of a deck of cards – giving users the ability to connect wirelessly to the Internet, stream music to their home stereos and let them print wirelessly to USB printers… AirPort Express does an admirable job of combining a number of features into a tidy, portable package,” Swett writes.
Full article here.


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A spa company is aiming for a 50 per cent rise in turnover as it opens its fourth outlet.
Pure Spa Group, which has two branches in Edinburgh and one at Silverburn in Glasgow, will launch in the Union Square shopping centre in Aberdeen later this year with the creation of 15 jobs.
The 3,900 square feet facility will have 11 treatment rooms, a nail bar, pedicure bar, tepidarium and an infra red sauna, while beauty products by Elemis and REN will also be available.
Becky Woodhouse, founder, said: "We started looking at Union Square in summer last year.
"Aberdeen was a key target in the expansion of our business and there is definitely a mood for more day spa facilities there. We are really excited as Union Square ticked all the boxes for us in terms of location, footfall, being close to the train station and having a large leisureelement.
"You always look to improve on what you have done before. I am excited about what we can achieve in Aberdeen and believe it will be our best one yet."
The full fit-out and expansion could end up costing in the region of £500,000 which is being funded by a combination of bank debt, previous profits and personal funds.
Pure currently turns over more than £1million but Woodhouse believes the Aberdeen opening in May will see that figuresoar.
She said: "This will add probably another third to half of our turnover and take us maybe up to the £1.5m to £2m mark."
Woodhouse, a chartered accountant who trained with PricewaterhouseCoopers, admits PURE was affected by the recession but not as badly as she had feared.
She added: "It wasn't until we got to the end of the year we were really able to assess the full impact. Being in shopping centres has helped with Silverburn one of the few places which has actually grown in footfall over the last year. We open seven days a week and the convenience factor of the shopping centres with things like free parking and being open till 9pm is important. "It is all tailored to the individual client. The staff we have managing the salons are veryexperienced and their input along with what we feel customers would like is what makes us a successful business."
Having started in 2002 with six staff PURE will employ more than 60 people once its Aberdeen recruitment is complete


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With the announcement of the iPhone (News - Alert) 5 now a part of history, it's only a small surprise to see that Cricket was ready with its own announcement not too long after. Cricket announced that it would have the iPhone 5 available, and on its prepaid plans, starting September 28.
Cricket, a subsidiary of Leap Wireless (News - Alert), focuses on prepaid plans for those who want some of the newer phones, yet aren't interested in a big two-year commitment like the kind generally required by larger mobile providers. Cricket has previously sold the iPhone 4, as well as the iPhone 4S, starting back in June, offering the device with $55 a month unlimited plans, and that has spurred speculation about the exact pricing details involved in Cricket's latest plan.
Currently, it's been suggested that the iPhone 5 will sell at its full retail price--said to be $649--and will from there be used with Cricket's more recent unlimited plans ranging from $50 to $70 per month. At those rates, however, the number of takers may be comparatively slim.
While the lack of concrete details out of Cricket about its plans in terms of the iPhone 5 makes it a bit difficult to speculate about its full value, it is worth noting that this is a different option, one that poses more than a little potential to shake up the market. Cricket may have to do a bit of subsidizing on its own to make this a fuller bargain, but offering an unlimited plan with what is sure to be a hotly popular new device will likely be received very well by certain parts of the mobile device market. Indeed, some who will want an iPhone 5 close to launch day, yet be unable to find it at their provider of choice due to the shortages that will almost certainly occur around launch day, may well choose to get their hands on it with a prepaid strategy.
How many will go that route remains to be seen, but it's a possibility, and a possibility that poses a few others from there that might just shake the market up a bit.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.
Edited by Brooke Neuman


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A lesson in smartphone identity verification from HSBC
HSBC has always been among the most stringent of the Big Four Banks when it comes to security.
While TSB only ask for two typed passwords and a user name on the desktop, HSBC require a customer ID number, password and a passcode generated by a secure keypad. Where Natwest requires only a PIN to log into their app, HSBC maintained the same level of security as on desktop (it’s worth noting right here that Natwest also tops the list of worst banks for dealing with fraud – with a 62% rise in complaints over the past year).
So it’s of little surprise that HSBC customers have been among the first to experience SCA. Switching from keypads to smartphones, customers now create a Digital Secure Key on their phone. From there on in, they either tap in their password or use their fingerprint to verify their identity. This multi-layered approach is one of the most secure ways to harness smartphone ID verification. But that’s not to say that mobiles are without their problems…
The (multiple) problems with smartphones…
47% of consumers (or an estimated 100.6 million mobile phone owners) experienced at least one ‘mobile change event’ in the last year (e.g. changing their number).
Account takeovers have increased by 31% in the past year (a figure that continues to rise)
Despite the issues with mobile, the risks are easily outweighed by the benefits in boosted security, especially when used to provide biometric information such as facial recognition or fingerprint ID. And a good thing, too, as consumers now have a clear preference for mobile…
89% of consumers use mobile banking (this rises to a huge 97% when we’re talking about millennials)
This brings us to a final point about mobile identity verification – using it shouldn’t feel painful. If it’s to serve as the business asset it should, customers should expend only minimal effort to enjoy the boosted security that smartphone ID verification provides.


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Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is expected to custodia cover samsung a10 receive the Android 10 based samsung s7 edge cover samsung One UI 2.1 update in June 2020. The news was revealed on custodia cover iphone 6 6s Samsung’s Korean community portal by a moderator. It was confirmed last month that the custodia cover samsung note10 plus company was working on bringing custodia cover huawei y7 2019 its latest skin to the Galaxy Note 9 smartphone. The phone ran on Android 9 Pie at cover iphone originale the time of its launch in 2018 cover samsung galaxy s5 alviero martini and has since received cover samsung s6 edge viola the Android 10 update.
A Korean Samsung Community forum post by a moderator said that the One UI 2.1 update book cover samsung tab 2 for Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is expected to cover samsung galaxy a3 silicone be released in June. It added that bringing custodia per samsung a7 the update to the phone is taking some time. An older post by a moderator, while confirming ebay cover iphone 5c that the update was coming to the phone, had also mentioned that the company is carefully applying the changes cover samsung j5 trasparente for the sake of stability, taking some time in the process. Now, through the recent post cover samsung s7 con disegni on the forum, a schedule has been revealed for the first time.
One UI 2.1 updateOneUI 2.1 by Samsung was spigen cover samsung s8 plus first launched with the Galaxy cover samsung s7 cellularline S20 series phones and Galaxy Z Flip. It started rolling out to the Galaxy cover samsung galaxy s8 plus Note cover samsung 2 plus 10 and Galaxy S10 series phones last month. It is expected to be rolled out for other eligible devices in cover samsung s10e the coming months.
One UI 2.1 bring Samsung Quick Share, Screen Zoom, camera modes like Single Take, a Pro Mode for Video, Filters, Selfie Tone, and an AR Zone. Multi lingual translation feature for Samsung Keyboard is also provided.
Samsung cover samsung galaxys7 edge Galaxy Note 9 debuted in August 2018 running Samsung Experience UX on top of Android 8.1 Oreo. Since then, it has received the Android 9 Pie and Android 10 updates, currently having the One UI 2.0 skin…


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The PlayStation 5 is still behind the PlayStation 4 in launch-aligned sales, but that will change by March 2024.
Sony's PlayStation 5 is on a hot streak. The console helped Sony generate record-breaking hardware revenues of $8.3 billion and the system also significantly contributed to a new all-time high of $27 billion for PlayStation revenues. Sony isn't done yet, and plans to ship 25 million consoles throughout Fiscal Year 2023 (April 2023 - March 2024), representing the largest production and shipment cycle in PlayStation history.
If Sony is able to achieve this goal, then the PlayStation 5 will overtake the PlayStation 4 for the first time ever. Sony had shipped a strong 19 million PS5s throughout last fiscal year, driving total PS5 unit shipments to 38.4 million. The current figures are still shy of the PS4's shipments across an aligned 10-quarter period (PS4 had 40.2 million vs the PS5's 48.4 million).
A quick bit of math shows that the PlayStation 5 shipment target will boost total PS5 platform shipments to 63.4 million, beating the PS4's 60.2 million shipments across a launch-aligned period of 14 consecutive quarters.
Sony Corp. management recently confirmed plans to increase available funding to use in divisions like the PlayStation's Games & Network Services segment. These newly allocated funds will be used to invest in first-party games software development across SIE studios, as well as produce more consoles and help Sony meet its ambitious 25 million PlayStation 5 shipment target.
What's even more interesting is that Sony could be readying a PlayStation 5 Pro model in FY24, a year after the company expects to grow the base PS5's installed base. Sony has yet to confirm a PS5 Pro, and there's no details on specifications, however sources have told Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson that the upgraded PS5 should release by the end of 2024.


