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After an extensive search for the perfect chef to join our masterful team of culinary artists at Main Kitchen | 806 Lounge, we found our new Executive Chef Josh Mouzakes. He will oversee all aspects of our luxury hotel’s food and beverage offerings, including Main Kitchen Restaurant, 806 Lounge and JW catering.
Long Island with a French Twist Please
Chef Mouzakes began his culinary journey at 13 years old on Long Island, and five years later at the age of 18, he officially began his career at The French Laundry, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant which continues to be touted as one of the finest restaurants in the world. He continued to train under some of the leading French-trained chefs in the world including Guy Reuge at New York’s Mirabelle Restaurant in The Three Village Inn as well as Joël Robuchon at his restaurant in the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
He most recently served for three years as Chef de Cuisine for Fine Dining and Executive Banquet Chef at San Diego’s historic Hotel del Coronado, where he successfully helped manage the hotel’s culinary team.
Elevating Houston’s Impressive Culinary Movement
“The architecture along with the hotel’s southern hospitality and impeccable service at the JW Marriott Houston Downtown is what drew me to join the city’s impressive culinary movement,” said Mouzakes. “I also gravitated toward the hotel’s Main Kitchen Restaurant living room vibe that is luxurious without being pretentious.”
Mouzakes plans include reinventing Texas favorite recipes, incorporating modern cooking techniques and creating new seasonal and off-menu dinners.
Hand Picked For Houston Tastemakers
“We hand-picked Mouzakes for his artistic ability to create beautiful food that features various textures and colors, balanced with incredible flavor, as well as his expertise in large catered events,” said Natalie Wiseman, Pearl Hospitality. “The Main Kitchen at the JW Marriott Houston Downtown continues to be a go-to spot for downtown culinary experiences, including interactive cooking and cocktail demonstrations, meet and greets with Houston farmers and tastings with renowned winemakers. Along with making his mark, Chef Josh continue to drive the restaurant’s success into its next culinary phase.
Mouzakes is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University, one of the nation’s top culinary programs.
Click here for our official press release.
In this short video we take you step-by-step to prepare the perfect steak with the culinary artistry we’ve mastered at the JW Marriott Houston Downtown. After watching the demo, we invite you to share your Perfect Steak with us!
Amplifying our commitment to sourcing local, fresh ingredients, the Main Kitchen team recently planted a new rooftop garden in Downtown Houston.
Highly regarded food and wine reporter, Greg Morago, had the exclusive first-look at the new fall lunch and dinner menus designed by Chef Mouzakes.
Read our exciting coverage from the Houston Chronicle here:
Meet Josh Mouzakes
Published on October 11, 2018
First Look: Main Kitchen
Published on October 30, 2018
See the Main Kitchen review in the Houston Chronicle’s Flavor Section
Published on October 31, 2018
The always stylish and fashion-forward luxury magazine PaperCity shared the love for our new menu and welcomed Chef Mouzakes with a feature in the December 2018 issue.
Read the announcement from PaperCity Magazine here:
There’s a New Chef in Town
Published December 2018
Chef Mouzakes and Main Kitchen had the honor to be featured in a CultureMap article by Eric Sandler that highlighted three Houston hotel restaurants with big changes that attract food-loving Houstonians.
Read the full story from CultureMap here:
3 mainstay Houston hotel restaurants go new and improved to draw diners
Published on October 24, 2018
Featured in the January 2019 Eat + Drink Guide, Modern Luxury Houston sat down for an interview with “New Kid on the Block” Josh Mouzakes to learn more about his cooking style and sample the new dinner menu at Main Kitchen. In the interview, Executive Chef Mouzakes shares “my menu style is contemporary American, grounded in classic French cooking based on skills I’ve honed since I started cooking in restaurants at age 13.”
Read the full interview here:
New Kid On The Block
Published January 2019


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Restaurant pain at Gérard, Signature
THE scale of the pain being felt by London's restaurant trade has been revealed by two chains that between them own many of the capital's most famous eateries.
Groupe Chez Gérard, owner of Livebait, Bertorellis and Chez Gérard, said it made a £3.5m pre-tax loss for the year to the end of June. It has axed the dividend.
Veteran executive chairman and company founder Neville Abraham, who returned to the ailing business earlier this year, said there were 'too many restaurantsin London chasing fewer customers,' forcing restaurant owners to up their game, and costs, to win market share. However, he insisted the turnaround was under way.
Rival chain Signature Restaurants, owner of Belgo and Bierodrome as well as the Ivy, Le Caprice and J Sheeky - remained in the black over the same period but operating profits tumbled by a third to £3.16m. Pre-tax profits were £2.27m compared with a loss of £1.38m previously. There is no dividend.
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domain: news


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Belgium-based big data startup NGDATA, which also has offices in New York and San Francisco, has closed a $3.3 million funding round, led by Capricorn Venture Partners. Existing investors also participated, including Sniper Investments and unnamed angel investors. The new funding brings NGDATA’s total raised to date to $5.8 million, after a $2.5 million round last October.
NGDATA’s flagship product is a customer intelligence offering called Lily which it sells in to enterprises so they can aggregate multiple customers data-points to target marketing at individual users and personalise offers to drive more sales.
For example, the system can be used to recommend which offers (such as coupons) to push to a mobile user — based on their real-time location, say. Or send relevant offers like an umbrella coupon if it’s raining. Other examples of data Lily looks at includes group/peer behaviour and users’ past shopping preferences.
Big data — as a term — can come across as impenetrable and dull but it’s algorithms like this that are going to be powering our ambient info-packed future. Here’s how NGDATA itself describes Lily:
Lily uses powerful machine learning engine to provide consumer-oriented enterprises with actionable insights gleaned from billions of unstructured and structured items stored in internal databases, operations systems, POS systems, social media sites, mobile traffic and web video sites. Lily allows companies to create timely, impactful and highly personalized online and mobile campaigns that reach the right consumer at the right time, with the right offers. Lily is built on Apache Hadoop and HBase technology and integrates with an existing IT infrastructure.
Channels that Lily can tap up include data contained in subscriber databases and CRM systems; behavioural and transactional data including calls, texts, payments, iDTV, credit card transactions; contextual data such as weather, geo-location, or “inferable context” such as social sentiment or network data; logs from online and mobile applications; third party data such as socio-demographic data; and social media data.
Using all the data it continually gathers (via the channels it listens in on), the system builds detailed customer profiles for each customer. It then applies machine-learning to determine an individual preference score for each available offer — the scores are then used to personalize offers, either online and on mobile devices. The targeted data can also be served to traditional marketing (campaign platforms) through APIs.
NGDATA said it will use the new funding for continued product development on Lily, and also to bolster the business momentum it’s achieved over the past 12 months. The startup has expanded its global footprint over the past year, opening multiple offices in the U.S. and entering into a series of strategic partnerships with companies including Clear2Pay and Cloudera. In the latter instance, NGDATA said it has developed “sophisticated indexing capabilities” for Cloudera Search, aka “full-text, interactive search and scalable indexing to Apache Hadoop”.
NGDATA is not currently breaking out customer numbers but claims to have seen “significant traction” in industries including financial services, telecom and media/publishing over the past year. De Persgroep, France Telecom, KBC, Orange and Telenet are among the customers it has named. It lists its main competitors as Datameer, Wibidata, Spire, SAS and Teradata.
Commenting on the funding round in a statement, Katrin Geyskens, Partner at Capricorn Venture Partners, said: “We’re seeing a shift in the Big Data market, where companies are looking for better ways to capture and analyze data in ways that help them solve real business problems.
“NGDATA brings a unique and effective offering in its Big Data solutions, providing companies with the ability to gain deeper insights into their data — and its growing customer base and revenue streams are testament. We’re thrilled to join NGDATA’s team as the company moves into its next phase of growth and expansion in the U.S.”
As part of its latest funding, NGDATA is adding three new board members to help steer its strategic direction, as well as naming three members to a newly formed NGDATA Advisory Board. William J. Pade, personal investor and partner at Oak Hill Capital Partners; Michael Patsalos-Fox, former senior partner for McKinsey & Company; and Katrin Geyskens, Partner at Capricorn Venture Partners, all join NGDATA’s board.
While Guy Weyns, managing director at Paradigm Capital Investments; Jean Francois Van Kerckhove, vice president of mergers, acquisitions and business development at eBay; and Doug Cutting, chief architect at Cloudera and founder of Hadoop, were named as strategic members of the NGDATA Advisory board.
TechCrunch’s Steve O’Hear contributed to this article


