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TubeMogul attacks Google for its "walled gardens"

TubeMogul, the Californian video advertising software platform, has launched a new ad campaign censuring Google’s strategy for hiding “walled gardens” from its advertisers. TubeMogul claims Google’s self-interest, lack of transparency, misaligned business incentives and conflicts-of-interest with advertisers are causing a lack of trust within the advertising industry. To make its point of view clear to the world, TubeMogul has this week released targeted digital and outstream video, print ads in trade publications, a blog post entitled “Manifesto for Independence”, which challenges Google’s DoubleClick Bid Manager, and calls to action for brands and agencies to download a whitepaper encouraging them to question Google’s tactics.

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/03/07/google-attacked-creating-walled-gardens-tubemogul-campaign

Public ad tech company TubeMogul has unveiled a campaign attacking Google for hiding “walled gardens” from its advertisers. There has been no love lost between the two since TubeMogul - amongst other third-party companies - was cut off from from buying YouTube ads via DoubleClick Ad Exchange and told to instead go through its sales tea or Google's own self-serve ad tech platform. TubeMogul protested at the time (August 2015) but this campaign appears to go further. Aimed at those working in the advertising industry, the so-called ‘Independence Matters’ drive will see the release of a number of videos, posters and print ads criticising Google with allegations around its “misaligned business incentives” and “conflicts of interest”. The press ads will take up space in several specially-selected trade titles, while the OOH offerings will be placed in several locations around New York and San Francisco near the offices of top creative shops. TubeMogul: 'Independence Matters' TubeMogul Google campaign TubeMogul Google campaign TubeMogul Google campaign TubeMogul Google campaign TubeMogul Google campaign Loading... The video ads pastiche Google’s Voice Search feature, with a voiceover asking questions like “what’s a walled garden” and “show results for advertising conflict of interest,” which are met with evasive, wrong or blank responses from the search engine to highlight the fact TubeMogul believes independent vendors “best serve brand advertisers and break down barriers.” TubeMogul claims that “Google has made a conscious decision to wall itself off from the rest of the industry,” meaning that advertisers centralising buys within the internet giant’s boundaries risk losing access to “some of the most exciting advertising opportunities out there.” In a press release TubeMogul further argued its reasoning for the campaign, accusing Google turning to an “antiquated practice to secure their financial future and position of influence” by building walls. “Unlike the stone and mortar walls of past empires, Google’s regime is protected by implementing procedures and software that strictly control the data they let into their platform, and more importantly, the data they let out,” it continued. The Drum reached out to Google for comment on the campaign, but at the time of print the company had failed to issue a response. The films direct viewers to a page on the company’s website titled ‘A Manifesto For Independence’.

Breach shows Zhenhua Data compiled personal data on millions

Analysis of a leaked database from Zhenhua Data showed that the Chinese technology company collected data on around 2.4 million individuals worldwide, according to Australian cybersecurity consultancy, Internet 2.0. Shenzhen-based Zhenhua, which allegedly has links to China’s military, reportedly compiled the database from various sources, including social media, and used advanced language, targeting and classification tools to focus on influential figures and companies. Targets reportedly ranged from UK prime minister Boris Johnson, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and the British royal family to low-level employees of institutions. Zhenhua denied the claims and refuted reports that it has official links.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/14/zhenhua-data-full-list-leak-database-personal-details-millions-china-tech-company

The personal details of millions of people around the world have been swept up in a database compiled by a Chinese tech company with reported links to the country’s military and intelligence networks, according to a trove of leaked data. About 2.4 million people are included in the database, assembled mostly based on public open-source data such as social media profiles, analysts said. It was compiled by Zhenhua Data, based in the south-eastern Chinese city of Shenzhen. Internet 2.0, a cybersecurity consultancy based in Canberra whose customers include the US and Australian governments, said it had been able to recover the records of about 250,000 people from the leaked dataset, including about 52,000 Americans, 35,000 Australians and nearly 10,000 Britons. They include politicians, such as prime ministers Boris Johnson and Scott Morrison and their relatives, the royal family, celebrities and military figures. When contacted by the Guardian for comment, a representative of Zhenhua said: “The report is seriously untrue.” “Our data are all public data on the internet. We do not collect data. This is just a data integration. Our business model and partners are our trade secrets. There is no database of 2 million people,” said the representative surnamed Sun, who identified herself as head of business. “We are a private company,” she said, denying any links to the Chinese government or military. “Our customers are research organisations and business groups.” What is unusual about this discovery is the use of big data and outsourcing to a private company Anne-Marie Brady, China researcher The database was leaked to American academic Christopher Balding, who was previously based in Shenzhen but has returned to the US because of security concerns. He shared the data with Internet 2.0 for recovery and analysis. The findings were first published on Monday by a consortium of media outlets including the Australian Financial Review and the Daily Telegraph in the UK. Balding described the breadth of the data as “staggering”. In a statement, Balding said the individual who provided the data had put themselves at risk but had “done an enormous service and is proof that many inside China are concerned about CCP [Chinese Communist party] authoritarianism and surveillance”. Balding said the database was built from a variety of sources and was “technically complex using very advanced language, targeting, and classification tools”. He said the information targeted influential individuals and institutions across a variety of industries. “From politics to organised crime or technology and academia just to name a few, the database flows from sectors the Chinese state and linked enterprises are known to target,” Balding said. It compiles information on everyone from key public individuals to low-level individuals in an institution in a way Balding believes could be used to better monitor and understand how to exert influence. The database also reportedly includes profiles of 793 New Zealanders. Sun of Zhenhua said that such a database, the Overseas Key Information Database (OKIDB), does exist but that it merely connects individuals to the social media they use. “OKIDB exists but it is not as magical as they say,” she said, referring to the foreign media reports. “It is research. There are many overseas platforms like this,” she said. The CCP and China’s Ministry of State Security has long compiled country-by-country information about foreign economic and political elites, and foreigners who had lived in China for any period, said Anne-Marie Brady, a veteran China researcher and professor at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. “I’ve seen whole books outlining the careers and political views of US China experts,” Brady added. “But what is unusual about this discovery is the use of big data and outsourcing to a private company.” Robert Potter, co-founder of the Canberra-based firm Internet 2.0, told the Guardian the database was “ambitious” in its scope. He said the compilation of public open-source material could be “hugely valuable” to an intelligence organisation. Potter said the sources of the data included Twitter, Facebook, Crunchbase and LinkedIn. “Open source doesn’t necessarily mean people want it to be public,” Potter said in an interview. “The reason Cambridge Analytica was scandalous wasn’t because they were accessing information on people’s private messages on Facebook. It was because they were misusing the permissions that were given by users to those platforms.” Some analysts said it was not surprising that a private company was amassing detailed data sets on notable individuals in government, industry, finance and academic. “The line between public and private surveillance in the digital age is blurry. Under authoritarian government it is non-existent,” said Dr Zac Rogers of Flinders University in South Australia. Rogers, who is research leader at the Jeff Bleich Centre for the US Alliance in Digital Technology, Security and Governance, said the likely primary purpose of the data collection was “to provide grist for CCP information operations”. Rogers said deeply personal and granular information about individuals was scattered freely across the internet. “When agglomerated, this data opens up myriad opportunities to conduct targeted influence activities should the need arise … This can include dis and mis-information, inauthentic simulation (deep fakes), straight-up bribery, and general muddying of the information environment in which democracy operates.” Samantha Hoffman, an analyst from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Cyber Centre, said: “What is happening is that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] and PRC-based companies are engaging in global bulk data collection to assist the Chinese party state in various objectives whether it is military, propaganda or security.” Hoffman said the insecurity of these databases was another point of concern. “There are many companies that are doing similar things. One thing that stands out is just how insecure many similar databases and this one were. That has its own implications in terms of privacy protection as well as how exploitable the data is.” Hoffman said it was not clear what the data is used for. “A lot of data is being collected now and not all of it is usable, but later it could be. The mass collection of data will assist the objectives in the long term.” She said: “What they’re doing isn’t so unique. It’s why they are doing it. Lots of Western tech companies collect a lot of data and that should be uncomfortable for a lot of people but at the end of the day there’s a difference between what they are doing and what Chinese companies who claim to be directly contributing to state security are doing.” The ABC reported that Zhenhua had also closely profiled Gilmour Space Technologies, a Queensland-based firm involved in space industry, with every board member included in the database. Gilmour Space Technologies said it was aware of the reports. “It is not an ideal situation, of course, but it is not unusual in our industry,” a spokesperson told the Guardian. Australia’s energy minister, Angus Taylor, said the reports would be concerning if true, but he argued the government was already boosting spending on cybersecurity to ensure “that we are secure against cyber intrusion”. Labor’s home affairs spokesperson, Kristina Keneally, told the ABC the case highlighted “that the threat of foreign interference in the capacity to amass big datasets on a population is real – and we’ve got to take that threat very seriously”. The office of New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, did not respond to a request for comment.