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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (Jan. 20, 2014) — TCS Technologies has added the TCS Coupons App and TCS Store Finder App to its portfolio of Facebook apps.
Dealers now can display manufacturer promotions, store offers and marketing messages automatically both on their website and Facebook pages using the TCS Coupon App.
In addition, multi-location dealers with store finders on their TCS websites can now mirror the experience on their Facebook page via the new TCS Store Finder App.
“Facebook is now almost ubiquitous among tire dealers, and most of the U.S. online population have a Facebook account, so it's not surprising that our clients are asking us to develop Facebook applications for them,” said Barry Reese, TCS president. “With the addition of these two new Facebook apps, Facebook users can now have a website experience that is native to the Facebook environment.”


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For over 25 years now, we’ve worked with Unilever’s Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC) to develop and refine the best ways to reduce our environmental impact. … With renewable energy sources, reduced water use and zero non-hazardous waste to landfills, we’re completely committed to environmental protection.
Is Dove eco friendly?
Dove is proving its commitment to sustainability. The leading beauty care products brand just announced an initiative to cut back on plastic waste, and the long-term plan will “reduce the use of virgin plastic by more than 20,5000 tons per year.”
How does Dove impact the environment?
As one of the biggest known reduction plans of its kind in the beauty industry, the Dove initiatives will generate an ongoing massive impact, reducing the use of virgin plastic by more than 20,500 tonnes per year. The amount of virgin plastic Dove will save per year would be enough to circle the Earth 2.7 times.
Is Dove deodorant environmentally friendly?
Plus, the small amount of plastic we do use is 98% recycled. So, you can start your environmentally friendly deodorant routine and enjoy the Dove underarm care you know and love.
Are Dove deodorants recyclable?
To ensure the deodorant formulas stay fresh and hygienic, the refill sticks use primary packaging made from 98% recycled polypropylene that is also 100% recyclable (in those communities that have appropriate recycling facilities).
Does dove use recycled plastic?
This included the launch of 100% recycled plastic (PCR) bottles where technically feasible, in North America and Europe – across all ranges (Dove, Dove Men+Care, and Baby Dove). … The Shower Foam and the Foaming Hand Wash formats in North America will be at 78% recycled plastic.
Does Dove soap contain plastic?
Dove, the Unilever-owned beauty brand, has announced that its iconic soap bar will no longer be wrapped in plastic. Next year, all of the brand’s beauty bars sold globally will be plastic-free. … “We are passionately committed to being one of the brands making the biggest impact against plastic waste.
Is Dove spray deodorant bad for the environment?
Spray deodorants and antiperspirants create the most obvious and perhaps most dangerous threat to the environment. Every time you use spray-on deodorant or antiperspirant, you’re releasing chemicals into the air. These sprays likely contain the largest amount of volatile organic compounds.
Is Dove soap plastic-free?
Dove soap is set to lose its plastic wrapping after the beauty giant announced a global move towards eradicating all plastic from its products. … Work is “well underway” on the product, whose packaging will primarily consist of stainless steel, it said.
Are Dove soap bars plastic-free?
Dove has committed to removing all non-recycled plastic from certain bottle lines by the end of the year and debuted a new, plastic-free packaging format for its beauty bar soap. … As for beauty bars, Dove will launch plastic-free, paper-based boxes for single-format bars by the end of 2020.
What are natural deodorants?
Healthline’s picks for the best natural deodorants
- Distilled Bath & Body Pit Liquor Whiskey Vanilla Deodorant. …
- Native Plastic-Free Deodorant. …
- Weleda Citrus Deodorant. …
- Energy Balance Crystal Deodorant. …
- megababe Rosy Pits Daily Deodorant. …
- Kosas Chemistry AHA Serum Deodorant. …
- Meow Meow Tweet Lavender Bergamot Deodorant Stick.
How much plastic does Dove use?
The overall Dove brand is distributed in 171 countries and bottles require almost two-thirds of all plastic that the brand uses, according to Amy Stepanian, Dove and Dove Men+Care U.S. brand director.
What are Dove bottles made of?
In line with Unilever’s global commitment to halve its use of virgin plastic by 2025, Dove will switch to new 100% recycled plastic bottles, where technically feasible, in North America and Europe by the end of 2019.


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Torn Banner has announced Chivalry 2 for release in early 2020, and first on the Epic Games Store. It will come to other PC stores like Steam after a year, according to the Chivalry 2 website.
The medieval fighting sequel expands on every area of the game - it's built in Unreal Engine 4, combat has been revamped, there's mounted combat, and the sandbox is broader (you can set fire to chickens and throw them around, you monster, or you can catapult corpses across battlefields).
But the best new feature, clearly, is the ability to keep fighting even with missing limbs! It goes hand in hand with the new enhanced player expressions and over the top reactions, so you can scream and shout as you make your last bloody stand.
More specific details, for those wanting them, can be found in the Chivalry 2 FAQ.