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UK inflation is up, but there are reasons to think it may soon come tumbling down.
UK inflation hit 2.9 per cent in August, the joint highest level since April 2012. More worrying, core inflation, which excludes oil, food and tobacco, and is thus a less volatile reading, also rose, from 2.4 to 2.7 per cent.
It is bad news for households, we won't have the data on wages in August for several weeks, but it seems likely that real wages fell sharply in the month.
But there is a view that inflation is close to peaking.
Paul Hollingsworth, UK Economist at Capital Economics said: "We don’t think that the rise in CPI inflation has much further to run. Indeed, we expect it to peak at just above 3 per cent in October, before dropping back next year as the impact of the pound’s fall starts to fade."
In this respect, Samuel Tombs, Chief UK Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics agreed, saying that "domestically-generated inflation remained weak in August. Inflation in the services sector only edged up to 2.7 per cent, from 2.6 per cent in July, remaining well below its 3.5 per cent average of the previous two decades. What’s more, this rise merely reflected a jump in the contribution from accommodation services, due to an unusually large fall in hotel prices a year ago."
But Mihir Kapadia – CEO and Founder of Sun Global Investments, partly blamed Brexit negotiations, saying: "The weak pound at least against the Euro, weighed down by its own problems from the hazy Brexit negotiations, is causing inflationary pressures by driving up the costs of imports. In the near term, the pound is expected to add further pressure, as the Euro is threatening to reach parity with the sterling, as investors await the ECB’s decision on stimulus in October. "
As for interest rates, and what the MPC, the Bank of England's rate setting committee will do, Paresh Davdra, CEO and Co-Founder of RationalFX suggested that "the next few days will be key for the currency as investors anticipate the possibility another split within the BoE which could strengthen the case for a rate rise. However it still remains to be seen if the dovish majority at the BoE can be persuaded that the latest rise in inflation necessitates a more hawkish policy.”
While Paul Hollingsworth added: "With mixed signals on the strength of the economy, and the majority of the MPC appearing to be comfortable with a temporary, exchange-rate driven pick-up in headline inflation, we don’t think that the MPC will be panicked into raising rates imminently. But the first hike is still likely to come before markets expect."
Mr Tombs seems to disagree saying: "We still think, however, that the chances of a rate rise this year are remote; domestically-generated inflation is subdued, inflation expectations have remained well-anchored and GDP growth is too weak to warrant higher rates."


text: Want to Stay at a Green Hotel? Think Cheap Those worried about their carbon footprint should consider a budget hotel By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff Posted May 5, 2012 7:50 AM CDT 7 comments Comments Vagabond Inn, San Luis Obispo (©Willem van Bergen) (Newser) – The greenest hotel chain in the US isn't exactly the swankiest: A new report from Brighter Planet finds that Vagabond Inn is the most energy- and carbon-efficient, the Los Angeles Times reports. Next up: Red Lion Hotels, another mid-range offering, followed by the budget Red Carpet Inns and then Travelodge. Dead last of the 75 chains analyzed? The more upscale JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts. Brighter Planet considered hotel age, amenities (refrigerators in the room? a swimming pool?), room size, and other information including location, since certain parts of the country use more renewable energy. "Budget hotels are generally more efficient," the report concludes.


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GM extends cheap loan deals; pressures rivals
Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, October 17, 2001
DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. today extended its offer of cheap loans on new vehicles until Nov. 18, a move other automakers may be forced to copy despite repeated warnings by Ford Motor Co. that the program's costs are "unsustainable".
GM's cheap financing incentives, previously set to expire at the end of October, were quickly matched by Ford, the Chrysler side of DaimlerChrysler AG and other automakers when they were introduced in late September.
The incentives, which includes zero-interest financing for some models of cars and trucks, have been credited with boosting auto sales in the first part of October to their highest rate of the year. Many of the zero-interest loans have terms of three or four years, with some five-year loans for less popular vehicles.
GM launched its "Keep America Rolling" program, which is backed by a patriotic advertising campaign, in response to plunging demand after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
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GM credited the program with keeping its sales decline in September to a modest 3 percent. Industry sources have said U.S. sales of cars and light trucks in the first part of October were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 18 million vehicles, the strongest levels so far this year.
That's far above the 15.9 million annual rate for sales in September, the weakest rate this year, but still far stronger than many had predicted due to the low interest financing incentives.
On an average new vehicle purchase, a zero-interest loan would save the buyer about $2,800, and the savings can approach $5,000 on more expensive vehicles. They are offered in place of rebates and other incentives that had been averaging about $2,000 per vehicle.
Art Spinella, an industry analyst with CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Oregon, said in a report that about 25 percent of GM's current shoppers had been lured into dealerships by the deals. But he said only about 20 percent of customers take the no-interest loans due to the shorter payback period and tough qualification rules.
Ford and Chrysler both said they were evaluating GM's move and did not have any immediate plans to extend their offers, which are also set to expire Oct. 31.
Ford today blamed the low-interest loans for a roughly $2 billion rise in its incentive costs during the third quarter.
The programs "did jump start sales," said Ford Chief Financial Officer Martin Inglis. "However, marketing costs rose to what I consider unsustainable levels."
Inglis also said the effect of the deals would likely begin to weaken soon, and that the deals had "pulled ahead" buyers who would have otherwise bought vehicles in the next few months.
"It will be challenging for the industry once we move off these levels of incentives to find out the resulting level of demand," he said. "I see it tailing off, and then there will be payback."


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Yep, here we go again – except this time it isn’t razor blades or some other psycho things… yet.
Here is the email I received from MomsRising.org –
Dear MomsRising.org Member,
We want to give you a heads up about some Halloween candy that could be bad for kids: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to consume White Rabbit Creamy Candy or Koala’s March Crème filled Cookies because they may contain melamine. (1) And, the Canadian government is warning the public not to consume Sherwood Brands Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate Coins, which may also have reached the U.S. (2)
What’s wrong with these candies? You’ve likely heard about the dangerous chemical, melamine, which was recently found in the Chinese milk supply and sickened thousands of children in China. We’ve now seen reports that melamine tainted milk has been used in some Chinese candy products that have been shipped to the United States. (3)
The good news is that Chinese candy makes up only 0.7% of the candy sold in the U.S. (4) and the risk of serious harm from minor exposure to melamine is considered low by the World Health Organization (5). That said, we wanted to send this out to you because we don’t want our kids eating candy with any toxic ingredients.
*Please forward this email to friends, family, and your school email list so all can be on the lookout for this tainted candy on Halloween. (And, if you’re not already a member of MomsRising, please sign on now so we can keep you informed: http://www.momsrising.org/fighttoxins)
MomsRising has created a page where you can easily share this information with friends, as well as see pictures of the tainted candies, get more information, and download a flyer that you can post on your school or other community bulletin boards.
See the Tainted Candy Pictures, Get the Flyer & Tell Friends Here: http://www.momsrising.org/melamine
Enjoy a safe and happy Halloween,
–Joan, Kristin, Katie and the MomsRising.org Team
2. Here’s the Canadian government’s warning: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/20081008e.shtml The Vancouver Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081028.wlhalloween28/BNStory/lifeFamily/home And an article in the Chicago Tribune: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2008/10/chocolate-coins.html
3. From Consumer Reports: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/10/chinese_formula07.html, and Candy problem verified on Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp
5. “Consumers exposed to tiny amounts of melamine shouldn’t worry, says Angelika Tritscher of the World Health Organization. ‘Melamine at low doses is actually not considered to be very toxic.'” Quote from: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-24-melamine-china_N.htm
And some recent press coverage:
My personal take on this is – don’t buy cheap candy! Which reminds me, I’d better get out and get some. Don’t want my house shaving creamed or something!
I really only get one or 2 kids. You can’t see my house from the road and it’s pretty dark down here. But the year you’re not prepared is the year you’ll be surprised, right?
Remind your kids, even your teenagers, that the candy needs to be checked before they eat it!
Make sure your Halloween is full of treats, not tricks!


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Rug vendor Foreign Accents is expanding its sales, marketing and design team under new ownership.
Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports should grow 1.8 percent in December over the same month last year for an increase of 2.3 percent over 2012, according to the latest Global Port Tracker report.
City Furniture has opened its first Central Florida stores in time for the holiday shopping season, two showrooms at The Villages, an active adult community near Orlando.
Online home furnishings retailer Wayfair has named Michael Fleisher chief financial officer.
U.S. consumers have been holding tight to their worn out sofas much longer than their grandparents and past generations did, laying the ground for a possible rebound in consumer spending as things start to wear out.


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Beijing has launched a program to ensure food safety for the 2008 Olympics, to meet mounting accommodation demands expected by participants, journalists, and spectators.
The Beijing 2008 Olympics Food Safety Program will focus on the establishment of a food safety standards system, based on the World Health Organization's food standards. The measures include 80 standards for harmful substances, 50 standards for food examination and 15 standards for packaging.
Beijing will also set up a series of food storage bases, conducting routine environmental surveillance and employing sampling tests to ensure products cope with the urgent scheduling demands of the Olympics.
The plan will also require real-time monitoring of designated food supplying companies and bases, qualification standards for food services, establishment of food distribution centers and electronic labeling of food.
Deputy director of the Food Safety Committee of Beijing's municipal government, Zhang Zhikuan says that the city expects to receive nearly 250,000 delegates, working staff and journalists. A spectatorship of seven million is expected for the occasion, with more than 13 million meals to be served in total.
Athletes and visitors alike will certainly dine out during the Olympic Games. A selection of recommended restaurants will be available for their convenience.
To minimize the risks athletes face while dining outside the restricted Olympic areas, designated restaurants across the city will be noted in the official handbooks prepared for the athletes. Currently, rules for "recommended restaurants" are under consideration.
Additionally, as a co-host during the 2008 Olympic Games, the city of Qingdao will launch an Olympic Food Project during the second half of 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2005)


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Though the pollution comes from China, the U.S. still bears part of the responsibility. That’s because about a fifth of China’s air pollution comes from the manufacture of goods for export to other countries, including the U.S., China’s second-largest trading partner. The study found that manufacturing for the export sector contributed to 36 percent of China’s sulfur dioxide emissions, 27 percent of its nitrogen oxides, 22 percent of its carbon monoxide and 17 percent of its black carbon — a pollutant linked to cancer, emphysema and asthma.
“When you buy a product at Wal-Mart, it has to be manufactured somewhere,” Steve Davis, co-author of the study and University of California at Irvine scientist told the Washington Post. “The product doesn’t contain the pollution, but creating it caused the pollution.”