TalkTalk 350 new jobs created since HQ moved to Salford

TalkTalk has increased headcount at its Salford Quays headquarters to more than 1,800 after creating 350 new jobs. The telecom firm said it had filled 591 roles since February, including the appointment of heads of data and customer insights, and had a 96% acceptance rate for job offers. About 500 staff were affected by the decision to move its base to the Manchester district from London.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/10/uk-isp-talktalk-hails-addition-of-350-new-jobs-at-salford-hq.html

Wednesday, Oct 16th, 2019 (9:35 am) - Score 1,134 Broadband ISP TalkTalk has announced that they’ve managed to create 350 new jobs in the North West as part of a recent recruitment drive, which formed the backdrop for the relocation of their HQ from London to Salford (Manchester) in order to support the next phase of their growth and cut costs. Since February 2019, TalkTalk said it had filled 591 roles within the business, recruiting 350 new hires, and has achieved 96% offer acceptance. This includes several senior leadership roles such as the appointment of a new Head of Data and Head of Customer Insights. These new starters bring the total headcount in the Soapworks HQ site in Salford Quays to more than 1,800. On top of that the internet and phone provider has become a member of the UK Government’s Northern Powerhouse Partner Programme, which they see as “reinforcing [their] commitment to growing the economy in the North of England.” We should of course caveat that not everybody who worked in their London HQ chose to move up to Manchester (around 500 staff were affected), meaning some people in the capital lost their jobs. Tristia Harrison, CEO of TalkTalk, said: “Joining the Northern Powerhouse Partner Programme is another clear demonstration of our commitment to the North as we continue to build on our heritage in the region. The success of our Soapworks site in Salford has been tremendous, exceeded expectations, and has enabled us to attract and retain the very best talent as we establish our HQ. As a major employer in the North and an infrastructure provider across the region, we look forward to working with other partners and the local community. We are proud to be in a position to drive growth and create new opportunities in the region, strengthening the North’s position as a hub for talent, technology and business excellence.” End.

Mark Zuckerberg chides board member over India comments

Member of Facebook’s board and influential Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreessen has been forced to apologise after acknowledging that remarks appearing to support British colonialism in India were “ill-informed and ill-advised”. The apology came after Andreessen criticised India’s decision to block Facebook’s controversial Internet.org and its Free Basics project, which sought to offer limited free mobile internet but would open the door for a private, unregulated and pay-to-play internet service. India’s telecommunications regulatory board banned Facebook’s $45m effort to deliver Free Basics and ruled in favour of net neutrality. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a statement on his own Facebook page calling Andreessen’s comments “deeply upsetting”.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/10/facebook-investor-marc-andreessen-apology-offensive-india-tweet-net-neutrality-free-basics