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For week ending December 2nd
While we enter into December and officially welcome the Christmas season, the world of travel seems to be offering loads of news to catch up on. We see Qatar Airways starting to operate flights between Doha and Dublina, Flybe signing a new codeshare agreement with Singapore Airlines and Alitalia and United flying to Havana.. Find here all the travel news from Ireland and the rest of the world!
Qatar confirms plan to launch new Dublin-Doha route
Qatar Airways has confirmed it will operate flights between Dublin and Doha from next year. The airline owns 20pc of IAG, the parent company of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling. Earlier this year, Aer Lingus chief executive Stephen Kavanagh said that either the Irish airline would begin flying to Doha, or Qatar Airways would launch the service. "Now we have not just a shareholder, but also a partner, with a competitive network in Qatar," he said in June.
Airport Parking and Hotels designs the airport of the future: Biometric tickets, virtual assistants and fast molecular security scanners
Airport parking operator and retailer Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) has high hopes for the future of airports – which include biometric tickets, virtual assistants and fast molecular security scanners. It has designed a model of what it believes an international airport would look like in 25 years, and it sure is impressive. Tiresome check-in queues will be no more, as manned desks will be phased out completely to be replaced with online check-in and self-service desks.
Flybe signs codeshare agreement with Singapore Airlines
Flybe and Singapore Airlines have announced a codeshare agreement: the deal means passengers using Flybe’s services from five UK airports can book onward flights to more than 100 Singapore Airlines destinations. The codeshare also opens up additional connections via Paris Charles de Gaulle and Dusseldorf.
Best Western opens serviced apartments property in Africa
The Executive Residency by Best Western Nairobi will be offering 48 serviced apartments with one and two-bedroom suites. Amenities include a fitness centre, heated indoor swimming pool and a meeting room for up to 60 guests. The Grove rooftop restaurant serves local and international cuisine and cocktails with city views.
Hilton opens Brooklyn property
Hilton has opened its latest property in New York, located in Brooklyn’s Boreum Hill area. The Hilton Brooklyn New York features 196 rooms, fitness and business centres, a grab and go pantry, and 210 sqm of meeting space. The hotel’s design includes a rope motif which “pays tribute to the Schermerhorn rope factory that previously occupied the site in the 19th century, braiding rope for New York’s shipbuilding industry”, as well as murals of vintage neighbourhood maps lining the walls.
Historic Stafford hotel in London renovates Carriage House suites for understated opulence
The historic Stafford hotel, which was formerly a Kempinski, will be revamping its Carriage House suites by next spring. Located in St James’s, in Mayfair, the Stafford has appointed New York-based company Champalimaud Design to transform its 13 Carriage House suites over the next few months. The design firm intends to create “an eclectic take on the hotel’s British heritage with designs that offer a contemporary twist on traditional English furnishings”. For many, it will be reassuring to know that the property’s Grade II Listed annex won’t be stripped out and overly modernised. The changes promises “understated opulence”.
Shangri-La and Taj Hotels form loyalty alliance
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has entered into an “industry-first” alliance with Mumbai-based luxury hotel group Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. The partnership will implicate the integration of Shangri-La’s Golden Circle (GC) loyalty scheme with Taj’s Inner Circle (TIC) programme. The alliance will include automatic tier-matching status for all six million (and future) members
United and Alitalia launch flights to Havana
United Airlines and Alitalia have launched non-stop services to Havana. United flights depart daily from New York’s Newark Liberty International airport and every Saturday from Houston Bush Intercontinental airport, both served by a B737. Alitalia flights from Rome Fiumicino airport will depart Tuesdays Saturdays, returning from Havana on Tuesdays and Saturdays using a B777.
Qatar Airways introduces Apple Pay
Qatar Airways introduces Apple Pay to its list of payment options, allowing passengers to book journeys securely on their mobile phones or tablets. Available on iOS compatible devices, Apple Pay lets users book journeys through Qatar Airways using passcode or fingerprint technology linking directly to their debit or credit card. To use the service, registered customers must select the Apple Pay option on the summary page when booking online or through the airline’s app.
Liverpool airport begins £4 million improvement works
Liverpool John Lennon airport has started work on a £4 million project to refurbish and upgrade the upper floor of its departures lounge. Improvements include new seating, new washroom facilities, large flight information screens and a reconfigured retail area.
British Airways launches Facebook messenger bot
British Airways has launched a Facebook “BOTler”, offering London-bound customers a “best of the best” guide to the capital. The Facebook messenger service is initially launching in Germany, France, India, Singapore, Japan and the UAE, and provides travellers with live updates on exclusive deals and personalised recommendations on top attractions and experiences tailored for individual users.
Qatar Airways adds routes to Canberra, Dublin and Las Vegas
The carrier has announced new routes for 2017-18, including its fifth Australian destination and 11th US route. Qatar Airways add eight new routes to Canberra, Dublin, Las Vegas, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago de Chile, Medan (Indonesia), Tabuk and Yanbu (Saudi Arabia).
Marriott opens four new Mexico hotels
Marriott International announced four new properties in Mexico under the Renaissance, AC Hotels, Westin and Aloft brands. Features will include a spa, fitness centre, swimming pool, and innovative dining venues that will provide a variety of healthy culinary options.


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Posted on :Monday , 18th November 2019
Africa is currently the second most populous continent in the world, its current population is 1.2 billion. This growing population of Africa could reach 2 billion by 2030 and 2.5 billion by 2050 as per the United Nations projections. This shows that one in five consumers globally will be African.
Africaâ€™s agribusiness sector is expected to reach $1 trillio. . .
Posted on :Tuesday , 8th October 2019
The Corporate Affairs Director at Bakhresa Group, Mr Hussein Sufian, said that the rebranding coupled with the expansive production capacity of 2,750 tonnes per day, guarantees sufficient wheat products for the domestic market and surplus to be exported to the regional markets.
Posted on :Wednesday , 21st August 2019
Tanzania coffee production has almost doubled to four years high, thanks to good weather and high crop circle boom this season.
Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB), acting Director General Primus Kimaryo told the ‘Daily News’ yesterday that the production boomed from 47,000 metric tonnes in 2 017 / 18 to 6 5 ,5 00 metric tonn. . .
Posted on :Monday , 5th August 2019
Tanzania will supply one million metric tonnes of maize and flour to Kenya in a period of 12 months to bridge a shortfall of corn that has led to soaring prices of food.
The Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation, Hussein Bashe told the 'Daily News' yesterday Kenyan officials wh. . .
Posted on :Monday , 1st July 2019
Tanzania is set to sell 1 million tons of corn to neighboring Kenya to provide a helping hand to them from curbed production and caused prices of the grain to soar.
A formal request for the sale from Kenya has been received, Tanzania’s state minister for agriculture, Omary Mgumba, said Friday in an emailed statement without giving details of the transa. . .


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In a report released today, Jonathan Dorsheimer from Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating on nLIGHT (LASR – Research Report), with a price target of $27.00. The company’s shares closed last Thursday at $25.23, close to its 52-week high of $26.48.
According to TipRanks.com, Dorsheimer is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 9.8% and a 48.7% success rate. Dorsheimer covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Stmicroelectronics, IPG Photonics, and Plug Power.
Currently, the analyst consensus on nLIGHT is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $27.00.
Based on nLIGHT’s latest earnings release for the quarter ending June 30, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $52.14 million and GAAP net loss of $6.83 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $48.05 million and had a GAAP net loss of $155K.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 63 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is positive on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders buying their shares of LASR in relation to earlier this year.
TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.
nLIGHT, Inc. develops and manufactures semiconductor and fiber lasers components. Its products include semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers and optical fibers. The company was founded by Scott H. Keeney, Mark DeVito and Jason Farmer in 2000 and is headquartered in Vancouver, WA.


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All of Conyers' convenience stores have passed inspections regarding the recent ban on sales of synthetic marijuana, according to police.
In recent compliance checks with local convenience stores, the Conyers Police Department (CPD) found all to be compliant with a new state law pertaining to now prohibited sales of synthetic marijuana and other city ordinances.
“When the state legislature passed the ban on all forms of synthetic marijuana late last month, we wanted to be proactive and enforce that this new state law is being adhered to in all convenience stores in Conyers,” said Chief of Police Gene Wilson.
Police and inspectors visited 20 convenience stores in the city limits last week and found all to be in compliance of the new law prohibiting synthetic marijuana. Officers were quick to praise convenience store managers that were leery of carrying the potentially deadly substance prior to the ban and who had already made the decision not to carry it in their stores.
Often marketed as herbal incense, the ingredients in synthetic marijuana are combined with dried vegetation with intent to mimic the effects of THC found in marijuana. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported a there were 6,959 calls nationwide relating to the adverse effects associated with synthetic drugs in 2011. Use of synthetic marijuana can cause psychosis, an increase in violent behavior and even death.
Alcohol checks pass
On March 30, officers and inspectors visited nine restaurants in the city limits and found all to be compliant with state laws and city ordinances pertaining to the sale and consumption of alcohol on premise.
“Too often we overlook those businesses, owners and managers that do care, want to obey the law and do the right thing. This is a chance for us to focus on the positive and give a pat on the back to those making an effort and looking out for the safety of our citizens and visitors in Conyers,” said Wilson.
The checks were part of routine inspections and done in response to complaints or those that may question the business practices of establishments. Questions or complaints should be directed to the Conyers Police Department at 770-483-6600.