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The agreement, which sees Separex develop a manufacturing process to concentrate the EPA from a lipid-rich biomass produced by Photonz's proprietary processes, represents another potential addition to the omega-3 market.
At the GOED Exchange, held in Salt Lake City in January, the topic of co-existence of pharma and dietary supplement omega-3’s was discussed. According to Adam Ismail, executive director of GOED, pharma and dietary supplement omega-3’s already co-exist from a regulatory standpoint.
Both Dr Douglas MacKay, of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), and Naoyuki Tanaka, from Nippon Suisan Kaisal (Nissul) in Japan suggested that dietary supplement manufacturers view omega-3 drugs not as competition for market share, but as validating in the public eye the health-promoting benefits of omega-3’s.
"[The] announcement marks an important stage in the commercialisation of Photonz technology," said Greg Moss-Smith, Photonz’s chief executive. "Our work to date has been focused on developing the fermentation and extraction processes to industrial scale.
“In this new phase, we are working on downstream processes for concentration and purification, looking towards an end-product specification that will address a significant opportunity in the US$60 billion cardiovascular disease (CVD) market,” he added.
In April 2010, Photonz announced the feasibility of its continuous fermentation system and then harvested the first batch of algal biomass from its prototype industrial plant. A batch of its lipid-rich biomass was recently sent to Separex, where it will pilot the concentration technology, develop it as a continuous process, and then scale it to industrial volumes. This should be completed within the next six months, said Photonz.
"Separex has extensive experience in working with this type of oil, currently derived from non-algal sources, such as fish," said Mr Moss-Smith. "That experience is of considerable importance because, to meet the needs of the CVD market, our product will have to be identical to fish-derived product.”
The high purity EPA will be marketed toward pharmaceutical applications, said Photonz.
In an email to NutraIngredients-USA.com, Moss-Smith explained that the pharmaceutical grade product that is the topic of the article is 96 percent pure EPA.
"We do not have plans to market this product into the Supplements market but we are actively considering whether to launch a product of medium purity for the Supplements sector," he added. "No decision has been made."
At the start of this week California’s Aurora Algae announced the launch of its new A2 product portfolio, including protein-rich powder and a ‘game changing’ sustainable EPA-rich omega-3 oil.
Speaking to NutraIngredients-USA, Leslie van der Meulen, vice president of business development for Aurora Algae, explained that the company can produce a vegetarian food source and renewable biofuel products, year-round with a single crop.
“The allergen-free, vegetarian sourced A2 EPA Pure will be a game changer,” said van der Meulen. “The unique properties and infinitely scalable nature of our algae platform will allow our customers to safely invest in the abundant application potential of EPA, knowing their supply is guaranteed.”


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The workhorse OPPO A91 has recently been launched in Malaysia in a shade of Lightning Black but they’re now offering an additional shade for the phone that they’ve dubbed Unicorn White for the same price tag of RM999.
The OPPO A91 is part of their affordable A-series phone and interestingly enough is one of the first in the range to use an AMOLED panel for its 6.4-inch FHD+ display which ensures more vibrant colours onscreen. The A91’s large display has a 90.7% screen-to-body ratio and an under-display fingerprint reader.
On the hardware front, the OPPO A91 has a Mediatek MT6771V Helio P70 octacore processor paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage expandable via a microSD card slot.
The rear quad camera array has a primary 48-MP camera that uses pixel binning to squish 4 pixels into 1 to serve up 12-MP shots, a secondary 8-MP ultrawide angle camera, a 2-MP mono camera and a 2-MP depth sensor. The front of the OPPO A91 packs a 16-MP F/2.0 selfie camera. Both the front and rear cameras max out at 1080P video capture.
The phone comes with a 4025mAh battery that has VOOC 3.0 flash charging, allowing for a 50% charge in just half an hour. To acquire it, you can swing by OPPO’s official Lazada store or official Shopee store.


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Royal Enfield new Meteor 350: What to expect in terms of price, features, design1 min read . Updated: 24 Oct 2020, 03:32 PM IST
- The new bike will be replacing the Thunderbird 350X which also introduced bright solid colour themes in the RE line-up
- The new 350cc bike will counter the likes of Honda’s new H’Ness C350
Royal Enfield will be launching the new Meteor 350 on 6 November. The Chennai-based motorcycle manufacturer is planning to unveil the new 350cc bike to counter the likes of Honda’s new H’Ness C350. The new bike will also feature some modern looking elements to compete in the segment.
Royal Enfiled has been tight-lipped regarding the launch of the new bike prior leaks and rumours have leaked critical aspects of the upcoming bike, including the price and even colour options.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Royal Enfield launch event:
The new bike will be replacing the Thunderbird 350X which also introduced bright solid colour themes in the RE line-up.
The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 will come with an all-new 349 cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder BS6-compliant engine. Going by the leaks, the new engine on the bike is expected to churn 20.5hp and 27Nm of torque. The new engine will be tweaked to produce more power in comparison to the UCE Thunderbird 350 which made 19.8hp and 28Nm of torque.
In terms of variants, the bike is expected to launch in three variants. The entry-level variant is expected to be called Fireball, according to the leaked brochure. The more expensive variants will be called Stellar and Supernova. The brochure suggests that the Meteor 350 will made available in seven body colours - Fireball Yellow, Fireball Red, Stellar Red Metallic, Stellar Black Matte, Stellar Blue Metallic, Supernova Brown, and Supernova Blue.
The pricing of the new bike is expected to range from ₹1.60 lakh to ₹1.90 lakh (all prices ex-showroom).
The Meteor 350 will sport a new twin-pod cluster instrument console with bluetooth connectivity. In the instrument console the bigger pod will feature an analogue speedometer while the smaller pod gets a TFT colour display offering navigation details. The smaller unit will be called as a Tripper Navigation Unit. Digital LCD Screen will have Odometer, Tripmeter, Fuel Graph Bar and Service reminder.
The bike will have circular halogen headlamp, LED DRL, LED tail lamps, forward-set footpegs, raised handlebar, etc.


text:
Food banks are looking for innovative ways to make sure they have enough of the right kinds of food at the right times. Virtual food drives allow donors to choose items that the food bank needs. And because food banks buy in bulk, they can get more bang for the donated buck.
Food banks and soup kitchens get a lot of attention — and donations — this time of year. But it's keeping their shelves stocked after the holidays that those who feed the hungry worry about most.
At the Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg, Md., one group of volunteers fills cartons with cans of green beans and boxes of pasta. But they're not doing it for the people waiting outside the warehouse for food. Instead, they're packing up supplies for February and March, when Manna's executive director, Amy Ginsburg, says the shelves here will be a lot emptier.
"We're kind of like squirrels," says Ginsburg. "We store food, and then we have it when we need it."
And by all accounts, she'll be needing more and more. Food bank directors across the country are preparing for a long, hard year ahead. As they do, they're trying to juggle the ups and downs of donations with the unrelenting demand. Many are turning to the Internet to get the help they need when they need it.
Point, Click, Feed
Claudia Johnson is with the Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana. She says her food bank still holds regular food drives, but it has also decided to hold a virtual food drive because of the added flexibility. Donors can go to the group's Web site and select from a long list of suggested items.
"We even have pictures of the things on our virtual food drive. So you can see a turkey sitting there and click on the turkey and that will add $13.35 to your shopping cart," says Johnson.
She says online donors can also help the food bank — which buys in bulk — to get a lot more bang for the buck. That same turkey would cost a donor $19.35 at the store.
Johnson says there are other advantages.
"Some of the food we receive in a food drive is just not good, for various reasons. And so, some of it goes to the dumpster, and that's unfortunate as well," she says. "This way we know it's fresh, and it's what we need exactly."
And most food banks and pantries are familiar with the problem. In a tour of the SERVE food pantry in Northern Virginia last year, then-CEO Cheri Villa showed a special shelf where they had some of the odder donations on display.
"We've gotten a can here, a 15-ounce can of quail eggs. We have grass jelly. We have jackfruit in syrup," she said. Villa then pointed to a small jar with a rusted lid. "We got a baby jar of prunes with tapioca. And that would be wonderful, only it has an expiration, it looks like it's from 1963 or something," she said.
Donating The Old-Fashioned Way
With supplies tight, food banks say they can't afford such waste. The North Texas Food Bank in Dallas has been holding virtual drives since 2002 to help those who can't get to the stores themselves and to reduce the food bank's transportation costs of picking up food drive items.
But President and CEO Jan Pruitt says many people still prefer doing it the old-fashioned way, in part because of the emotional reward.
"What we're finding is that a lot of times families especially want to use that canned food drive as a teaching experience for the kids. Or it's just something that makes them feel real good to go to the store, buy the food and bring it to the food bank or take it to the canned food drive," she says.
Still, Pruitt wants to give donors as many options as possible because the need is so great.
Her food bank follows another trend, relying more on grocery stores for supplies. Many retailers donate products that are still fresh but hard to sell as the expiration date draws near. National networks, such as Feeding America, are encouraging Congress to extend tax breaks to make such donations more plentiful.
Ginsburg of Manna Food Center says she already gets about a third of her food from grocery stores. She points to a line of boxes filled with sweet potatoes, turnips and other items ready to be distributed to families.
"When the trucks return from the grocery store, then we'll add more to the boxes," she says. "They're going to have blueberries, chicken, lots of produce, probably a couple of sandwiches."
That should be enough to help the 315 families waiting in line today — an all-time record. But she still has to worry about tomorrow. Copyright 2009 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.