A member of Facebook’s board and influential Silicon Valley investor was forced into a groveling apology on Wednesday after acknowledging that remarks appearing to support British colonialism in India were “ill-informed and ill-advised”. In a series of apologetic tweets, Marc Andreessen, who is accustomed to ranting on Twitter to nearly half a million devoted followers, apologized “without reservation” for an earlier, now deleted tweet. “I am a huge admirer of the nation of India and the Indian people, who have been nothing but kind and generous to me for many years,” Andreessen wrote. “I will leave all future commentary on all of these topics to people with more knowledge and experience than me.” The humiliating climbdown came after Andreessen lashed out on Tuesday night at India’s decision to block Facebook’s controversial Internet.org and its Free Basics project, which sought to offer limited free mobile internet but would open the door for a private, unregulated and pay-to-play internet service. India’s telecommunications regulatory board banned Facebook’s $45m effort to deliver Free Basics and ruled in favor of net neutrality, writing that “differential tariffs arguably disadvantage small content providers who may not be able to participate in such schemes”. This could, the body added, “create entry barriers and non-level playing field for these players, stifling innovation”. Those fighting for an open internet in India lauded the ban. “This is great news,” said Kiran Jonnalagadda, a member of the Save the Internet campaign in favor of net neutrality. “It is what this country needed and it took a lot of effort pushing for it. It took a lot moral fibre for TRAI to stand up to the telcos.” Andreessen, in his tweets, argued that India rejected it because of corrupt Indian telcos wanting to keep internet access away from poor people. “Anti-colonialism has been economically catastrophic for the Indian people for decades. Why stop now?” The clumsy tweet. Photograph: Twitter Facebook swiftly denounced his comments, saying: “We strongly reject the sentiments expressed by Marc Andreessen last night regarding India.” On Wednesday afternoon, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a statement on his own Facebook page calling Andreessen’s comments “deeply upsetting”. “I want to respond to Marc Andreessen’s comments about India yesterday,” Zuckerberg wrote. “... they do not represent the way Facebook or I think at all. India has been personally important to me and Facebook ... I’ve been inspired by how much progress India has made in building a strong nation and the largest democracy in the world, and I look forward to strengthening my connection to the country.” From the start, the project has raised questions about net neutrality and just how much control Facebook will have over the internet access it brings and whether it would charge more to visit certain sites. As the venture capitalist Om Malik wrote: “I am suspicious of any for-profit company arguing its good intentions and its free gifts.” Silicon Valley, home to some 90,000 Indians, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, reacted swiftly with a collective shudder. As did Indian entrepreneurs. “The bottom-line is that this ban on differential pricing was not decided by some elitist group of activists who have some un-articulated vested interest to prevent India’s poor folks to come online but by TRAI in an extraordinary democratic process that was both rigorous and comprehensive,” wrote Sumanth Raghavendra, an entrepreneur at Deck App Technologies, a Bangalore-based startup. “And remarkably courageous.” Other members of Andreessen’s venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, however, defended the message. 8/ Instead the (understandable) anti-colonialist overreaction threw out the capitalist baby with the colonialist bathwater. — Balaji S. Srinivasan (@balajis) February 10, 2016 Another member of the influential firm, Benedict Evans, joked about what he sees as a history of inefficiency in India technological policy: ‘I don’t understand why people complain about the phones. The 10 year waiting list shows how popular they are’ Indian minister, early 1980s — Benedict Evans (@BenedictEvans) February 10, 2016 It’s not the first time Silicon Valley has stumbled on clumsy statements about India. Last year, Airbnb cofounder Brian Chesky wrote that Gandhi wouldn’t have succeeded if India, back then, had tried to limit rentals to a minimum of 30 days. Nor is it the first time Facebook’s political efforts have fallen short. Facebook CEO and cofounder Mark Zuckerberg’s much ballyhooed FWD.us has largely collapsed. By comparing Free Basics to colonialism, Andreessen, an investor in companies like Airbnb and Facebook, drew an interesting parallel between Silicon Valley’s concept of “free” – which often comes with strings attached – and the American history of colonial rule. He was arguing that Silicon Valley is colonial by nature, giving the gift of something free in exchange for a tax of data and control which people don’t quite realize they’re providing. This desire to own and control is often presented by tech evangelists in terms of freedom, equality, and access – Internet.org, as Facebook calls the umbrella effort under which is puts Free Basics, is not a non-profit. It is a for-profit arm of a for-profit company. Adding the “.org” may have an impact on public opinion or confuse journalists, but the fact remains that Free Basics was an effort for Facebook to make money. By Wednesday morning, apparently chastened by the uproar intense enough to make Andreessen a trending topic in south-east Asia, and with a public relations disaster looming for Facebook, the venture capitalist backtracked. 1/Last night on Twitter, I made an ill-informed and ill-advised comment about Indian politics and economics. — Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016 2/To be clear, I am 100% opposed to colonialism, and 100% in favor of independence and freedom, in any country, including India. — Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016 3/I am a huge admirer of the nation of India and the Indian people, who have been nothing but kind and generous to me for many years. — Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016 4/I apologize for any offense my comment caused, and withdraw it in full and without reservation. — Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016 5/I will leave all future commentary on all of these topics to people with more knowledge and experience than me. — Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016 Other members of his firm, Benedict Evans and Balaji S Srinivasan, have not retracted their statements. Some in the tech world are throwing up their hands.

OptiFuel to test hybrid RNG locomotive

Hybrid-power product integrator OptiFuel Systems is receiving a $2.6m grant from the US Department of Energy to trial its renewable natural gas (RNG) hybrid 4,300 horsepower locomotive. As part of its plan to decarbonise the rail market, OptiFuel will operate a pre-production test service at the Association of American Railroads' Transportation Technology Center and a regional in-service pilot to demonstrate that commercially available engines can be transformed into near zero-emission RNG locomotives with 50% lower fuel costs. Adoption of RNG as a fuel would be a significant step for the freight line-haul sector, which has not yet seen much emissions-reducing developments.

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/07/20200724-optifuel.html

OptiFuel Systems, a system integrator of Cummins and BAE Systems hybrid power products for decarbonizing the rail, marine, and microgrid power market, is in the process of finalizing a $2.6 million US Department of Energy (DOE) grant to demonstrate a pre-production Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) hybrid 4,300 hp line-haul locomotive. The program will demonstrate that a suite of commercially available, EPA-rail-certified engines present a near-term, low-risk solution to create an affordable RNG hybrid line-haul locomotive with near zero emissions while simultaneously improving fuel cost by 50%. This new program, partially funded with the DOE grant, will allow pre-production testing at AAR’s Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) and will operate in-service with a regional railroad to validate that OptiFuel’s low-risk, affordable technology can also be applied in the higher horsepower freight and passenger locomotive market. This program is integral to OptiFuel’s 5-year plan to disrupt and decarbonize the rail market with a full line of zero and near-zero NO x , PM and CO 2 emissions freight and passenger locomotives. In several weeks, OptiFuel will start taking orders, in 49 of the US states, for a new line of affordable 800 hp to 3,200 hp, 100% natural gas freight and transit locomotives. All will have zero NO x /PM emissions with carbon-neutral emissions by consuming an RNG/CNG mixture. OptiFuel has already developed and tested a high volume CNG/RNG refueling system at the Indiana Harbor Belt CNG locomotive program, utilizing low-cost CNG. In the next 2 years, OptiFuel will be announcing additional refueling products, including an affordable 12,000 DGE (Diesel Gallon Equivalent) CNG/RNG tender; and a 9,000 CNG/RNG DGE, 1,600 hp zero emission, powered tender. The rail sector is the only transportation modality without significant emissions related development that is feasible in the near-term to eliminate ozone, smog and GHG emissions, OptiFuel says. In comparison, the composite US freight line-haul fleet, which consumes 90% of the fuel in the rail industry, emits 8 g/bhp-hr of NO x while new CNG Class 8 trucks emit 0.02 g/bhp-hr of NOx, a reduction of 400 times. Even if locomotives can carry 4 times amount of tonnage per horsepower as a new CNG Class 8 trucks, it still has emissions 100 times higher. Beside the US locomotive fleet average NNO x Ox emissions of 8 g/bhp-hr, the US rail fleet’s average fine Particulate Matter (PM) emissions is 0.22 g/bhp-hr. In comparison, OptiFuel’s 4,300 RNG hybrid line-haul locomotive is expected to emit 0.04 g/bhp-hr of NO x NOx, a reduction of 200 times, and emit 0.00 g/bhp-hr of PM. Using RNG as the fuel, OptiFuel’s locomotive will significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting in a neutral or negative carbon footprint, in addition to far exceeding California’s Tier 5 locomotive petition standards to US EPA. As of September 2016, there were more than 1,000 railyards in the US located in densely populated, urban areas classified as particulate matter and ozone EPA defined nonattainment areas. More than 122 million people (nearly 40% of the U.S. population) living in these nonattainment areas are having more acute and chronic adverse health outcomes, including exacerbation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. In these US railyards, there are more than 28,000 technologically obsolete, diesel-powered locomotives operating which produce Pre-Tier 0 (non-regulated, pre-1973), Tier 0 or Tier 1 emissions. These pollutants create very high levels of ozone, air toxins, greenhouse gases, fine particulate matter, and other diesel exhaust compounds classified as carcinogenic to humans. In 2018, Class I, II, and III railroads purchased 4.7 billion gallons of diesel fuel for the 39,000 locomotives used for freight operations in the US. Freight railroads emitted more than 1.6 million tons of NO x , 43,000 tons of PM, and 38 million metric tons of CO 2 , much of which occurs in Environmental Justice communities. OptiFuel’s EPA-rail-certified technology with a CNG/RNG fuel mixture would limit railroad emission throughout the US to 8,600 tons of NO x , zero tons of PM, and zero metric tons of CO 2 . This demonstration will include a comprehensive natural gas hybrid propulsion package featuring four 100% natural gas engines–the OptiFuel KOFSG11.9400 (OFS12) and a single Cummins Tier 4, EPA-rail-certified, diesel-powered QSK60 in a hybrid configuration. The design also includes a 100% battery-electric mode for limited yard operations. OptiFuel’s OFS12 engine is EPA-rail-certified with emissions of 0.00 g/bhp-hr for both NO x and PM, and is capable of operating on either CNG, RNG, LNG, or a CNG-RNG blend. The OFS12 engine, which is identical to the Cummins ISX12N for on-road applications, is the cleanest rail engine currently certified by EPA. The pre-production locomotive will consume 83% natural gas with 20% improved efficiency versus Tier 4 diesel line-haul freight locomotives. OptiFuel will utilize one of its proprietary, Federal Railway Administration-approved onboard CNG/RNG storage systems holding 1,500 DGE to complete the locomotive design. The production locomotive will be market-competitive in pricing and will have an industry-leading 5-year warranty on all engines along with comprehensive maintenance coverage. The propulsion system design is compact enough to fit on virtually any legacy EMD or GE line-haul locomotive with no structural modifications to the operator cab or frame. The OptiFuel design will allow the railroads to repower existing Tier 3 and Tier 4 line-haul locomotives at half the cost of fully replacing older Pre-Tier 0 to Tier 2 locomotives. In production, OptiFuel will provide its proven locomotive CNG fueling station solution and expect the CNG to cost between 0.70 to $1.35 per DGE, depending on capitalization and implementation strategies of the locomotive operator. This is well below the 10-year average cost of $2.45 that the Class 1 railroads have paid for diesel, the company says.