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The guerilla marketing devices for Aqua Teen Hunger Force that created havoc in Boston on Jan. 31 were never intended to scare people and were designed to highlight the show's character, says Sam
Ewen, founder of Interference Inc., the New York marketing agency hired to create and execute the program.
In an exclusive interview, Ewen says that the signs were always intended to go on
at night and go off during the day. He also says that a "making of" video posted on YouTube was not part of a multi-layer marketing campaign that would unfold over time. Instead, it was made to
document the campaign for the client, Turner Broadcasting Co.'s Cartoon Network.
Ewen also points out that the campaign had been up in several markets for weeks with no commentary. "From the moment that we got word of what was happening, we focused on it and took it seriously," he says.


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The Pallasades Shopping Centre is being completely transformed and will be rebranded as Grand Central Birmingham when it opens in Autumn 2014, anchored by John Lewis’s full line department store. The new name draws upon its inherent rail connotations and conveys the wider ambition and grand aspirations of this new, unique retail development.
The new name denotes the next exciting chapter in shopping opportunities within the West Midlands and will see the redeveloped centre become an integral part of the city’s retail landscape. The major development, part of the transformation of New Street Station, is positioned to complement Birmingham’s retail landscape and other major retail destinations in the city, including Bullring Birmingham and The Mailbox. Grand Central will bring a retail mix of unrivalled premium fashion and quality high street brands to the city – along with an anticipated 50m visitors per year.
The 250,000 sq ft John Lewis store will be complemented by an additional 200,000 sqft of retail space for over 50 new premium fashion and lifestyle stores new to the heart of Birmingham.
Research shows that over 100 aspirational retailers do not currently have stand-alone stores within the city and now the newly-named Grand Central Birmingham will house many of these brands.
The new retail area is an integral part of the £600m project to transform New Street railway station, which is being delivered by Network Rail on behalf of funding partners including Birmingham City Council, Department for Transport and Centro. The new station concourse will be three and a half times bigger than at present and enclosed by a giant atrium that will flood both Grand Central and the concourse with natural light.
Situated above New Street station, Grand Central will enjoy unrivalled levels of footfall in one of the best performing trading environments available to retailers today. Network Rail’s station retail results consistently outperform results on the high-street.
Keith Stone, leasing director for Grand Central, commented: “Birmingham doesn’t currently have a centrally-located shopping destination for premium fashion brands such as can be found in other major UK cities. Grand Central will now fulfill this demand within the city. We have already had a great response from the retailers we have spoken with.”
Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis said: “We are very pleased our new full-line department store will be anchoring Grand Central Birmingham and look forward to playing an active role in cementing Birmingham’s status as a key retail destination.”
The scheme will bring a unique premium retail mix, state-of-the-art architecture and a dynamic shopping experience to the heart of Birmingham. Its integration with the world class New Street Station, currently undergoing an extensive refurbishment as part of a wider regeneration project of the station and surrounding area of the city, will create a truly unique shopping destination for premium brands in the city.
Birmingham City Council’s leader, Sir Albert Bore said: “We look forward to Grand Central Birmingham becoming a key element of the city’s ever-improving retail landscape, and welcome John Lewis and the retail offer this will bring to the city. We’ve seen already the economic and wider benefits that the New Street regeneration project will deliver for Birmingham and it’s really exciting to see this project continuing to come to life, further strengthening the city’s position as a leading major retail destination in the UK.”


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Apple has decided to continue paying its contract staff at its Headquarters in Silicon Valley although its campuses still remain closed
This was disclosed by an Apple Spokesperson. This was contrary to Apple’s earlier announcement which states that all contract staff will have their work suspended with pay.
“We’re working with all of our suppliers to ensure hourly workers such as janitorial staff are being paid during this difficult time,” spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said after the Journal’s inquiry about the job elimination notices.” Apple spokesperson said.
Contract staff includes Janitors, bus drivers, and other individuals who perform similar functions on its Apple Park and Infinite Loop locations. Many of them were misinformed about the suspension of their work with pay.
Bus drivers were also concerned about payment as Apple had not told WeDriveU and Hallcon Corp, two companies who manage Apple’s shuttle service, whether contracts would be paid.
Apple’s Silicon Valley campuses will remain closed down until its due date which is May 3 because of the extension of the shelter in place order in the Bay Area. Apple’s retail stores in the United States and other countries outside of China also remain closed, though some could begin opening as soon as the first half of April.


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Shoppers happier using cut-price stores
Shoppers are turning to discount stores as family finances come under pressure, research has revealed.
Aldi and Lidl were placed well ahead of the big four supermarkets in a poll measuring customer satisfaction.
Low prices at the German-owned chains have drawn a loyal following - even among the wealthy - despite a no-frills approach. The stores, which spend next to nothing on displaying their goods, operate with low staffing levels and make customers pay for carrier bags.
In the satisfaction survey compiled by consumer campaign group Which?, Lidl came joint sixth among High Street stores with Aldi placed at 9th.
Tesco, by contrast, was ranked a lowly 37th, level with Asda. Morrisons was 46th and Sainsbury's 49th. The big four were also behind discounters Netto in 8th place and Iceland which came 16th out of 77.
Aldi's product range has won a string of quality awards, beating the own-label foods of bigger supermarkets. Like Lidl, the chain operates from cheaper sites on the fringes of major shopping districts.
Their 'pile it high and sell it cheap' philosophy is similar to the approach which led to the success of Tesco. Karl Albrecht, Aldi's founder, has profited hugely and is one of the world's richest men, with an estimated fortune of £13bn. His chain stretches to 410 UK stores with plans to open 1,500 more.
Lidl, which has 400 UK outlets, is part of the Schwartz Group, one of Europe's largest grocers, and is also thought to have ambitious expansion plans. Paul Foley, Aldi's UK chief, said: 'If you offer the consumer the lowest prices and the highest quality, then you shouldn't be surprised that we take market share.' He said the chain's stores were pulling in ever greater numbers of shoppers drawn from the upper income brackets.
The idea that discount retailers were merely for the destitute and cash-strapped was out of date, he insisted. Mr Foley said Aldi's appeal to upmarket customers was demonstrated by the record number of fresh turkey crowns it sold at Christmas. 'Previously, that was M&S's territory only,' he added. Aldi says it sells five times as many vegetables as it did a decade ago.
Waitrose claimed first place in the Which? league table with the John Lewis department stores, which are part of the same group, placed second. At the bottom of the table were JD Sports, JJB Sports, Woolworths, Currysdigital, Somerfield and PC World.
The magazine survey was based on responses from 10,963 panel members last autumn. They were asked how satisfied they were with the retailers they used from a list of 77.
|2. John Lewis||78%|
|3. Independent book/CD/DVD stores||77%|
|4. Independent electrical stores||71%|
|6. Marks & Spencer||69%|
|6=. Independent sports stores||69%|
|1. JD Sports||33%|
|2. JJB Sports||39%|
|5=. PC World||41%|
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Adestra awarded the Customer Focus Award
Adestra, a leading provider of innovative marketing technology software and services, was again awarded the Customer Focus Award by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) at the UK Customer Satisfaction Awards ceremony.
The annual awards celebrate organisations that place customer service at the heart of their business strategy and build a sustainable culture around it. Adestra has been shortlisted for the award for five straight years, taking home the top honour in 2014 and again in 2017. This recognition for Adestra’s customer service comes shortly after the company was awarded Bronze in the 11th Annual Stevie Awards for Customer Service Department of the Year the week before and the Supplier of the Year Award by global B2B event organiser UBM in January.
“When we founded Adestra, we did so because we believed that marketing success takes more than just good technology; it needs great customer service to provide real value to customers. Winning both the Stevie Award and the ICS Customer Satisfaction Award less than a week apart is an incredible recognition of our dedication to ensuring that customer service remains at the heart of what we do as we develop our global business,” said Henry Hyder-Smith, CEO of Adestra.
The prestigious ICS award ceremony was attended by more than 750 business leaders, representing the 127 organisations and individuals who were shortlisted for the awards. Jo Causon, CEO of the Institute of Customer Service, stated:
“Customer satisfaction is increasing, but there is no room for complacency as customer demands continuously evolve. The key to success is for organisations to create a seamless experience for their customers, one which provides continuity in an increasingly disrupted world because by focusing on their overall experience, customers will be more likely to remain loyal and make positive recommendations.
“Those organisations recognised by the Customer Satisfaction Awards have gone above and beyond to achieve outstanding service, and offer a standard for companies and individuals across the UK to aim for over the coming year. I would like to congratulate every one of our winners – and all those who were shortlisted – and commend the excellent experience they are offering to their customers.”