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Ends 10/15/19: Get $10 off and FREE shipping when you pre-order your 2020 IATA DGR manual. Click here to order online.
The US Coast Guard today announced increased civil penalties for maritime violations, including hazardous substance and oil discharges and hazardous materials violations.
Lion has added two new sessions of the EPA’s new E-Manifest System Webinar to our Spring 2018 schedule. Join a full-time Lion instructor and RCRA expert and learn what you need to know to ensure a transition to electronic Manifests...
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently launched a new digital tool to help air carriers verify compliance with the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR). Called DG AutoCheck, the new tool checks the Shipper’s Declaration and the packaging, markings, and labels against the latest edition of the DGR.
UPDATED 03/29/18 US DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has released a request for information, or RFI, related to the development of automated technologies for transporting hazardous materials by surface modes, i.e., highway and rail.
Citing fifty-three reports of overheating lithium batteries, one report of chemical burns, and four reports of property damage, Amazon has announced a recall of six AmazonBasics portable lithium-ion battery chargers.
WATCH: Two lithium battery fires have been caught on camera recently, as aviation regulators continue to work to prevent these incidents with guidance and regulatory requirements for passengers, crew, and shippers alike.
To help hazardous waste professionals transition to EPA’s new electronic system for tracking hazardous waste shipments, Lion Technology will present the EPA’s New Electronic Manifest System Webinar starting in May 2018.
UPS will expand its International Special Commodities (ISC) program to allow healthcare providers, life sciences companies, and others to ship certain dangerous goods to 51 new countries and territories.
On Monday, US DOT put back something it accidentally deleted from the 49 CFR Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) in October 2017; the definition of "specifica tion packaging."
Multiple employees and executives of a California wastewater company now face criminal sentences for a fraud scheme that involved knowing violations of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA).
A guide to developing SOPs that help you
select, manage, and audit your hazmat agents and contractors.


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Wholesale sales of consumer electronics will grow about 8 percent this year, slightly slower than last year's 11 percent rise, according to the Consumer Electronics Association's annual industry forecast, released just ahead of the start of the annual Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow.
"The consumer electronics industry is hot," said Gary Shapiro, CEA's chief executive, in a statement. "Consumer electronics sales are consistently growing."
According to the U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecasts report, 2005 year-end totals exceeded CEA's initial projection of $122 billion. CEA attributes much of the growth in 2005 to new product lines and innovations to wireless devices, flat panel displays, digital music devices and gaming consoles and software.
Digital television sales are seen in 2006 rising beyond $23 billion and 18 million units. DTV sales in 2005 grew 60 percent to $17 billion, fueled by the growing popularity and competitive price declines of flat panel displays such as LCD and plasma.
New gaming consoles, gaming software, wireless handsets and MP3 players with video playback capability, like Apple Computer's iPod, will also spark consumers interest, CEA said. Indeed, MP3 players sales are seen climbing to $4.5 billion in 2006, with 30 percent of all MP3 players sold having video playback capability.
A dozen industries meet in Las Vegas this week for the industry's annual U.S. jamboree to show off the latest electronic gadgets as they angle for a bigger slice the market.
The show, also known as CES, will host more than 2,500 exhibitors, 130,000 industry participants, and more than 28 football fields of display space.


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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California on Wednesday became the first state to ban mega-retailers from firing warehouse workers for missing quotas that interfere with restroom and rest breaks under a new law signed by the Governor Gavin Newsom who moved from ordering Amazon to ship goods to consumers faster.
The measure also prohibits Amazon, the online retail giant, and similar companies from disciplining workers for following health and safety laws and allows employees to sue to suspend dangerous quotas or reverse retaliation. The bill applies to all warehouse distribution centers, although supporters have been motivated by Amazon’s dominance.
“We cannot allow companies to put profit before people,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a press release announcing that he had signed the law.
The law, AB 701, was drafted by Democratic MK Lorena Gonzalez, a lawyer and former union leader. She accused Amazon of disciplining warehouse workers using an “algorithm” that tracks employee activities and can determine that anything not directly related to the movement of packages is “off task.”
âAmazon is pushing workers to risk their bodies for an overnight delivery, when they can’t even use the toilet without fear of retaliation,â Gonzalez said as the legislature passed. his bill.
Amazon did not respond to requests for comment on its legislation or claims. The law gives large warehouse employers 30 days to disclose quotas to employees.
Workers who believe their quotas lead to unsafe behavior can request 90 days of documentation on how their working speed meets or fails the quota. Any disciplinary action within those 90 days is presumed to be retaliatory action, as is any disciplinary action within 90 days of an employee’s complaint to the company or a public body about an unsafe quota.
Gonzalez cited reports from several workers’ rights groups, including the Resource center for warehouse workers and the Strategic organization center to assert that Amazon employees are much more likely to sustain serious injuries than those who work in other warehouses.
California workplace regulators should consider investigating whether a job site or employer has an annual employee injury rate at least 1.5 times the average annual injury rate in the warehousing industry, in under his bill.
Yesenia Barrera, a former warehouse worker who is now an organizer at the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, recalled the constant pressure to carry and “carry, fold, reach, twist and wrap 30 to 60 pound items for hours a day. “.
But 27 business organizations led by the California Retailers Association objected that California is home to thousands of warehouse distribution centers that collectively “provide quality jobs to hundreds of thousands of working-class Californians.”
The groups in a letter to legislators cited data from the US Department of Labor that showed wages in the transportation and warehousing industry rose more than 17% in the past year.
Amazon alone says it employs over 150,000 Californians, including in dozens of “distribution centers”.
The legislation is “both cumbersome and unnecessarily too broad,” the business groups said, arguing that workers are protected by existing workplace safety standards.
In a statement, California Retailers Association president Rachel Michelin said the measure “will exacerbate our current supply chain problems, increase the cost of living for all Californians and eliminate high paying jobs.”
“With California ports facing record backlogs of ships waiting offshore and inflation reaching the fastest rate in 13 years, AB 701 will make matters worse for everyone – creating more backlogged cargo and higher prices for everything from clothing, diapers and food to auto parts, toys and pet supplies, âMichelin said.
According to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, which co-sponsored the bill, warehouse workers in California are a disproportionately 54 percent Latino and 9.5 percent black.
He argued that these groups also have fewer employment options and were more likely to suffer during the coronavirus pandemic which has increased consumers’ reliance on online shopping and increased profits for retailers.


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TK Featured in DRC on ‘This is Our Town’ Campaign
"Thompson & Knight Offers Legal Lifeline to Small Businesses Struggling from the COVID-19 Crisis" The COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying economic fallout have had a profound and devastating impact on small businesses throughout the country. Fortunately, corporate leaders, including Thompson & Knight, have spearheaded efforts to throw small business owners lifelines to help keep doors open and staff on the payroll. With humble beginnings in Dallas, Thompson & Knight – now an international, full-service law firm with offices in four countries – has a particular empathy for small businesses. The firm was eager to leverage its own resources to support small businesses struggling as a result of the current economic crisis.


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It’s no secret that Japanese automakers are thrashing their U.S. rivals, producing award-winning vehicles and grabbing an ever bigger share of the North American auto market. But Japan’s venerable carmakers may soon be getting a taste of their own medicine.
South Korea’s No. 1 automaker, Hyundai Motor, scored a stunning victory with American consumers in the latest J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study, placing third overall behind Porsche and Toyota’s luxury Lexus brand. It was Hyundai's best showing ever in the influential quality study, which is based on responses by just over 63,000 new car buyers and lessees, measuring defects or design problems that occur in the first 90 days of ownership.
While Japan’s Toyota dominated the J.D. Power rankings, taking the top spot in 11 of 19 model categories, Hyundai’s recognition is significant because it means the South Korean automaker is a force to be reckoned in the North American and global automobile markets, said Jack Nerad, market analyst at Kelley Blue Book.
"For the last several years, Hyundai has pitched itself as the next Toyota, and the company has high expectations of where they will rank among world’s automakers,” said Nerad. “They’ve realized that to do well in U.S. market they have to be very strong in reliability and quality perception, and they are looking to bring their brand up-market.”
“Toyota already is concerned about what Hyundai is achieving,” said Nerad. “You’re seeing (Toyota's) subcompact vehicles coming in — it’s a shot across the bow to Hyundai. They are saying, ‘We’re not leaving this market to you at Hyundai.’”
To date, Japan's Toyota, Nissan and Honda have been the leaders of Asia’s emerging dominance of the global car market, tapping into consumers’ desires for dependable, attractive and fuel-efficient cars, and picking up many of the sales lost by their shrinking American rivals.
But now Hyundai, the world's No. 6 manufacturer, is coming into its own.
While Toyota made its U.S. debut in the late 1950s, Hyundai is a relative newcomer to the American auto market, having arrived on the scene only 20 years ago. Early U.S. models like the Excel were plagued by quality problems.
In 1998, Hyundai cemented its position as Korea’s leading automaker by acquiring a majority stake in rival Kia Motors. And in recent years the manufacturer has closed the gap and then some with its rivals.
Last year Consumer Reports ranked Hyundai’s Sonata sedan, built at a plant in Montgomery, Ala., as the most reliable car in the United States. The midsize sedan, which is enjoying record sales, also scored high marks on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s crash and rollover tests. And this year the Hyundai Entourage earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s best rating ever for a minivan.
Hyundai also has made its cars more attractive to drivers, striking a balance between ride quality and handling stability, said Kevin Smith, editorial director at Edmunds.com, an automotive information Web site.
“It’s easy to get one or the other, but it’s tough to get both together,” said Smith. “It takes engineering resources and a lot of investment, and it also takes setting that as a priority. Most car companies have the expertise to do this. There’s no black art to putting cars together in a way that consumers like them, but it’s clear that Hyundai has simply made the decision that they are no longer going to be the butt of jokes about reliability and dependability, and they have worked hard to successfully turned things around.”
Hyundai’s strong showing in consumer surveys and safety tests should help the company win over more consumers in coming months, said Kevin Reale, an analyst at Boston-based AMR Research.
“The Japanese are really going to have to take the South Koreans seriously now,” Reale said. “Hyundai is really up there and it’s playing with the major competitors, but it’s not there by mistake — they have put a lot of effort and time into their ability to make good cars, and they have fixed their supply chain so they can quickly rectify quality issues.”
As a result, sales are surging. Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia Motors saw an 11.6 percent jump in global sales in 2005 — the largest percentage gain of any carmaker in the million-plus sales category.
But while Hyundai is likely to continue gaining share, it probably will remain a second-tier manufacturer for the foreseeable future, said Reale.
Hyundai has a 3 percent share of the global market today, a figure that is likely to rise to 8 percent by 2015, according to consulting company CSM Worldwide, Reale said.
He expects the global auto market to shake out into two tiers over the next 10 years: A top tier with Nissan, Toyota, General Motors and Ford each holding between 10 and 15 percent, and a second tier with names like DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Volkswagen and Hyundai, each with 5 to 10 percent.
“Hyundai is definitely going to grow and capture some market share,” said Reale. “The structural shifts in automotive industry are driving this — it’s becoming more global, and automakers can build and sell their vehicles anywhere now. Worldwide light vehicle production is expected to grow from 55 million today to 84 million in 2015. That’s a significant increase that will be driven by growth that will mostly come from Asia.”