IWG Flipkart in talks with co-workspace providers over Bengaluru office

Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart is reportedly in talks to lease more than 3,000 co-working desks in the city of Bengaluru. The Walmart-owned company is said to be talking to at least five operators over a possible deal, which would be Flipkart's first in the flexible office sector. CoWrks and WeWork are among the providers being considered, according to sources.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/flipkart-in-talks-to-lease-coworking-space-in-bluru/articleshow/67430377.cms

BENGALURU/MUMBAI: Walmart-owned Flipkart is in talks with multiple coworking space providers to pick up over 3,000 desks in Bengaluru, two people aware of the development said, in what will be the ecommerce giant’s first transaction in the flexible office space.“The firm has floated the RFP (request for proposal) and is in talks with at least five operators to fill in the larger requirement,” the persons cited earlier told ET, adding that WeWorks and CoWrks are among the companies being considered.This is a departure from Flipkart’s practice of operating from its own campus. The company’s custom-built corporate campus, spread over 800,000 sq ft, is in Bengaluru’s Embassy Tech Village, which is owned by private equity giant Blackstone and realty developer Embassy Group.“Walmart’s Flipkart is talking to coworking space providers as coworking gives them flexibility to either expand of shrink space at any moment,” said one of the persons cited earlier. ET’s email query to Flipkart remained unanswered till press time on Monday.According to a recent report by real estate consultants Knight Frank , flexible space will account for 30-40% of the office space occupied by large corporates globally in the next three years, up from 5% or less at present.Sharing of working space has gained wider acceptance in India and big corporates now constitute about 50% of the overall client roster. This segment has seen up to 300% growth in the last three years and has helped some players in this segment to expand aggressively across the country.In 2017-18, Flipkart India’s revenue saw a 40% on-year growth to Rs 21,438 crore. Currently, the company has 10,000 full-time employees across various locations and this does not include employees of Myntra and Jabong “Flipkart is invested in the country for longer term and the existing building is fully utilised. It is concentrating on growing business in India over the next five years,” said another person in the know.In December, the government came out with a draft ecommerce policy , which wants online marketplaces to treat all vendors at par, barring them from offering huge discounts. The move is seen impact businesses and subsequently the requirement for work space

**PEP Kitchen expands vegan offering with new announcements

PEP Kitchen launched nationwide delivery of its street food inspired vegan frozen ready meals earlier in 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK. Despite these unexpected and difficult circumstances, the entrepreneurial team of two behind the brand, Joe Coulter and Ben MacAndrews, have not let this hold them back and now have a series of new announcements to make.

https://www.foodanddrinktechnology.com/news/34146/pep-kitchen-expands-vegan-offering-with-new-announcements/

PEP Kitchen launched nationwide delivery of its street food inspired vegan frozen ready meals earlier in 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK. Despite these unexpected and difficult circumstances, the entrepreneurial team of two behind the brand, Joe Coulter and Ben MacAndrews, have not let this hold them back and now have a series of new announcements to make as they enter their third quarter of trading. The first announcement is a selection of two-person dishes to add to the seven strong range of single serve meals. According to the brand, PEP’s ‘for two’ dishes provide great value per head combined with simple easy to cook sides at home. Offering two person portions of ready cooked rice, the meals are accessible within a few clicks of a button and ready to eat in as little as ten minutes. Secondly, on recognising that for some a lack the confidence to cook from scratch might not mean a lack of desire to get into the kitchen, PEP has introduced a new meal kit concept. The first meal kit to launch, with more in the pipeline, is PEP’s Vegan Curry Feast with DIY Roti Kit. The kit combines three curries which are ready to heat and eat, while individuals can “get stuck in” by trying their hand at making the accompanying Roti’s. Kits come with the frozen microwavable curries, rice portioned and ready to cook, ingredients and instructions on how to make the roti breads and a jar of Geeta’s Mango and Chilli Chutney. The chutney included within the feasting box also marks a third new expansion for the PEP team. Having upgraded its website, allowing for a more user-friendly experience and greater flexibility in ordering options, PEP has now incorporated a selection of carefully curated extras, available via the web shop, chosen to perfectly compliment the range of meals created by PEP. Eventually the PEP team hope is this will mean ordering from the website can be a real “one-stop shop” for delicious and convenient vegan products. They are currently offering condiments from Geeta’s and Happy Eating House, as well as some store cupboard staples like rice, but the team reportedly hope to grow this selection over time with the edition of more like-minded brands. Co-founder Joe Coulter said: “Having launched PEP just as COVID hit the UK we might not have made life easy for ourselves, but we are determined to make it work! The concept of PEP Kitchen is one we believe in deeply and we’ve been listening to feedback to ensure our offer is the best it can be and fits our consumers’ needs and wants.” Ben MacAndrews added: “We want to encourage more people to give vegan food and eating a go and hope that by curating a selection of delicious options, all available in one place within a few clicks, people will be encouraged to try PEP in a way that suits them, their family and their lifestyle.” For more information, visit: www.pepkitchen.co.uk. Related content