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Dublin Port seek partner to expand cruise ship capacity
€200m scheme to expand capacity for liners
The 17-deck, 3,000-passenger Grand Princess, escorted by Dublin Port Company tugboats, arrives at the mouth of the Liffey. Photograph: Eric Luke
Dublin Port Company has begun seeking a partner for the promotion of expanded cruise liner operations in the capital, aimed at increasing current visitor numbers credited with injecting €50 million into the local economy annually.
Plans were filed with An Bord Pleanála in March to significantly expand the port to accommodate an increase in capacity for liners, moving them further up the river Liffey to a hub at the East Link bridge.
The €200 million scheme, the largest engineering project planned in the port’s history, would accommodate the world’s biggest ships and could result in an increase in annual passenger numbers from 110,000 to more than 320,000.
This week, the port company advertised for a partner to enter a “multi-annual relationship” that would involve growing the cruise sector, promoting Dublin as a tourist destination and increasing repeat visits.
“Cruise marketing involves many stakeholders and requires a co-ordinated approach. Having so successfully developed the cruise business since the mid- 1990s, taking the cruise sector to the next level in Dublin requires the more sophisticated Cruise Dublin approach,” said Eamonn O’Reilly, chief executive of the port company.
Orla Carroll, who looks after the capital for Fáilte Ireland, said the industry was a growth market, with the number of ships increasing on an annual basis. On average, a single passenger will spend €100 per visit.
Ms Carroll said passenger numbers had tripled in the last 10 years, with an average growth rate of 12.8 per cent. Plans to develop the sector would seek to triple those numbers again.
In 2012, Dublin Port accommodated 89 ships; this rose to 100 last year. Their size is also increasing, making it paramount the port is developed.
The cruise industry has also set its sights on the city becoming a “turnaround port”, which acts as the beginning and end of trips rather than merely one of the destinations.


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Kenya: Secondhand Clothes Traders Plead for Lifting of Import Ban
Dealers in second hand clothes are appealing to President Uhuru Kenyatta to lift the ban on importation of used garments forced upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mitumba Association of Kenya Chairperson Teresia Njenga in a statemented issued on Sunday said the continued ban on the importation which was a temporary measure to contain COVID-19 is putting 2 million livelihoods at stake.
"According to the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey 2015-2016, 51 per cent of Kenyan households bought second hand clothes and footwear every quarter in the year. It is estimated from that an average of 6.2 million households bought second hand clothes every quarter in 2019," she said.
The Association Secretary Nancy Wangari confirmed that they have already submitted their proposed protocols for reopening to the Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina which include fumigation of all the imported clothes and shoes at the entry ports before they are released to the market.
"One of the key protocols we have suggested is mainly to disinfect and to re-fumigate the used clothing on arrival at the port. We are waiting for the Committee of Experts set up by our CS to advise on the way forward on the issue of the importation of used clothing," she stated.
CS Maina has directed the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) to assess the possibility of lifting the ban without running the risk of importing the disease that has claimed 160 lives.
Other officials include Nicodemus Sonkoro and Peter Kangethe supported the appeal as their members grapple with economic hardships arising from depleting stocks.
"When you look at the low cadre traders especially those who get there wears from retailers and wholesalers, even their lives have been negatively affected, because even the stalls they were trading from have been closed and we are now even more concerned because the importers have began closing down and leaving for their country," said Sonkoro who represents brokers and retailers.
"We are pleading to our able President, to listen to our concerns. We are just asking that as you consider modes of resumption for other sectors of the economy, please don't kill ours. This is where we get our livelihood," Kangethe, a representative of the group that offloads the goods from cargo trucks, said.
According to a recent Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Manpower Survey, the popular second hand clothes and footwear industry employs an estimated 10 per cent of the extended labour force.
Since March, Kenya has reported over 7,000 COVID-19 cases while the disease is expected to peak in September meaning that the country must tread carefully even as it tries to revive the business.


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Popular clothing retailer Forever 21 has just filed for bankruptcy, Bloomberg reports. The newest filing is just another in the long list of retail behemoths that have struggled to adapt in recent years, in what Bloomberg is calling the “retail apocalypse.”
Once one of the most popular fast-fashion retail chains in the world, the company had struggled as its millennial market aged out and it failed to win the loyalty of Gen Z consumers. In addition, the near-ubiquity of online shopping has eaten away into its profits. It currently has over 800 stores across the globe, though their future now remains unclear.
The bankruptcy papers, which were filed in Wilmington, Delaware, shows the liabilities that the company is currently saddled with comes to between $1 billion and $10 billion. It is the company’s hope that it can continue to stay open as it works out a deal with its creditors — and a strategy to rebound back into profitability.
Part of its strategy is to close all international locations in Europe and Asia. Locations in Latin America and the United States will reportedly remain open.
Forever 21 will be able to continue to operate thanks to a hefty investment from JPMorgan Chase & Co., which offered the company $275 million in lending. In addition, TPG Sixth Street Partners is lending $75 million.
“The financing provided by JPMorgan and TPG Sixth Street Partners will arm Forever 21 with the capital necessary to effect critical changes in the U.S. and abroad to revitalize our brand and fuel our growth, allowing us to meet our ongoing obligations to customers, vendors and employees,” executive vice president of Forever 21 Linda Chang, said in a statement.
In addition to closing a number of international locations, Forever 21 will likely begin to close unprofitable stores. This comes as bad news for malls, as Forever 21 remains one of the largest clients of mall space, and is the sixth-largest tenant for Simon Property Group, outside of department stores.
Bloomberg reports that a slew of bankruptcies has emptied more than 12,000 stores in the past two years. Experts are pessimistic that they will be easy to refill, as the death of the American mall continues.
Meanwhile, the news of Forever 21’s bankruptcy has spread like wildfire around social media and is currently trending on Twitter.
Many users particularly expressed their excitement for going-out-of-business sales.
forever 21 is filing for bankruptcy y'all know that means major sales and I'm about to have a whole new wardrobe ????— jennie lou ◟̽◞̽ (@28tommos) September 30, 2019
kind of looking forward to the forever 21 closing sale but the whole store will probably look like the sale section so I need to start mentally preparing now— em (@daedrx) September 30, 2019
Forever 21 is going bankrupt, time to buy everything in my shopping cart ????— BRIT-KNEE (@britney_n9) September 30, 2019
Another user lamented that she had only just gotten a job as a cashier at the store a month ago, and was worried about her job prospects.
Meanwhile, rival Amazon is also potentially looking at its own shakeup, as regulators begin to target big tech, including Jeff Bezos’s company, per The Inquisitr.


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KC children's hospital bans soda and sugary juices
First Kansas City-area hospital to implement such a ban.
Nov. 6—A Kansas City children's hospital has announced plans to ban sales of soda and sugar-filled juices from its cafeteria, gift shop and vending machines in a bid to fight childhood obesity.
Officials at Children's Mercy Hospital said the ban will take effect in January.
Karen Cox, the hospital's executive vice president, said employees and visitors will be able to bring in their own sugary drinks, but that the drinks won't be sold at the hospital. Children's Mercy is the first hospital in the Kansas City metro region to implement such a ban, according to hospital administrators.