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CANADIAN PHONE MAKER Research in Motion (RIM) is doing all it can to get developers on board and make a comeback with a new CEO after possibly its toughest year yet.
This aspirational comeback will hinge around this change in personnel as well as the success of its upcoming operating system (OS), Blackberry 10. However, for RIM to rest its entire future on the Blackberry 10 OS is risky at best.
The firm lost a great deal of market share in 2011 as it was hit by a massive service outage as well as increasing competition from rivals such as the Iphone and Android smartphones. It also acquired a bad image after it emerged that 'chavs' used its BBM messaging service to incite the London riots during the Summer. Things weren't looking good.
But then the firm announced that its new CEO, German Thorsten Heins, had replaced RIM's two CEOs this year, after it became clear that something drastic had to be done.
At RIM's Devcon Europe this week, Heins took to the stage for the opening keynote speech in his first public appearance since taking the position. It wasn't previously announced whether he would even appear at the event, so at least Devcon Europe didn't lead to the press slamming Heins for not turning up.
There was some buzz in the air as the conference kicked off with pumping music and a trio of keynotes from RIM executives. Heins was the first on stage and received a warm welcome from the 2,000 odd developers in attendance.
It didn't come as much of a surprise to hear Heins bigging up the developers and advertising Blackberry as the best operating system and user base to target. He said that "developers are critical to our long term success", which of course everyone knows.
One thing that goes in Heins' favour is that he's been promoted from within the company, having joined RIM in 2007. This means he knows the company well already, and he's obviously got some charisma, judging by the enthusiasm and positivity he showed throughout his keynote.
While the keynote was fairly tame overall, Heins came across as likable and brought out some fighting talk, saying the firm is "ready to compete, make no mistake".
It's clear that he won't let RIM go down without a fight and his confidence and drive are believable. He will certainly do a better job as a solo act than Balsillie and Lazaridis did as a duo.
"I'm absolutely convinced that RIM has an exciting future," said Heins with authority at the end of his keynote.
To start the year, RIM will be fighting its rivals with new releases of its smartphone and tablet operating systems. Playbook OS 2.0, based on QNX, will tip up later this month and Blackberry 7.1 soon after.
RIM is, of course, touting these updates as major and game changing. However, in the big scheme of things, they are fairly unimpressive, with Playbook OS 2.0 offering features such as native email, which simply should have been there when the tablet was first launched. It's a step in the right direction but way behind its rivals.
The Canadian firm's future is ultimately resting on the shoulders of Blackberry 10. The next generation OS that is also based on QNX will run across smartphones and tablets, mimicking what Google has already done with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. RIM is even saying that it will run in the home and in cars as well as on smartphones and tablets.
Blackberry 10 has been talked about a lot at Devcon Europe and has therefore overshadowed the two new operating systems that the firm is about to roll out. That's not the best tactic to get developers to build apps for the present systems, but it highlights a clear long term strategy.
Blackberry 10 doesn't have a projected release date that's more specific than this year but we can assume it will be towards the end of the year, due to the fact that the two upcoming operating systems are yet to ship.
If the new OS is this late, things won't look so good for RIM. The firm likely won't regain much market share this year, and until some evidence of how great Blackberry 10 will actually be arrives, RIM's future hangs in the balance. µ
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Pharmacia’s Compliance Program Uses “In-House Prosecutor,” Role-Playing
Pharmacia employs an "in-house prosecutor" to foster an "integrity-based trust building culture," CEO Fred Hassan said
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FDA appears headed for a showdown with clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry over the proposed new clinical trial endpoints for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, the guidance's approach for justifying a non-inferiority margin and proposed changes in the types of patients that should be enrolled in trials


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The wedding business apparently isn’t recession-proof after all.
As more brides postpone their weddings and purchases, designers and manufacturers are proving to be more nimble, sharpening opening price points, shortening delivery times and finding unusual designs to try to curtail any procrastination. Like many designers and executives interviewed during last week’s shows, Vera Wang offered a sober outlook. “As far as business is concerned, let’s be honest, it’s a bad situation. Like every other company, we lowered prices in the past two years. Overall, we feel very good about the price value we are offering.”
Retail consolidation has only made business more challenging. In the past year, Saks Fifth Avenue shuttered its bridal salons, and three well-known East Coast specialty stores also called it quits — Suky Rosan in Ardmore, Pa.; Calvary Bridal in Millburn, N.J., and Yolanda’s in Walpole, Mass. The editorial frontier also shrank, with Modern Bride and Elegant Bride magazines folding shortly before the shows began.
Mark Badgley and James Mischka responded to consumers’ cost consciousness by opening their runway show with a line from their new, more affordable Mark and James label. The British designer Alice Temperley unveiled a full-fledged bridal collection in addition to her made-to-order gowns. With more brides ordering gowns three to five months before their nuptials, Lela Rose said she is working more closely with stores to avoid rush charges whenever possible. The designer is offering more styles at her $1,800 opening price point, too. Even David’s Bridal, a national retail chain known for its razor-sharp prices, played up $99 options, including some that could be worn as separates after the wedding. JLM Couture introduced its Blush label and chief executive officer Joe Murphy sent a pre-market letter to stores emphasizing the need for teamwork.
But not everything was driven by price. Angelo Lambrou, who has an East Seventh Street store in Manhattan, will feature his wedding gowns in “Brides for All Nations,” a Nov. 5 runway show sponsored by the United Nations Women’s Guild. Nicole Miller served up more red-carpet-inspired wedding gowns than traditional ones. Saja has branched out into bridal, wedding planner David Tutera has teamed up with Faviana for a new label and Francesco Fino opened his first U.S. store at The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, where designer Douglas Hannant also opened a store in September.
After unveiling a capsule collection of wedding gowns at Bergdorf Goodman, Marchesa presented 19 styles that will be sold exclusively in stores such as Browns in London. Marchesa’s Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig were both married within the past two years, so bridal was a natural extension. Chapman said she welcomed the design challenge. “It is the one day of your life when you really feel you can go for it,” she said.
Mark Ingram’s signature Midtown bridal salon will be among the stores carrying Marchesa’s bridal collection. “All the gowns were magical and deftly constructed with an expert hand,” he said.
Ingram also gave high marks to Monique Lhuillier, Angel Sanchez and Anne Barge. But he said a turnaround is underfoot, as evidenced by “greater traffic, more optimism, higher ticket sales and generally happier brides.”
But it hasn’t been that way. Last year the most popular gowns he sold were in the $8,000 to $14,000 price range, but this year many will not spend more than $10,000. He said, “Honestly, anyone who tells you that their business is ‘flat’ with last year is probably not telling the truth. So many brides put off their weddings until 2010, that all of the better bridal business suffered this year.”
Checking out bridal lines at the Hotel Intercontinental last week, Sara Timko, owner of Sara’s in Branchburg, N.J., said having exclusive lines was the best bet. “People do bargain. They will say, ‘So-and-so will sell me this dress for $4,000. Can you do better?’”
Ani Cole, owner of Madison Avenue Bridal, a Covington, Ky., store, said, “They’re visiting their dresses a lot more. It used to be they would come in to look at the dress they wanted, once, twice or three times before buying it. Now they’re coming in at least a dozen times.”
Cole said she had picked up a few newcomers — Katerina Bocci, Karen Sabag and Ian Stuart. The Detroit-based Bocci let retailers know that she is part of the Made in Detroit marketing campaign that trumpets local businesses. “I am very happy about being able to provide paychecks for the people who work for me. They depend on me. It’s not just about me.”
Bridal executives aren’t the only ones trying to woo cost-conscious couples. Manhattan’s Lower East Side now has a Vegas-style wedding chapel that has a $150 wedding package — photos and invitations included. The Wedding Chapel will get some air time on TLC in the docuseries, “Flowers Uncut With Jeff Leatham,” which makes its debut next month. Leatham, the Four Seasons artistic director, filmed a segment in the Norfolk Street space and left behind $10,000 worth of artificial flowers. Another sign of the times is Ritz-Carlton’s “A Vow to Help Others,” which gives couples who have all-inclusive weddings the option of donating five percent of the total food revenue from their event to either a charity of their choice or the Community Footprints Fund.
Kirstie Kelley, who has a signature line for Disney Fairy Tale Weddings, said as more women wed later in life, they are less inclined to have traditional weddings and will dress accordingly. Modern and simplistic styles were in demand last week, she said. With distribution in 110 retailers worldwide, she said, there is talk of Disney opening freestanding bridal stores, but nothing is imminent.
Hannant’s business partner, Frederick Anderson, said the company offers a range of prices, but they are not as low as they were last season. “Obviously, business has been really soft and many people are planning their weddings for a year from now,” Anderson said. “What I am looking forward to is next year. That’s when women should start spending again and we will get out of this rut of lower-priced goods.”
"I was driving back on Saturday afternoon from the beach, and I just saw this sign saying 'Skydiving for $95.' And I was like, I can't not sky dive for $95," says Tom Bateman about a moment in Hawaii while shooting "Snatched." #wwdeye (📷: @vsteves; Interview by @ktauer; Styled by @thealexbadia)