FCA offers opinion on big data in insurance

The FCA has published a statement claiming that the use of big data in the retail general insurance sector produces many benefits for consumers and insurers. While the regulator noted risk segmentation and unfair pricing practices as two potential problems of big data analytics, the FCA found that firms that use larger datasets are able to develop more new and innovative insurance products than their counterparts. The statement, which also detailed how the use of big data can streamline sales and claims processes, is likely to be welcomed by the insurance community and expand the use of increasingly large datasets.

https://www.rpc.co.uk/perspectives/tech/big-data-in-insurance-the-fca-offers-its-view

Big data in insurance: The FCA offers its view Last week the FCA published a feedback statement on the use of big data in the retail general insurance sector. Its findings are likely to come as welcome news to insurers who are keen to exploit the advantages that big data can offer. Background Insurance firms have always been concerned with predicting and assessing risk using the wide array of information available to them. Over the last few years an increase in computing power has opened up the possibility of analysing increasingly large datasets, collected from diverse sources including social media. This has brought with it a range of additional challenges. Unsurprisingly, this innovation in the use of data has attracted the attention of the FCA, which issued a "call for inputs" from Insurers in November 2015 (which we reviewed here). The purpose of this was to inform the FCA's understanding of the uses of big data in insurance. In particular it aimed to identify the benefits and risks associated with big data, how they might evolve in the future and how they might impact on consumers. After receiving numerous responses from insurers and meeting with a variety of key stakeholders, last week the FCA published a feedback statement outlining its findings and considering the next steps. The FCA's review focused on the use of big data in the retail general insurance sphere, however many of the findings will be equally applicable to other areas of insurance and retail financial services where the use of big data is becoming increasingly prevalent. The FCA's findings The FCA found that big data produces a wide range of benefits for both consumers and insurers. In particular, the FCA highlighted the fact that big data has allowed firms to develop new and innovative insurance products. It can also be used by firms to transform how consumers deal with insurance firms, streamlining both the sales and claims processes. Despite this, the FCA's feedback statement still identified a number of concerns that it had with the use of big data. These concerns focused on two main areas: Risk Segmentation - Big data can potentially increase risk segmentation as it can be used to model a consumer's risk profile more accurately. This raises the possibility that some consumers, deemed higher risk, may be unable to obtain insurance or may be unable to afford any such insurance. However, in the parts of the general insurance sector that the FCA reviewed, they found that these concerns are not yet materialising. Going forwards, the FCA has promised to remain alert to the potential exclusion of higher risk customers as a result of increased big data analysis and have said they will engage the government if this becomes necessary. Pricing Practices – Insurers may use big data to enable them to price risks in ways which do not reflect a consumer's risk profile or the cost of providing such insurance. This is because big data may enable firms to identify certain customers or types of customer who have the willingness or ability to pay more for their insurance, leading to poorer consumer outcomes. At this stage, the FCA plans to further investigate pricing practices of firms in the general insurance sector but has promised to intervene only "if we identify one or more market issues where we think a regulatory intervention would improve the outcome". There was also a concern raised by the call for inputs that the use of big data may hinder competition, by acting as a barrier to entry. However, the FCA found no evidence of this. What next? Following this analysis the FCA has decided not to launch a full market study into the use of big data. Instead it will be taking forward the measures detailed above as well as looking to stay up to date with developments in the market through its usual supervisory and intelligence activities. It has also offered to jointly host a roundtable discussion with the ICO with the aim of discussing the increased use of different data sources and the data protection risks associated with this. Commenting on the study and this decision, Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition at the FCA said, "There is potential for Big Data to transform practices across general insurance markets, and some consumers are already seeing benefits but there are also some risks to consumer outcomes. While we have decided not to launch a full market study, we are undertaking further work in this area and with the Information Commissioner’s Office to ensure our rules and policies keep pace with developments in the market, but also do not prevent positive innovations." On the whole, the FCA's decision is likely to be welcomed, especially for insurers who are well down the track of exploiting the advantages of big data. However, the situation may of course change (e.g. if the FCA sees any of the identified risks materialising). In addition, the FCA is, of course, not the only regulator/supervisory body that has big data on its agenda, plus there is the not insignificant matter of the impending impacts of the General Data Protection Regulation to consider.

Indian insurtech McXtra raises $1.3m in funding round

Digital insurance start-up McXtra has pulled in $1.3m in a pre-series A funding round. The Indian insurtech enables its users to consolidate all their insurance policies in a policy vault, and offers 24/7 emergency services to customers' families. The fresh funding will be used to scale up the company’s tech platform and expand its service to more users.

https://inc42.com/buzz/digital-insurance-startup-mcxtra-raises-1-3-mn-in-funding/

• McXtra raised funds in a pre-A series A round • The funds will be used to scale operations • Plans to target one lakh users in partnership with 30 corporate entities Digital insurance startup McXtra has raised a pre-Series A round of $1.3 Mn funding from a clutch of twelve investors whose names were undisclosed. McXtra is essentially an insurtech platform which helps the user create a policy vault of all his insurance policies. Launched in April 2014 by A S Narayanan and Nimish Airon, the startup claims to provide 24/7 emergency services to the family of its users. As mentioned on its website, “While India’s insurable population is set to touch 750 Mn by 2020, the systems surrounding it continue to be stagnant, and even regressive. Insurance can be confusing or complicated. McXtra leverages ‘Intelligent solutions’ to deliver a seamless insurance experience, Driven by our twin-mission of empathy and convenience.” The startup will be using the raised funds to scale up its tech platform and to reach out to more users. How McXtra Works? McXtra aims to empower organisations and their employees to get maximum benefits out of their existing policies by offering services and assistance across health, motor, life, and travel insurances. It allows organisations to extend insurance services and assistance to their employees and their immediate family members. From decoding the policies for easy understanding in helping them get their claims settled, McXtra does it all. “We ensure that employees and their families get extra assistance when they need it the most without going through any painful task of getting in touch with their individual insurance companies, any website or company call centres,” as mentioned on the startup’s LinkedIn company profile page. According to the reports, McXtra is currently in partnership with 30 corporate entities and plans to target their one lakh user base in near future. Online Insurance Sector Is Far From Saturation As Of Now A report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that the digital influence on insurance purchases will grow to 50% for life insurance and 75% for general insurance by 2020. Further, according to IBEF, India with 3.42% penetration rate in the insurance sector offers greater penetration potential when compared to the global average of 6.2%. The country’s insurance market is expected to quadruple in size over the next 10 years from its current size of $60 Bn. With demographic factors such as growing middle class, young insurable population and growing awareness of the need for protection and retirement planning, as well as the increased pace of digital transactions is turning the users towards digital insurance segment. Although, the segment is majorly dominated by the offline giants like LIC and GIC, the online players like PolicyBazaar, PaisaBazaar, Coverfox and BankBazaar among others have been able to create a niche for themselves. All in all, the opportunity is ripe and market is still nowhere near saturation. [The development was reported by ET.]