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*Damier canvas,golden brass pieces
*Snapped closure,grained calf leather lining
*Holds six keys
In Damier canvas,this compact case is a natural accessory for handbag or briefcase and holds six keys.
IKEA's first India store to open in Hyderabad IKEA, the leading Swedish furniture retailer, will set up its louis vuitton shoes brown first store in India in Hyderabad following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the company with the Telangana government on Wednesday.
IKEA retail outlets have a standard design and each location entails an investment of Rs 500 600 crore. In addition, the backward integration of supplier linkages will have tremendous economic impact on the state, said a statement from Chief Minister KC Rao's office. Headquartered in Sweden, IKEA is one of the world's largest and louis vuitton purses neverfull recognisable international furniture, household goods and textiles retail company. One of the first companies in India to be allowed 100 percent FDI in retail, IKEA intends to open louis vuitton agenda replica a number of stores in the country. The chief minister suggested to the IKEA representatives that they should tie up with artisans in Telangana like Nirmal, Silver Filigri and Pembarti for their furniture as adds on. He also suggested that the pearls of Hyderabad which were once very famous should louis vuitton pearl bracelet also be made use of.
He said that IKEA should create job opportunities for local artisans. The chief minister said that whatever IKEA wants to sell should be sourced from the state. Rao assured that Telangana government will extend all possible support and will help IKEA to be treated as an industry for incentives from the central government.
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Israel is among the key tech markets globally. It ranks ninth (tied with the Netherlands) among the top countries in the number of tech exits in 2015 and has sprouted dozens of prominent startups and attracted global investors, as seen in our recent Periodic Table of Israel Tech.
As momentum increases in the “startup nation,” we used CB Insights data to highlight 11 early-stage Israeli tech companies to keep an eye on, all of them focused on business-to-business markets. These are companies that have all raised funding in October 2015 or later, but have not yet raised a Series B round.
We used CB Insights Mosaic algorithm, which tracks the health of private companies, to identify some early-stage companies in the seed and Series A stage with traction. (Mosaic has three components, which gauge a company’s health in terms of financing, industry category, and overall momentum.)
Startups here are addressing cybersecurity, digital health, IoT, and more.


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Tata Power celebrates India’s E-Mobility revolution in the 75thyear of Independence; Incentivizes usage of EV charging points for 75 hours across India
National,16th August,2022: Tata Power, one of India’s largest EV charging infrastructure providers, will be celebrating the 75th year of Independence by promoting the widespread usage of EV charging solutions across the country. The company is providing incentives to EV owners by offering a 15 percent discount on its select public EZ charging points, starting midnight of August 13th, 2022 for a duration of 75 hours. The offer will also spill into the 76th year of Independence and will provide a unique opportunity to EV users to charge their vehicles at a discounted rate on the Independence Day, 15th August.
This unique offering is in alignment with Tata Power’s belief that ‘Sustainable is Attainable’ and propagation of use of green and clean energy in the country can make sustainable mobility a way of life for millions of Indians through its green solutions and offerings in the EV charging space.
The EV users could easily locate the public charging points which are offering discount through Tata Power’s EZ charge mobile app.
Speaking about the unique offerings, Tata Power spokesperson said: “Tata Power is celebrating India’s 75th year of independence by promoting clean energy solutions and offerings to the nation. In light of this, we have launched an initiative to promote the adoption of e-mobility by providing incentivized EV charging opportunity across the country. We appeal to all vehicle owners to break free from the shackles of polluting, conventional vehicular fuels like petrol and diesel and embrace the green mobility solutions.”
Tata Power is one of India’s largest EV charging solutions providers, with over 2,350 public EV chargers in nearly 300 cities. The charging infrastructure is a mix of public charging, captive charging, home charging, workplace charging, and ultra-rapid chargers up to 240 kW for buses. The points are available across all standards and are compatible with all-electric cars. Tata Power has also set up over 200 electric bus charging points installed across India.


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NBC is developing a new prime-time news magazine show hosted by "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams, according to people familiar with the matter, as the network's new management attempts to buck NBC's prime-time slump.
The program could air as soon as the fall, two people familiar with the matter said, but the timing is still unclear.
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Buoyed by an investment of more than R10,800 crore by retail investors in its monthly income plan and debt schemes in the last 14 months, Reliance Mutual Fund plans to aggressively market its well performing debt schemes.
The fund house with an asset under management of R107,249 crore is seeing this as a silver lining for the industry that has been impacted by the net outflows from the equity schemes.
“Along with retail equity our renewed focus will be towards promoting debt products to retail investors as huge chunk of money is lying in the bank deposits and we need to mobilise that money,” said Sundeep Sikka, CEO, Reliance Mutual Fund.
“Indian economy is expected to reach $4 trillion by 2018 and Indian equity markets will be a part of this growth,” said Sunil Singhania, head of equities.
The fund house says redemptions are good because the investors who book profits act like brand ambassadors.
<i>(The writer’s travel and stay were sponsored by Reliance Mutual Fund)</i>


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Supermarket U-turn over netting to prevent swallows nesting
- Credit: Archant
A supermarket has taken a U-turn over nets which would stop swallows nesting at a Norfolk store.
Tesco came under intense criticism on Friday after customers spotted netting had been put up over trolleys at the Harford Bridge store to stop swallows nesting above them,.
The company said the nets were installed to address health and safety concerns over bird droppings falling onto trolleys, and they had sought advice from experts.
But customers, including TV presenter Jake Humphrey, reacted with anger.
Mr Humphrey tweeted: 'Seriously @Tesco?!? Netting off swallow nesting sites in trolley shelters in Norwich. Experts say returning swallows will get caught and die. Take them down!!!!!'
But on Saturday Tesco replied to customers on Twitter and said: 'We've listened to feedback from customers and are temporarily removing the nets above the trolley bay at our Norwich Harford Bridge Superstore.
'We are in discussions with a number of parties to identify other solutions that protect the swallows nesting near the trolley bays and ensure we maintain the highest health and safety standards for our customers.'
- 1 Single mum resorts to sleeping in her car due to 'unlivable' flat
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- 3 Norwich man charged with kidnap after posing as a taxi driver
- 4 Team behind Golden Triangle pub take on Edith Cavell in Norwich
- 5 Your chance to meet The Bill star who has moved to Norfolk
- 6 Major changes coming to the sale of domestic fuels
- 7 Party in the Park coming to Norwich with global food, stalls and music
- 8 Eleventh McDonald's drive-thru could be set for Norwich
- 9 Riverside pub undergoes £80k refurb in time for summer
- 10 Bread Source confirms location of new store
However some customers pointed out the netting was still up on Saturday afternoon and pointed to similar measures at the company's Fakenham store.
RSPB East tweeted: 'We are pleased to hear @Tesco have taken the decision to temporarily remove the netting from their Norwich Harford Bridge store. We will continue working with Tesco this week to try and ensure this is a permanent move that works for wildlife and celebrates swallows.'
Last year, the same store was at the centre of a police investigation, after allegations that a number of swallows' nests were destroyed.
The destruction of the nests of wild birds is a crime under the Wildlife and Countryside Act but at the time Tesco said the damage was confined to a single nest and was done accidentally during attempts to clean the outdoor area at the superstore.
A spokesman at the time said: 'Our store area is home to a number of birds and we take care to protect them.
'We have reminded all contractors and cleaners to take care near the nests.'