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Hermes driver 'lobs' delivery over gate in Derby
A woman was left "miffed" after discovering a Hermes delivery driver had thrown her parcels over her gate without checking anyone was home.
Chrissa Wadlow said she watched back CCTV footage after finding her Amazon packages, delivered by Hermes, in the middle of her drive in Chellaston, Derby.
"We actually found it quite funny to see how brazen this man was in just lobbing it over the gate," she said.
Hermes, which has apologised, has said: "The standard of delivery was unacceptable and we will be speaking with the courier to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Amazon has also apologised and offered Ms Wadlow a free Christmas hamper.
05 Dec 2018


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Growers owed $2.8 million for citrus deliveries
Citrus growers have expressed outrage to our newspaper that payments due to them more than a month ago have still not been made. Amandala confirmed this today with Dr. Henry Canton, Chief Executive Officer of the Citrus Products of Belize Limited (CPBL)—the country’s premier citrus produce exporter.
According to Canton, $2.8 million is outstanding to citrus growers, and the company, he said, is unable to pay because the company’s working capital is being held by one of their main banks.
He said that if those funds were to be freed up, CPBL would have US$1.5 million to pay what is owed to growers.
Canton said that a bank document must be signed by two directors and stamped with the company seal before the working capital can be released.
“CPBL [is] on the verge of not being able to conduct business,” Canton told our newspaper.
He also confirmed that, “we have not completed payments to growers due September 15.”
Amandala has been trying to get comment from the Belize Citrus Growers Association on the matter. However, we have not yet been able to speak with the respective officials.
We note, though, that a notice has been issued to citrus growers who are members of the CGA, asking them to attend a special general meeting on Saturday at which several items, including the final payment for the 2012/2013 crop year, will be addressed.
Canton also said that CPBL has been running below factory capacity. He said that two solutions would be: increasing production or downsizing the factory to accommodate the smaller volume of fruit, so that the factory could run more efficiently. According to Canton, the company is running at less than 50% capacity.
He said that the CPBL has been having issues with drawing down on a facility at the First Caribbean International Bank. Canton said that their overdraft facilities, including a second facility at Heritage Bank, are “maxed out.”
Meanwhile, the CGA promises to this weekend give growers an update on the buyback of CPBL shares now owned by Banks Holdings Limited, which controls the majority of shares in CPBL—shares which Banks had actually purchased from CGA.
Growers will also discuss an option for growers to repurchase shares via deductions from payments due from citrus sales to CPBL.


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Autohome plans expansion alongside delisting from New York
China’s top car-selling website company is looking to grow in e-commerce, CEO Qin said.
Autohome, China’s leading automobile website operator, plans to expand its presence in e-commerce, CEO Qin Zhi told the South China Morning Post in an interview.
He recently offered to buy out the New York-listed company with funding from three private equity firms.
The company will expand its auto e-commerce business with the ambition of becoming the largest internet-based auto transaction platform in the next three years, Qin said. Online transactions could account for 20 per cent of total auto sales in the next three to five years from just about 1 per cent last year, he said.
“Everything is changing, so we need to restructure our business in order to embrace challenges,” Qin said. This is also one of the reasons behind the buyout offer, he said.
“The privatisation will give us flexibility to do things and aim towards a long-term objective,” Qin said. He spoke to media for the first time after the buyout offer was made.
Qin led a consortium, which includes investment firms Boyu Capital, Sequoia China and Hillhouse Capital, to make a non-binding buyout offer of US$31.50 (HK$244) per Autohome’s American depository receipt last month. The offer values Autohome at US$3.57 billion.
It was seen as a rival bid because it came just hours after Australian phone company Telstra announced on April 15 that it had agreed to sell its 47.7 per cent stake in Autohome to Chinese Insurer Ping An’s trust unit for US$1.6 billion, or US$29.55 per share.
That deal needs regulatory and company approval. Ping An Trust said in a reply to the Post on Friday that the agreement is in progress.
“These are two separate deals, two different things,” Qin said, referring to the buyout offer and the sale of Telstra’s stake. And he said he is not in the right position to comment on the other deal.
Autohome has set up a special committee to consider the privatisation proposal by Qin’s consortium, the company said in a statement on April 26.
Qin said the “going-private” proposal was made because the company needs to consider a long-term plan and transform itself to meet changes in China’s automobile industry rather than focus on short-term profit.
“We need long-term capital to back us up and we also need investment,” he said. The company also needs entrepreneurial management with a long-term vision, Qin said.
The disclosure requirement as a public company will also hinder its long-term planning because it needs to disclose strategic moves to potential investors on a quarterly basis, he said.
Autohome’s revenue last year increased by 62.4 per cent to 3.5 billion yuan (HK$4.2 billion), with the main contribution coming from advertising income which rose by 60.1 per cent to 2.4 billion yuan.
The e-commerce business is promising and the revenue from this segment will become significant this year, Qin said.
During last November’s ‘Singles’ Day’ online shopping festival in China, Autohome said more than 35,000 cars, worth about 5.2 billion yuan, were sold on its platform, an increase of 40 per cent from the previous year.
Car sharing is also the next big trend and Autohome will look for opportunities in car-hailing, auto-piloting and electric vehicles, he Qin said.


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ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) — Disneyland has introduced a new annual pass that offers several ways to visit both Southern California parks.
The Disney Flex Passport is $599 for access to both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure or one park on select "good-to-go" days, with limited blockout days. Reservations can be made for other days for more access, and managed through the website and the Disneyland app.
"We are always considering new ways to continue to deliver a world-class guest experience, and introducing a reservation system will allow us to continue that legacy while better distributing attendance throughout the year," Disney Parks said on its blog.
California residents have the option of financing the pass. Those who live outside of the state will have to pay for the pass outright.
The pass also includes benefits such as dining and merchandise discounts.
Disney Flex Passport goes on sale May 21, just days before the grand opening of the highly anticipated "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" at Disneyland.
This story was written by KABC.


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'Now, because of COVID-19, we have become the only way to learn.'
Since the enforcement of the lockdown, Bengaluru-based edtech unicorn Byju's has not only seen a threefold jump in its user base, it has also quietly entered into the live tutoring segment, with an aim of positioning the company as the best platform for after-school learning.
Chief Operating Officer Mrinal Mohit tells Bibhu Ranjan Mishra how the company is coping up with the new normal.
The lockdown seems to have opened up more opportunities for you...
The COVID-19 outbreak is unfortunate and we all hope that it should not have happened. But it has actually been a big opportunity for us.
For us, one of the challenges was consumer behaviour, especially in terms of convincing parents that their children can learn maths, science and other subjects, from screen.
Now, because of the COVID-19 situations, we have become the only way to learn.
Parents are first hand seeing how their children are using the app and are spending several hours to learn things.
This huge barrier in terms of consumer behaviour has changed to a great extent in the past six weeks.
How is this reflecting in your user numbers?
When the COVID-19 outbreak hit India, we realised that we have become the only way where students can learn.
Keeping this in mind, we decided to make the app free for this whole period.
Because of the scenario and change in consumer behaviour, the engagement on the app has increased significantly.
In the past one month, almost 6 million students used our app, growth of almost three times over the previous one month period while the level of engagement has also increased almost 200 per cent.
Are you making available the premium version of the content to everyone, free?
We always had a free premium model (one can download the app at any point of time and use it free for 15 days).
But now, we are encouraged by the whole engagement.
Because, when you download the app, we ask you whether you are a student.
Now, we have seen there is a tremendous increase in the percentage of parents downloading the app.
Also, we launched a new feature called Byju's Live when we found that students are not able to attend classes as schools are closed.
Byju's Live is the live classes taken by some of our best teachers where the students can attend the class as they are attending in a school.
Because of that also, we are seeing a huge increase in engagement.
So you have made a foray into live tutoring in addition to the learning app. What is the thinking behind it?
We were always the 'Learn at Home' company.
If you look at the education space, from the beginning it has been quite teacher-led, as the teachers decide the pace of teaching in the class.
But with the Byju's Learning App, we created a fine balance between teacher and the student.
All our contents are teacher-led, but is delivered on a platform, which is student-led or controlled by the student.
So with the 'Live Classes', we are also looking at the after-school segment.
You don't have to go for tuition classes, and Byju's Learning App and Byju's Live will take care of all your requirements outside of schools.
Since it is being offered free now and the classes are being attended by lakhs of students, we are not offering a two-way interaction feature.
But we will add this in the paid version.
How did you mobilise resources as staff must be working remotely, to prepare yourself to tap the opportunity?
The whole scenario was the testing time for all the businesses.
It was the testing time in terms of how adaptable and how flexible you are as far as the business model is concerned.
But then for us, we being a digital first company, our challenge was far lower. Also, most of our employees are very young and tech-savvy.
So they found it easier to move to the work from home model.
The start-up segment is going through a tough time, with salary cuts, layoffs and so on. How are you responding to the situation?
I think this (time) is the real test of the business model of the firm as well.
This has shown that our business model is strong and the business segment where we play has been positively impacted by the whole disruption.
We do expect a positive impact in mid and long-term.
Also, we will honour all the job offers we have made and hire more people as the year goes by.
We are not looking at any salary cut.