IWG UK co-workplaces prepare to be Covid-safe

The UK’s co-working centres are preparing to implement guidelines from the Department for Business as workers look to return to offices amid the coronavirus pandemic. The guidelines suggest the tape or paint is used to mark two-metre distances; working areas are altered so staff can observe social distancing; hot-desking is stopped or desks are sanitised between users when this is not possible; and extra parking or bike racks are provided. Workspace is installing screens, floor marking, signs and widening entrances, said CEO Graham Clemett. Fora is introducing frequent cleaning while making masks and gloves available to staff.

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/office-firms-get-ready-to-comply-with-new-guidance-on-postlockdown-workplaces-a4438381.html

O ffice firms on Tuesday said they are ready to adapt to the government’s new back-to-work guidelines that encourage companies to avoid hot desking and keep 2m social distancing in place. Landlords and co-working office operators are digesting a new guidance published yesterday by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. It outlines recommendations for helping Brits get safely back to work following the coronavirus lockdown. Among the list of advice to people that work in, or run offices, is: Using floor tape or paint to mark areas to help workers keep to a 2m distance. Reviewing layouts and processes to allow people to work further apart from each other. Avoiding use of hot desks and, where not possible, for example, call centres or training facilities, cleaning and sanitising workstations between different occupants including shared equipment. Providing additional parking or facilities such as bike racks. Graham Clemett, chief executive of landlord Workspace, which offers flexible leases, often to startups and SMEs, said: “We welcome the clarity these guidelines offer. We have already anticipated a number of these measures and are incorporating them into all of our business centres." He said Workspace is installing screens for receptionists to sit behind, introducing signs and floor markings indicating 2m distances, and opening entrances up to provide more space for people as they come in and out of sites. Katrina Larkin, co-founder of flexible workspace firm Fora, said: “We understand how critical a physical working space is for businesses both large and small, and how important it is to support them through this period." Larkin added: "Working space providers will need to undertake a range of initiatives to safeguard the health and wellbeing of their members.” Among measures Fora is undertaking include having new cleaning protocols to ensure that surfaces are continually being cleaned between uses, and having face masks and gloves available for staff and tenants. Neil McLocklin, head of strategic consultancy at Knight Frank said: “The guidance is well thought through and is able to provide businesses and employees with the confidence that they can return to the workplace safely." McLocklin added that it is crucial that employers complete a risk assessment to ensure a safe workplace before re-occupancy. Richard Kauntze, chief executive of the British Council for Offices said: “The BCO welcomes the gradual reopening of Britain’s workplaces. Working from home is a highly effective short-term measure, but we work better together. For this reason, the office will remain central to how we work for decades to come.”

Race anger as Brooklyn Museum hires white curator of African art

New York writer and poet Teju Adisa-Farrar has written an open letter to the Brooklyn Museum critical of its announcement that two new curators for the African art collection are white. There well qualified curators who could be chosen from the African diaspora, he said. The appointments perpetuate a colonial attitude to art collecting and do not improve the art world's attitude towards diversity and greater inclusion. Adisa-Farrar notes that Brooklyn, itself, is undergoing a process of gentrification, adding to the displacement of residents of colour, as the art world frames "white-centric perspectives in African art".

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/03/brooklyn-museum-white-curators-african-art-open-letter

Earlier last week the Brooklyn Museum put out a press release announcing two new curators who will begin in April. Both curators are white and one was specifically hired to oversee the museum’s African art collection. The appointment of a white person to curate African art in Brooklyn naturally incited a critical response from people of color. This is an open letter addressed to the Brooklyn Museum regarding this controversy: It is not just that people who do not represent my identity and heritage are continually chosen to curate it, it’s that I know there are curators who are part of the African diaspora who are qualified and available. During a time like this politically and culturally it is tone deaf to appoint two new curators whose identity, experience, and gaze are already overrepresented in the art world. White curators are continually given a platform and power to determine how we engage with the continent of Africa and its artifacts in museums. Black Panther withstanding, there have been many critical conversations happening in the art world regarding inclusion and representation. Especially in New York City, but particularly in Brooklyn, where gentrification is an immediate issue. The social and cultural landscape of Brooklyn is changing. Old warehouses and factories are being adaptively redesigned into galleries and restaurants. Conversations about the displacement of the diversity and unique cultural identities that make Brooklyn so significant in the legacy of hip-hop music, immigrant communities/enclaves and food in New York City – are happening now. Any cultural and/or art space that is situated in Brooklyn has a responsibility to – at least – feign an awareness of this reality. The Brooklyn Museum is located near Crown Heights, Flatbush and Park Slope. These are areas, if you know Brooklyn or are from New York, that are associated with different ethnic communities. As a Jamaican-American who has family in Brooklyn, I knew growing up the Caribbean folks were in Flatbush and Crown Heights. You cannot ignore these realities, especially since art and city transformation have such an intersectional relationship. We know that to say you could not find qualified ​black/African curators is inaccurate to say the least and lazy at best The infamous Killmonger museum scene in Black Panther was not lost on those who us who like to think we are apart of the art world. Killmonger’s frustration in that scene resonates with many of us from the African diaspora. We have constantly expressed this frustration. Thus, the appointment of these two curators provides another concrete example of the problematics in which this discontentment is rooted. To be in a museum where my legacy and heritage are not represented or are misrepresented. To not be included as an expert or regarded as qualified to curate art that represents aspects of who we are is debasing. We know, especially now, that to say you could not find qualified black/African curators is inaccurate to say the least and lazy at best. I feel insulted. Unlike Killmonger in a fictional story of a non-colonized African country, we cannot just steal our stuff back and return home to a future that the rest of the world has yet to catch up with. That most of the artifacts from the continent of Africa and the Americas are in museums in Europe and the United States is inherently violent and neocolonial. It ultimately shows that you don’t think we can be responsible owners of our legacy. Thus, hiring even one more white person to have control over the rearticulation and reassessment of the African art in your museum is just compounding aggravation, which comes from a deep frustration of being devalued. The art world continues to claim an increase in diversity and inclusion, though in circumstances like this one we are reminded of how cultural norms and habits, no matter how antiquated, prevail. It is clear that you simply do not care because there is no way you can say you did not know. To the two new curators, I hope you are deeply assessing your positionality. You have undoubtedly agreed to perpetuate colonial behavior in Brooklyn as residents of color simultaneously undergo a different, but not wholly dissimilar, form of displacement and degradation in the form of gentrification. While we are already made invisible in museums and art spaces, gentrification is another process that further invisibilizes us and our experiences. I’m not surprised that a museum in the United States, which has thrived despite the immense lack of impactful diversity and representative curation, would continue hiring practices that expose a disinterest in restructuring white-centric perspectives in African art and photography. But, I’m still mad and I’m still going to hold you accountable. We’re in a cultural moment where we encourage, and if necessary, demand transparency from places that have gotten away with neglecting the myriad realities of historical and contemporary art. This digital outcry to your new hires is not regarding their qualifications, but rather pointing to the structural legacy within museums and the art world that has allowed, primarily, white curators to be gatekeepers and specialists in repeatedly framing our historical and contemporary creative expressions. Despite our aptitude and desire to centralize our perspective, most established spaces that collect and exhibit art and artifacts from the continent of Africa are not willing and/or ready to give us the space and ownership of our history. As a writer and urban geographer from the African diaspora who focuses on blackness in art and city life, I am constantly asked to justify my perspective. And yet, a white person with a similar focus is automatically seen as legitimate and will be given a job to preside over a space that directly impacts the African diaspora. I’m not surprised, but still mad. And of course we’re mad. Our “outrage” is warranted, but that is not the point. The point is that we are still not supported by institutions to curate our own experience. We brave coloniality everyday by calling out institutions, like yourself, that intentionally or unintentionally perpetuate it. Do better!