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Google is rolling out an update to its search engine next week that will downrank websites containing pirated content. The new, improved algorithm pushes copyright violators lower in search results. "We've now refined the signal in ways we expect to visibly affect the rankings of some of the most notorious sites," Google says in its latest transparency report.
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[Update] Following the uproar over the supposed banning of Saga #12, comic publishing app Comixology has stepped forward to take the blame. In a letter published by Kotaku, Comixology stated that it had preemptively held back publication of Saga #12 in anticipation that the issue's graphic content would be in violation of Apple's App Store rules.
"Given this, it should be clear that Apple did not reject Saga #12," Comixology's letter states. The issue will be available for purchase in the app in the near future.
Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' Saga released its twelfth issue this week, and contained within it are what Vaughan describes as "two postage stamp-sized images of gay sex." The postage stamp-sized images were enough to get the comic banned, though, as Vaughan noted (via Newsarama) in a letter to readers on Staples' Tumblr page.
When the issue did not show up in popular comic publishing app Comixology, observers jumped to the conclusion that Apple had censored it over its depiction of sex.
Marketed from its first issue as a title for "mature readers," Saga has never shied away from graphic depictions of sex and violence. The images in question depict a sex act between two men. Apple's App Store regulations prohibit any such depiction, and the company has barred all apps from selling the comic. Saga has in the past, though, shown rather graphic depictions of heterosexual sex acts.
Image PR director Jennifer de Guzman told The Beat that the sex in previous issues didn't show genitalia, and thus wasn't unacceptable by Apple's standards. Comics writer Matt Fraction, though, took to Twitter [Warning: links to illustrated sexual content] to note that Apple was apparently okay with the heterosexual acts depicted in issue number four of Saga.
"Heteronormative penetration in SAGA #4," reads Fraction's post, implying that Apple's issue is not with the depiction of sex, but with the genders of the illustrated persons involved.
Image representatives have suggested that readers pick up the issue directly from Image's site or from their local comic store.
This is not the first time that Apple has come under fire for alleged censorship of material involving same-sex couples. In 2010, Apple reportedly censored a gay kiss in Tom Bouden's graphic novel adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest. While the app contained no full nudity, it was initially rejected, only to be approved when resubmitted with the gay kiss covered by black blocks.
Outside the confines of the App Store, Apple appears to have no problem with same-sex relationships, having donated $100,000 to fight California's anti-same-sex marriage Proposition 8 in 2008. In February of this year, Apple joined along with other large corporations expressing support for same-sex marriage as the issue moves before the United States Supreme Court.


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The company also announced PKR 3.3 Billion new investment to enhance its vehicle manufacturing productivity, resulting in capacity increase to 76,000 units per annum.
Karachi – 29th August, 2018: The Board of Directors of Indus Motor Company (IMC) Ltd. met on August 28, 2018 to review the company’s financial and operating performance for the year ended June 30, 2018.
The company posted net sales revenue of Rs. 140.2 billion, up by 25% as compared to Rs. 112.27 billion last year, while profit after tax grew by 21% to 15.8 billion from Rs. 13 billion posted last year and profit before tax grew by 20% from Rs. 19.1 billion last year to Rs. 23 billion in the year ended.
The overall increase in the revenue and net profits is attributed to higher sales volume on account of the launch of new models, change in sales mix and higher other income owed to increase in fund size. Demand momentum for automobiles remained solid throughout the period, due to increased spending power, despite rising fuel prices and accessibility to reasonably priced auto financing.
The company operated its manufacturing facilities beyond capacity working daily in overtime hours and off Saturdays to produce 62,886 units, up by 5% compared to 59,945 units last year.
Keeping in view the sustained growth in demand year on year, the Board of Directors approved a new investment of PKR 3.3 Billon to further enhance vehicle manufacturing productivity, which is expected to result in capacity increase to 76,000 units per annum by 2020-21. This plan will take the overall investment by the company to around PKR 7 Billion on improvement of production volumes.
Ali Asghar Jamali, CEO Indus Motor Company said, “We are committed to the Pakistani market and to our loyal customers who have shown great trust in our products year on year. We are delighted to announce a new investment of PKR 3.3 billion to further enhance annual manufacturing productivity, resulting in increased capacity to 76,000 units”
The combined sales of Toyota CKD and CBU vehicles stood at 64,000 units, up by 5.7% compared to 60,586 units in the previous year. In spite of the increased volume, IMC’s market share declined from 28% to 24%, mainly due to overall market expansion and growth.
In August 2017, the Company launched Toyota Corolla Big Minor Model Change consisting best-in-class safety and luxury features, which kept the demand strong for the flagship vehicle. The sales for Toyota Corolla stood at 51,412 units for the period, down by 2.4%, compared to 52,676 units last year.
Toyota Hilux was launched in February 2018, with minor improvements and with advanced features aimed at luxury and a superior off-road performance. The combined sales of Hilux LCVs grew 27.5% to 7470 units compared to 5860 units sold during the same period last year.
In March 2018, Toyota Fortuner underwent a minor model change with cutting-edge features and another variant of diesel engine was launched. This resulted in increased sales of 4186 units, up 204% compared to 1375 units last year. Camry Hybrid Vehicle was also an addition to the product line-up this year.
Based on the results, the Board of Directors announced a final dividend of PKR45 per share, making the annual dividend for the year PKR 140 per share. During the year, the Company contributed a sum of Rs. 48 billion to the national exchequer, which amounts to about 1% of the total revenue collection by the Government of Pakistan for the year.
- Press Release


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We Americans love our cars. As of 2013, there were more than 256 million registered vehicles on our roads. As a nation, we bought 17.5 million cars and trucks in 2015, and the United States is the second largest-passenger vehicle market in the world, trailing only China. More than 128 million of us commute daily, and of that number, 76 percent of us prefer to drive solo.
We don't just drive our cars, either. We celebrate them, with car shows and rallies, cruises and swap meets. We pamper them with professional car washes (more than 8 million a day) and expert detailing. Some of us even name our cars — like the Reddit user who dubbed his Outback "Shelia" in a nod to Australia (somewhere, Paul Hogan is grinning).
It's no wonder, then, that last year's Greater Lehigh Valley Auto Show attracted some 44,500 visitors over its three-day run at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem. The 2015 show was packed with more than 300 new vehicles; the Greater Lehigh Valley Auto Dealers' Association says this year's show — its 19th —will be the largest yet.
"We'll have nine Subarus on display at the show this year," says Dave Kopew, general manager at Faulkner Subaru in Bethlehem, "including the incredibly popular WRX and STI models."
If you look back over history, car culture captured our imagination long before Henry Ford — considered the father of mass production — got Model Ts rolling off his assembly line in 1913. Just look at the first national car show, which was held in 1900 at New York City's Madison Square Garden — more than a decade before Ford's historic feat.
Brothers Charles and Frank Duryea, who built a working car in 1892 — beating Ford by four years — claimed the first U.S. patent for a gas-powered car in 1895. Charles Duryea built many of his vehicles in Reading, and stories say the locals would come out to watch as he'd test his creations on the switchback of Mt. Penn. Frank Duryea beat six other cars in one of the first official U.S. auto races, held on Thanksgiving day in 1895.
Today, NASCAR holds more than 36 races a season, claims a fan base of more than 75 million, and, starting in 2016, will run 40 cars in each race. (If you're one of those fans, this weekend's show features a NASCAR simulator, so you can see how you stack up against the likes of, say, Chase Elliot or Kyle Busch.)
Hot rods came on the scene in the early 1930s, fueled by cash-strapped car enthusiasts struggling through the Great Depression. They'd give old cars new life — and character — by swapping out parts including engines and suspensions, as well as adding or subtracting running boards, windshields, and other components.
now make bolt-on accessories to add personalization, performance and style. You can add a Subaru spoiler to your WR-X, mood-lighting to your Outback and a roof-rack to your Forester.
That car-customizing craze has never gone away, and auto manufacturers
Another aspect of our car culture revolves around car tech: From in-dash GPS systems to Bluetooth stereos, heated seats to keyless ignitions, we're fascinated with making our cars more comfortable and convenient.
And then there's safety: from the invention of windshield wipers in 1903 to Subaru's collision-avoiding EyeSight system, first introduced in 2012, automakers are constantly trying to improve our driving experience.
"Check out all of the advanced safety features Subaru has to offer while you're at the car show," says Kopew. "It will help you understand why Subaru has received more Top Safety Pick+ awards in 2016 from IIHS than any other brand."
Over the years, cars have evolved by leaps and bounds. But one thing stays the same: our fascination with them. Do yourself a favor: Indulge that fascination this weekend and visit the Greater Lehigh Valley Auto Show.
— Patrick O'Donnell