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Cheers hosts the Grand Marnier Independent Cocktail Awards
Where’s the next Cosmopolitan coming from? Who will whip up the successor to the Sour Apple Martini for cocktail du jour? Spirits suppliers are avidly searching for the newest thing, having tumbled to the fact that bartenders can help them hit the jackpot with a great tasting, great looking new concoction. Grand Marnier each year has been searching through New York City’s restaurants, bars and nightclubs for the latest and the greatest mixological creation employing their favorite orange-flavored cognac.
This year’s search, part of Grand Marnier’s annual support of the celebrated New York Film Festival, brought in hundreds of recipes, culled from barkeeps throughout the city and metropolitan area. Two cocktails came up as winners in the finals, as determined by judges and guests: Alex Guerrero, Jr.’s The Grand Martini won the judges nod for best of the best, while invited guests acclaimed Jean-Phillipe O’Neill’s Green Monkey.
Co-sponsored by Cheers, the search for the independent cocktail award winner came down to a public taste-off by some of New York’s best-placed beverage professionals. Joining well-known beverage maven Steve Olson and Cheers editor Jack Robertiello in the arduous tasting were Windows on the World’s Melissa Trumbull, corporate wine director of B. R. Guest (Atlantic Grill, Ruby Foo’s and other NYC spots) Cindy Renzi, and Nick de S


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Orbio Multi-Purpose Cleaning Solution Gains Green Seal GS-37 Certification
Orbio Technologies, a Tennant Company group, and innovator in sustainable water-based cleaning technologies, announces the Green Seal GS-37 certification of the Orbio Multi-Surface Cleaner, the cleaning solution that is generated on site by the Orbio 5000-Sc machine. The 5000-Sc uses the Electrically Activated Water (EAW) process using only tap water, a small amount of salt and electricity to generate the Multi-Surface Cleaner. Orbio Multi-Surface Cleaner is the first cleaner generated by EAW technology to be recognized by Green Seal.
“We’re proud to receive this certification from Green Seal, a leader in certifying products and services that promote sustainability and protect natural resources. This latest achievement demonstrates Tennant Company’s ongoing commitment to redefining the future of cleaning through on-site generation of cleaning solutions that offer health and environmental benefits,” said Karla Leis, Vice President and General Manager of the Orbio Technologies Group.
A number of U.S. state governments have regulations that give preference to GS-37 certified cleaning chemicals, and organizations nationwide are using GS-37 certified products to meet requirements for LEED designation through the U.S. Green Building Council. The GS-37 certification validates Orbio Multi-Surface Cleaner, and the technology behind it can be used by facilities that strive to minimize their environmental impact without compromising their cleaning standards.
“This is the first product of its kind that Green Seal has certified in the 13 years since GS-37 was first published,” said Dr. Arthur Weissman, President and CEO of Green Seal. “We applaud Tennant for demonstrating their leadership in the cleaning industry through this innovative product.”
Effectively cleaning a variety of soils, including fats, proteins and organic oils, Orbio Multi-Surface Cleaner performs as well as many conventional cleaners so customers can replace a variety of conventional daily-use chemicals from their cleaning programs with just one cleaning solution. The benefits of an on-site generated solution like Orbio Multi-Surface Cleaner include simplifying processes and operator training, saving time and money, and reducing the environmental footprint associated with conventional packaged daily-use cleaning chemicals—all without compromising cleaning performance. In addition, many conventional cleaners contain solvents, alcohol, surfactants, dyes or fragrance—all of which are absent in the fragrance- and dye-free multi-surface cleaner.
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Leading foodservice packaging manufacturer, Graphic Packaging International will supply half a million sustainable food buckets to KFC Australia for Australian cricket’s Big Bash League 2018.
Graphic Packaging’s award-winning, non-plastic solution was selected by league sponsor KFC Australia due to its outstanding eco-credentials. Manufacture of the recyclable bucket, which has been developed and commercialised over the last five years, is exclusive to Graphic Packaging’s Winsford, UK, site.
Mike Turner, managing director at Graphic Packaging, commented: “We’ve had a successful working relationship with KFC UK and Ireland for some time now. And whilst the company has its own bucket supplier in Australia, its requirement for a renewable solution meant that Graphic Packaging International was, without question, the supplier of choice.”
The 100 per cent plastic-free bucket is ideal for protecting and presenting KFC’s product, featuring a robust, grease-resistant lining which prevents the build-up of excess oil. A glossy finish has been achieved with clay coating to enhance print vibrancy without the need for a plastic coating.
Combatting packaging waste is a major concern for Australian organisations. The Australian government has pledged that all packaging in the country should be 100 per cent reusable, compostable or recyclable by 2025.
“KFC Australia’s adoption of the GPI Foodservice bucket is a step in the right direction toward meeting the country’s sustainability targets” adds Turner. “We’re delighted to be supporting them in this venture.”
The Big Bash League will begin on December 19 when defending champions Adelaide Strikers take on the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. A total of 59 matches will be played, concluding with a final scheduled for February 17.


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New Delhi: Japanese carmaker Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL) has commenced the pre-launch bookings for BS-VI Diesel variants of its 10th Generation Honda Civic, the company informed in a press release on Tuesday.
Powered by 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel turbo engine mated to a 6-speed Manual Transmission, the car is set to go on sale from July 2020.
As per the carmaker, its customers can book the sedan through authorized dealerships or digitally via ‘Honda from Home’.
The automaker, which is present in the country through a wholly-owned subsidiary, aims to keep offering diesel trims in four of its models out of the total six products it currently sells in the country.
The Petrol version of the Honda Civic has been BS-VI compliant since its launch in March 2019, the company informed.
In its petrol version, the Civic comes with a 1.8-litre i-VTEC petrol engine and an advanced Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).
Even as the company attracted very high-level talents from the industry yet the top deck remained very volatile. Since 2020 on average at least 31 senior executives quit the group while it appointed close to 40 senior officials in the same time period.


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Industrial real estate continues to see strong rent growth and high demand, driven by pandemic-prompted online shopping trends. Industrial rents averaged $6.44 per square foot in January, a 5.1% increase over the last 12 months, according to a new CommercialEdge Industrial National Report.
Even as COVID-19 vaccinations ramp up, demand for industrial is expected to stay strong. New leases signed in 2020 often included premium pricing, with the average rental rate for new leases signed in the last 12 months at $7.50 per square foot. The average vacancy rate was 6%. Continued demand for industrial space will sustain rent growth and drive vacancy rates lower, the report said.
“We expect that demand will continue to increase even if e-commerce does not match its blistering 2020 growth rate. E-commerce has a continued role to play, and last year likely signaled a structural shift in consumer preferences more than temporary changes in behavior. Retail as we knew it has changed, and in its place warehousing and distribution have increased in importance,” said analysts. An improving global economy, ramped-up trade volume and inventory replenishment for retailers will be additional drivers.
The fourth quarter of 2020 now has the highest sales volume of any quarter since parent Yardi Matrix began collecting industrial data, with $11.9 billion of sales completed. Properties fetched an average price per square foot of $100, an 18.2% increase year-over-year.


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Gandhigramam that works to empower adivasis has mobile shops across the State
A classic Matador tempo, painted a deep green, opens out on one side. Inside are tightly packed stacks of little and big bottles, containers, tins, and sachets full of “forest produce”. These old-fashioned vans, which have ungrudgingly retreated from Indian roads, have found a new purpose with Gandhigramam’s mobile shops.
They have been around a while all over Kerala, says M. Devdas, the founder of the Wayanad-based organisation that has been working to market the produce collected by adivasis of the region. Ten to 15 of these mobile units have been stationed in various cities throughout the State. Kochi alone has four — at Panampilly Nagar, Kaloor, High Court Junction, and Menaka. Each one is an entire wellness store on wheels — with wild honey and turmeric, cycas, natural coffee, brahmi powder, chukku, karingali, karupatti coffee, palm sugar, gooseberries and bamboo rice to name just a few. The rest of the popular products include lemongrass oil, thaali powder, agarbathis, frankinscence and a variety of hand-made herbal soaps.
Looking for health
“I have been here for the last three-and-a-half years. I would not say I do roaring business. But people are curious. Once we explain the health benefits of say, gooseberries soaked in wild honey, people are interested and are willing to experiment. Customers are earned this way,” says Baiju, who manages the Panampilly Nagar unit. The van is open from 9.30 a.m. till 7 p.m.
The fastest-moving product, he says, is green tea. “Of late, there is an increased demand for green tea.” Wild honey and bamboo rice are equally popular, too. Bamboo rice, which is collected from the seeds of flowered bamboo, is known for its nutritive qualities. Comparatively richer in proteins, it is believed to be a good substitute for rice and can be used to make payasam, upma and even puttu.
Almost all the products on sale are made by the tribal (mostly Kurichya and Paniya) communities of Wayanad. Started about three decades ago, as a society to help the adivasis market their produce, Gandhigramam is now a federation with over 1,500 member-workers.
In these times when going natural is a fad and even big brands have started launching “natural” branches, demand for non-synthetic food is increasing.
K. Ravi Sahil is a regular at the mobile unit. “The wild honey has no added flavours and is known for its health benefits.” He recently bought two tins of gooseberry and garlic soaked in honey. “It is believed to lower blood pressure and diabetics can have it too,” he says. Sreedevi Venugopal, former tahsildar and a follower of the ‘natural’ way of life, gets lemongrass oil from Gandhigramam, which she uses as a mosquito repellent.
In addition to the mobile units, it also has 18 shops in the State. “The idea is to encourage people to go back to Nature. We work on the principle that food is medicine, the kitchen pharmacy and the person who cooks, doctor,” Devdas says. Busy schedules and life-style induced stress can be handled if people found a way to reconnect with Nature, he believes. Gandhigramam has started two Nature food outlets in Kozhikode and Tirur, too. Plans are on to open similar units in other cities, too.
“It is not a profit-making initiative, but 20 per cent of what we make goes to the adivasis who work with us. Earlier, they had few means to package and market their products. Some of the communities would even engage in direct-selling. But that would not bring in an organised income for them,” Devdas adds.
FOOD AS MEDICINE
Honey: Instant energy booster, helps build immunity, too
Brahmi: Is a flowering medicinal plant, which is also known as a brain tonic. It is used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and to enhance memory
Chukku (dry ginger) : Is an instant remedy for indigestion, congestion, cough, cold and fever
Karingali: A medicinal herb, which is added to water and boiled. It improves digestion and is known to be good for the skin and teeth
Gooseberry: Is good for diabetics and reduces cholesterol and risk of heart diseases. It also improves the quality of skin and hair
Bamboo rice: With its high protein content, it is considered nutritious. It also helps in flushing out toxins from the body
Natural coffee : Coffee, which is processed without washing off the pulp of the seed pod. Rich in antioxidants that melts fat away
Green tea : Rich source of antioxidants, natural source of fluoride for teeth and is known to help in weight loss