As World’s Population Booms, Will Its Resources Be Enough for Us?

One of our biggest challenges is agriculture. Whether we can grow enough food sustainably for an expanding world population presents an urgent challenge, and this becomes only more so in light of these new population projections. Where will food for an additional 2 to 3 billion people come from when we are already barely keeping up with 7 billion?

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/9/140920-population-11billion-demographics-anthropocene/

There are more than 7 billion people on Earth now, and roughly one in eight of us doesn't have enough to eat. The question of how many people the Earth can support is a long-standing one that becomes more intense as the world's population—and our use of natural resources—keeps booming. This week, two conflicting projections of the world's future population were released. As National Geographic's Rob Kunzig writes here, a new United Nations and University of Washington study in the journal Science says it's highly likely we'll see 9.6 billion Earthlings by 2050, and up to 11 billion or more by 2100. These researchers used a new "probabalistic" statistical method that establishes a specific range of uncertainty around their results. Another study in the journal Global Environmental Change projects that the global population will peak at 9.4 billion later this century and fall below 9 billion by 2100, based on a survey of population experts. Who is right? We'll know in a hundred years. Population debates like this are why, in 2011, National Geographic published a series called "7 Billion" on world population, its trends, implications, and future. After years of examining global environmental issues such as climate change, energy, food supply, and freshwater, we thought the time was ripe for a deep discussion of people and how we are connected to all these other issues—issues that are getting increased attention today, amid the new population projections. After all, how many of us there are, how many children we have, how long we live, and where and how we live affect virtually every aspect of the planet upon which we rely to survive: the land, oceans, fisheries, forests, wildlife, grasslands, rivers and lakes, groundwater, air quality, atmosphere, weather, and climate. World population passed 7 billion on October 31, 2011, according to the United Nations. Just who the 7 billionth person was and where he or she was born remain a mystery; there is no actual cadre of census takers who go house to house in every country, counting people.Instead, population estimates are made by most national governments and international organizations such as the UN. These estimates are based on assumptions about existing population size and expectations of fertility, mortality, and migration in a geographic area. We've been on a big growth spurt during the past century or so. In 1900, demographers had the world's population at 1.6 billion, in 1950 it was about 2.5 billion, by 2000 it was more than 6 billion. Now, there are about 7.2 billion of us. In recent years we've been adding about a billion people every 12 or 13 years or so. Precisely how many of us are here right now is also a matter of debate, depending on whom you consult:The United Nations offers a range of current population figures and trends, the U.S. Census Bureau has its own estimate, and the Population Reference Bureau also tracks us. The new UN study out this week projects that the world's population growth may not stop any time soon. That is a reversal from estimates done five years ago, when demographers—people who study population trends—were projecting that by 2045, world population likely would reach about 9 billion and begin to level off soon after. But now, the UN researchers who published these new projections in the journal Science say that a flattening of population growth is not going to happen soon without rapid fertility declines—or a reduction in the number of children per mother—in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa that are still experiencing rapid population growth. As Rob Kunzig wrote for National Geographic, the new study estimates that "there's an 80 percent chance . . . that the actual number of people in 2100 will be somewhere between 9.6 and 12.3 billion." A History of Debates Over Population In a famous 1798 essay, the Reverend Thomas Malthus proposed that human population would grow more rapidly than our ability to grow food, and that eventually we would starve. He asserted that the population would grow geometrically—1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32—and that food production would increase only arithmetically—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. So food production would not keep up with our expanding appetites. You might imagine Malthus' scenario on geometric population growth as being like compound interest: A couple have two children and those children each produce two children. Those four children produce two children each tomake eight, and those eight children each have their own two kids, leaving 16 kids in that generation. But worldwide, the current median fertility rate is about 2.5, (or five children between two couples) so, like compound interest, the population numbers can rise even faster. Even though more than 800 million people worldwide don’t have enough to eat now, the mass starvation Mathus envisioned hasn't happened. This is primarily because advances in agriculture—including improved plant breeding and the use of chemical fertilizers—have kept global harvests increasing fast enough to mostly keep up with demand. Still, researchers such as Jeffrey Sachs and Paul Ehrlich continue to worry that Malthus eventually might be right. Ehrlich, a Stanford University population biologist, wrote a 1968 bestseller called The Population Bomb, which warned of mass starvation in the 1970s and 1980s because of overpopulation. Even though he drastically missing that forecast, he continues to argue that humanity is heading for calamity. Ehrlich says the key issue now is not just the number of people on Earth, but a dramatic rise in our recent consumption of natural resources, which Elizabeth Kolbert explored in 2011 in an article called "The Anthropocene—The Age of Man." As part of this human-dominated era, the past half century also has been referred to as a period of "Great Acceleration" by Will Steffen at International Geosphere-Biosphere Program. Besides a nearly tripling of human population since the end of World War II, our presence has been marked by a dramatic increase in human activity—the damming of rivers, soaring water use, expansion of cropland, increased use of irrigation and fertilizers, a loss of forests, and more motor vehicles. There also has been a sharp rise in the use of coal, oil, and gas, and a rapid increase in the atmosphere of methane and carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases that result from changes in land use and the burning of such fuels. Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Measuring Our Rising Impact As a result of this massive expansion of our presence on Earth, scientists Ehrlich, John Holdren, and Barry Commoner in the early 1970s devised a formula to measure our rising impact, called IPAT, in which (I)mpact equals (P)opulation multiplied by (A)ffluence multiplied by (T)echnology. The IPAT formula, they said, can help us realize that our cumulative impact on the planet is not just in population numbers, but also in the increasing amount of natural resources each person uses. The graphic above, which visualizes IPAT, shows that the rise in our cumulative impact since 1950—rising population combined with our expanding demand for resources—has been profound. IPAT is a useful reminder that population, consumption, and technology all help shape our environmental impact, but it shouldn’t be taken too literally. University of California ecologist John Harte has said that IPAT ". . . conveys the notion that population is a linear multiplier. . . . In reality, population plays a much more dynamic and complex role in shaping environmental quality." One of our biggest impacts is agriculture. Whether we can grow enough food sustainably for an expanding world population also presents an urgent challenge, and this becomes only more so in light of these