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years, pundits have predicted that the digital age would usher in the paperless
office and the cashless society. But computers have led to more paper not less!
And though getting cash may be more convenient with computerized ATMs, the need
for it is no less great.
Significant change is in
the works, however, on the money front with computers. Today you can carry out
transactions using your personal computer and the Internet without exchanging
cash. You can buy and/or sell, without even needing to use credit cards.
Online auctions have been the
catalyst behind the innovations, says Mark Morgan, a research analyst who
specializes in e-finance for the San Francisco investment bank Putnam Lovell.
The biggest mover here is a little-known, meteorically growing, and
controversial company named PayPal.
What Is PayPal?
Out of the heart of the
Silicon Valley, PayPal has vaulted in little over a year from nowhere into
first place as the world’s largest Internet-based payment network. More
than five million people now use its PayPal service, according to a company
spokesperson. This constitutes more than 10% of all Internet traffic in the
financial services sector—more people than are served by big names such as
Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America combined!
Using PayPal, at http://www.paypal.com,
you can quickly and conveniently pay for goods or services by having money
transferred from your bank account, credit card account, or PayPal money market
account. The kicker here is that you can sell over the Internet without a
credit card merchant account, which for individuals and even small businesses
can be difficult or expensive to obtain.
No Longer “Always Free”
PayPal used to promote itself
as being “always free,” in its logo no less, but it now charges if you buy or
sell more than specified amounts. It can still be a good deal, compared with
But PayPal’s abruptly
changing its terms of service created a storm of protest—Internet message
forums were flooded with scathing complaints and calls for boycotts. In what
undoubtedly is a side effect of this, the Better Business Bureau just gave
PayPal an “unsatisfactory” rating.
PayPal will likely weather
this deluge in part because a key competitor, ExchangePath, just went belly-up.
But it could have handled things better.
Sure, in today’s brutal
dot-com shakeout, businesses need to make money rather than just coax venture
capital and grow market share. But the transition from free to pay should be
planned and managed. PayPal’s lesson to other businesses is a commonsensical
one: Don’t promise what you may not be able to deliver.
PayPal isn’t the only player
in the “person-to-person payment” market. Ecount, based in Conshohocken,
Pennsylvania, is carving out space for itself by marketing to banks and credit
card companies rather than directly to individuals or small businesses, says
Matt Gillin, the company’s CEO and President.
Individuals can still sign up,
at http://www.ecount.com, and more than 800,000 have—often those wary of
using credit cards over the Internet. You can use the service with any merchant
who accepts MasterCard payments, unlike with PayPal, which requires the
merchant to have a PayPal account.
this second service, you pay for online purchases out of your Ecount; this
account may be funded through a major credit card. The company plans to offer
bank account transfers in the future. You’re charged a small fee only when you
add or withdraw money from your account or opt to receive a traditional plastic
MasterCard debit card from the company.
Other services battling for
position in the online payment space include eCharge at http://www.echarge.com,MoneyZap at http://www.moneyzap.com, and c2it at http://www.c2it.com.
Any electronic payment
service worth its silicon makes security top priority, but you have to do your
share too. Don’t use the same password for your e-cash account as your e-mail
account. Recently hackers got into the PayPal accounts of some Hotmail users by
hacking their Hotmail passwords.
Also, beware of “spoof” sites
with names such as PayPai that try to trick you into giving up your password.
It’s best to log directly onto sites such as PayPal than to go to them via
possibly bogus links in e-mail messages.
One World, One Payment
E-payment companies have
grandiose plans, with dollar bills flashing before their eyes. The ultimate
goal: One payment system that replaces
not only cash, but credit cards and checking accounts as well.
Reid Goldsborough is a syndicated columnist and author of the book
“Straight Talk About the Information Superhighway.” He can be reached at
firstname.lastname@example.org or http://members.home.net/reidgold


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4PSA, a leading edge Cloud Computing software technology company has announced today its participation as an event partner to WorldHostingDays 2011, the world’s leading hosting gathering. WHD 2011 will take place between March 22-25, 2011 at Europa-Park, one of the largest theme parks in Europe, located in Rust, Germany.
Previously known as WebHostingDay, with over 2,800 visitors from 73 countries in 2010, the four-day conference and trade show will bring together companies involved in the hosting business from all around the world. “Our previous experience with WebHostingDay has been very good and we are eagerly waiting to make it a success this year as well. 4PSA will be exhibiting at booth #74 where we will be offering live demos for visitors interested in gaining deeper understanding of Unified Communications and the key benefits it brings to service provider offering,” said Mike Ross, 4PSA’s President.
In 2011, 4PSA will be launching paradigm shifting products and services designed to bring people closer to a total Unified Communications hub. “On March 24, 4PSA’s CEO and Chief Architect, Dr. Bogdan Carstoiu, will hold a 45-minute presentation covering the opportunities service providers can address by expanding the way their services integrate with new communication flows such as social networks,” also added Mike Ross.
At WorldHostingDays 2011, 4PSA will showcase a full range of products including VoipNow Platform, an award-winning solution designed to accelerate Unified Communications adoption, and DNS Manager, the multitenant, user-friendly automation solution that delivers advanced DNS hosting to service providers and businesses. The company will also offer exclusive promotions to WHD 2011 visitors.
For more info, please visit www.4psa.com


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New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) The Indian automobile industry, which struggled with a sluggish market last year due to high interest rates, Tuesday welcomed the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision to cut key lending rates by 50 basis points, saying the move will boost buyers' sentiments.
"Its a positive step as 70 percent of all retail sales in the sector happens through finance. However, how much will the cut help sales will depend upon how much of the RBI's cut translates into cheap and easy loans," Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager, marketing, Maruti Suzuki, told IANS.
The RBI in its annual monetary policy for 2012-13 has cut some key rates by 50 basis points in an effort to push industrial growth and stimulate economy -- a move that may see interest rates falling on housing, automobile and commercial loans.
Other industry players said they expected sales to pick up as a result of the rate cut.
"Since inflation has moderated, repo rate reduction was on expected lines. It's a welcome step and market should improve going forward. Volume of both petrol and diesel vehicles should pick up soon," said P. Balendran, vice president, General Motors India.
The Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) auto index rose by 82.59 points at 10,371.53 in Tuesday's trade.
However, SIAM (society of Indian automobile manufacturers) cautioned that the rate cut may not immediately translate into sales growth as it comes on the back of the budget proposal to increase excise duty on automobile sector.
"It is a positive move, but we have to wait and watch what happens as the budget has hiked excise duty," Vishnu Mathur, director general, SIAM, told IANS.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the budget for fiscal 2012-13 proposed to raise excise duty from 22 percent to 24 percent on petrol cars with engine capacity of under 1,200 cc and diesel cars with engine capacity under 1,500 cc whose length exceeds four metres.
The Indian automobile industry is expecting a 10-12 percent rise in sales in fiscal 2012-13 from the 17,376,624 units sold in 2011-12 on better macro-economic conditions, an industry body said.
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