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Following a two-and-a-half year assignment at Chrysler International in Stuttgart Germany, Richard Sloman has returned to Chrysler South Africa and Fiat Group Automobiles South Africa as media relations manager.
In addition the role of product and pricing manager for the Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) region, Sloman was also responsible for overseeing the public relations operations in the EMEA countries and assisted with the transition of the Stuttgart office to Fiat's headquarters in Turin, Italy.
Sloman has taken over responsibility for all media relations for the Chrysler Group vehicles as well as those of the Fiat Group locally from Cleona Sacks, who has returned to her previous role as events and promotions manager. Raising the media profile
"It's really great to be back in South Africa and I am excited to be able to apply the knowledge and skills gained in the international business arena to the local market. Additionally, I am looking forward to the challenge of raising the media profile, whilst concurrently focusing on the integration of the diverse brands available in our newly combined product portfolio locally," said Sloman.
Guy Franken, head of marketing and corporate affairs for the group, added: "Richard's return marks the completion of the joint Chrysler South Africa and Fiat Group South Africa marketing and communications team. It also enhances the numerous synergies between the two companies that now represent Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Fiat and Alfa Romeo car brands, as well as the SRT and Abarth performance brands. Furthermore, the merger of Chrysler and Fiat makes us the second largest independent importer in South Africa."
The operations of Chrysler South Africa and Fiat Group Automobiles South Africa, under the management of CEO/MD Trent Barcroft, will be consolidated in a new office campus in Midrand from November 2012.


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The Samsung Galaxy S21 shouldn't be too far out if previous generations are any indications. As such, more and more details about the series consisting of three phones are surfacing — our own Max Weinbach was one of the first revealing tons of specs. Now SamMobile has come forward with additional information on the software. Its sources claim that the Galaxy S21 will come with biometric voice unlock powered by Bixby.
Just a few days ago, we took our first glimpse at OnePlus' upcoming flagship device, thanks to its CAD renders leaking on the web. It's now time to learn more about the handset's higher-end model, the 9 Pro, thanks to a new leak revealing its design and some of its specs.
Our first glimpse of next year's OnePlus 9 is here. Seeming to confirm last month's news that the OnePlus 9 would be arriving earlier than usual in March, the first leaked renders based on early CADs are starting to land, showcasing a familiar design, a slightly bigger screen, a hole-punch front-facing camera, and a three-camera setup on the back.
Pluto TV is one of the leaders in the free online TV industry, offering dozens of ad-supported channels corresponding to real-life networks (NBC, Nick, etc.) and various topics (old movies, gaming, etc.). However, it seems like Pluto TV has suffered a security breach, with millions of account details from 2018 now available online.
It's only been about two months since Motorola announced the Moto G9 Play, but it looks like the successor to that budget device is already on the horizon. New leaks have surfaced that reveal key specs of the upcoming device, including a slightly downgraded battery size, a new hole punch selfie camera, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
This story was originally published and last updated .
Google's Launch Night In is almost upon us, where we expect news of the Pixel 5 to be finally unleashed upon the world. Following-up on the smash-hit Pixel 4a, Google's latest "flagship" already has plenty of critics. Whether you like the picture painted by the last few months of leaks or not, our image of the upcoming phone is virtually complete.
Courtesy of OnLeaks and the interestingly named IPEE World, we have our first look at the latest phone in Nokia's 7 series of phones — the Nokia 7.3. The 360-degree render supplied shows off all angles of the phone, quad camera setup and all.
Google's latest Nest Wifi routers are rather expensive, but unique: They serve as both a Wi-Fi access point and a Nest Home speaker at the same time. However, many people already have tons of Google or Nest Home Minis lying around as Google likes giving them out as gifts or bundling them in with other purchases, so the Wifi access points don't necessarily have to be equipped with the Assistant for everyone. Google seems to be thinking the same thing, as 9to5Google has uncovered that the company might be working on an updated version of its original Assistant-less Wifi mesh router, the Google Wifi, potentially going for as little as $99.
The OnePlus Nord didn't make it stateside at launch, but OnePlus said that a separate model in the Nord line would come to the US down the line. Speaking with an insider source, Android Central has obtained details on this US-model Nord, dubbed the Nord N10 5G.


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Swipe Urges People to Live Their Faith
Swipe was presented with the ‘The Most innovation driven company in 2012 by the World Brand congress. Its user friendly and reasonably priced 3 D tablet brought it appreciation and acknowledgement.
It has since aggressively entered the telecom market – and has recently launched Konnectme smartphone at the price point of Rs. 3,999. Shripal Gandhi, CEO, Swipe Technologies states that Swipe telecom has not one but three unique selling prepositions. He says, “There are three USPs of ourbrand, firstly it is innovation driven and available at an affordable price for the Indian consumers, secondly they are the only brand that focuses on mid to high devices and thirdly they are the only team in the country today which does not hail from a distribution background like Lenovo, Compaq, Nikon, Canon.”
The launch of its new smartphone is backed by an aggressive marketing campaign ‘Live Your Faith’. It took approximately nine months to complete the entire campaign with a marketing budget of 30 crores.
While the company was sure that it wanted a celebrity brand ambassador with large appeal, they did not want anyone who already had backup in the industry.For their brand ambassador, they were looking for somebody who was self-made, and didn’t have a legacy.
They were keen on someone who has lived his/her faith, and has excelled, no matter which field they are in. Priyanka Chopra fitted all these criteria as she is self-made and came from a small town like Bareli, and made her mark without initially knowing anyone in the industry.Gandhi says, “Priyanka is now diversifying her talents into music and singing, and also will be appearing in an American series Quantico. These qualities in Priyanka go hand in hand with the goals of the brand, such as to be global. To top it all, she is a youth icon”
In Live Your Faith campaign Priyanka opens up to the world about her humble background and not having any mentor, ‘but still she believed in her dream and this is what she is today.’
It is a 360 degree campaign and has a presence on all the mediums. The campaign has already been broken in Mumbai through outdoor advertising as well as print. Times of India published a full page jacket of the campaign.Swipe is now all set to roll the campaign across the country. Besides the campaign featuring Priyanka Chopra, the brand would also capture stories of people from across the country, who have actually lived their faith. All these stories would be a part of their digital campaign and find a place on Swipe’s website and social media presence.
Swipe’s focus is on the youth of India, specially youngsters in their first jobs as that is where they have maximum aspiration, and their brand fits in very well.


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BLACKPINK's Lisa is set to make another mark in the K-pop industry not just as an idol, but as a CEO as she just launched her own talent agency.
The K-pop idol made the announcement on her Instagram on Thursday, Feb. 8.
“Introducing LLOUD, a platform to showcase my vision in music and entertainment. Join me on this exciting journey to push through new boundaries together,” she wrote in her post, showing a portrait of herself looking bold and cool in a suit.
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On LLOUD’s website, the agency positions itself as a platform that focuses on “relentless innovation and a commitment to authenticity.”
“At LLOUD, our passion as an artist management company is to create experiences that transcend genres and connect generations,” it read.
“We're not just pushing boundaries; we're redefining them, crafting chart-topping and genre-defying music,” it continued.
In December 2023, YG Entertainment announced that all BLACKPINK members, Rosé, Jennie, Lisa, and Jisoo, have renewed their exclusive contracts for group activities only.
In the same month, Jennie established her own label dubbed Odd Atelier (OA) for her solo commitments.
Lisa made her solo debut in 2021 with LALISA. In January 2023, she set three records in Guinness World Records (GWR) for being "the first solo K-pop winner at the MTV Video Music Awards," in addition to being "the first solo K-pop winner at the MTV Europe Music Awards."
She also landed at the top list in the category of Best K-pop video, which has been consistently won by BTS since 2019. She also collaborated with global artists DJ Snake, Ozuna, and Megan Thee Stallion with the song SG.
Apart from music, she is also making her mark in the fashion industry; she serves as a global brand ambassador for luxury brand Bulgari.