new population projections. Where will food for an additional 2 to 3 billion people come from when we are already barely keeping up with 7 billion? Such questions underpin a 2014 National Geographic series on the future of food. As climate change damages crop yields and extreme weather disrupts harvests, growing enough food for our expanding population has become what The 2014 World Food Prize Symposium calls "the greatest challenge in human history." Population's Structure: Fertility, Mortality and Migration Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Population is not just about numbers of people. Demographers typically focus on three dimensions—fertility, mortality, and migration—when examining population trends. Fertility examines how many children a woman bears in her lifetime, mortality looks at how long we live, and migration focuses on where we live and move. Each of these population qualities influences the nature of our presence and impact across the planet. The newly reported higher world population projections result from continuing high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. The median number of children per woman in the region remains at 4.6, well above both the global mean of 2.5 and the replacement level of 2.1. Since 1970, a global decline in fertility—from about 5 children per woman to about 2.5—has occurred across most of the world: Fewer babies have been born, family size has shrunk, and population growth has slowed. In the United States, fertility is now slightly below replacement level. Reducing fertility is essential if future population growth is to be reined in. Cynthia Gorney wrote about the dramatic story of declining Brazilian fertility as part of National Geographic's 7 Billion series. Average family size dropped from 6.3 children to 1.9 children per woman over two generations in Brazil, the result of improving education for girls, more career opportunities, and the increased availability of contraception. Mortality—or birth rates versus death rates—and migration (where we live and move) also affect the structure of population. Living longer can cause a region’s population to increase even if birth rates remain constant. Youthful nations in the Middle East and Africa, where there are more young people than old, struggle to provide sufficient land, food, water, housing, education, and employment for young people. Besides the search for a life with more opportunity elsewhere, migration also is driven by the need to escape political disruption or declining environmental conditions such as chronic drought and food shortages. A paradox of lower fertility and reduced population growth rates is that as education and affluence improves, consumption of natural resources increases per person. In other words, (as illustrated in the IPAT graphic here) as we get richer, each of us consumes more natural resources and energy, typically carbon-based fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. This can be seen in consumption patterns that include higher protein foods such as meat and dairy, more consumer goods, bigger houses, more vehicles, and more air travel. When it comes to natural resources, studies indicate we are living beyond our means. An ongoing Global Footprint Network study says we now use the equivalent of 1.5 planets to provide the resources we use, and to absorb our waste. A study by the Stockholm Resilience Institute has identified a set of "nine planetary boundaries" for conditions in which we could live and thrive for generations, but it shows that we already have exceeded the institute's boundaries for biodiversity loss, nitrogen pollution, and climate change. Those of us reading this article are among an elite crowd of Earthlings. We have reliable electricity, access to Internet-connected computers and phones, and time available to contemplate these issues. About one-fifth of those on Earth still don't have have access to reliable electricity. So as we debate population, things we take for granted—reliable lighting and cooking facilities, for example—remain beyond the reach of about 1.3 billion or more people. Lifting people from the darkness of energy poverty could help improve lives. Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. As World Bank Vice President Rachel Kyte told Marianne Lavelle of National Geographic last year, "It is energy that lights the lamp that lets you do your homework, that keeps the heat on in a hospital, that lights the small businesses where most people work. Without energy, there is no economic growth, there is no dynamism, and there is no opportunity." Improved education, especially for girls, is cited as a key driver of declining family size. Having light at night can become a gateway to better education for millions of young people and the realization that opportunities and choices besides bearing many children can await. So when we debate population, it's important to also discuss the impact—the how we live—of the population equation. While new projections of even higher world population in the decades ahead are cause for concern, we should be equally concerned about—and be willing to address—the increasing effects of resource consumption and its waste. Dennis Dimick led creation of the 2011 National Geographic series "7 Billion," and is National Geographic's executive editor for the Environment. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and flickr. Related Reading and Resources National Geographic 7 Billion Series 2011 United Nations World Population Trends 2014 Population Data Sheet from Population Reference Bureau Population Reference Bureau Interactive World Population Map Grist: Hungry, Hungry Humans Series Global Post: Half the World’s Population Lives in these six countries Pew Fact Tank 10 projections for world population in 2050

The drive for more STEM in education brings risks

While science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is seen as the future of education, there are concerns about the implications of driving students towards these subjects, writes Matt Beard in the Guardian. The rapid advance of automation, combined with the projected future growth of businesses demanding workers trained in science-based areas, has led to the notion that STEM subjects are the best choices for students' career prospects. However, viewing education purely as a form of employment training could create a generation of workers who have not considered wider ethical questions posed by the sophisticated technology being developed, Beard has argued.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/05/stem-gets-a-lot-of-headlines-in-education-circles-but-its-not-a-silver-bullet

When politicians, business leaders and policy wonks talk about the educating for the future, there’s a good chance they’re going to spend a lot of time talking in acronyms – or rather, one particular acronym: Stem. Whether it’s teaching coding in schools, designing education for a future in which robotics and human-robot interaction will be critical, or addressing issues of social justice and diversity in the applied sciences, Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) is getting a lot of headlines in education circles. Intuitively, this makes a lot of sense. The World Economic Forum claims we’re living in the fourth industrial revolution, technological development is moving faster than it ever has, and technology is being posited as part of the solution to any range of pressing human issues – from climate change to corruption. Although economic predictions around automation and mechanisation vary, the general consensus is that a number of jobs we are training people for now – particularly those still in school – may not exist by the time they’re old enough to take on those roles. If there are going to be jobs in coding, it makes sense to teach students to code. I’m often asked by students considering philosophy whether they should bother, and what job prospects await them at the end However, the feverish drive for more Stem in schools and more people in Stem generates risks that we should bear in mind. There is an inherent neoliberalism in reframing educational goals exclusively in terms of what’s likely to lead to secure employment. Educating people for employment is likely to provide them with skills and knowledge, but when education is restricted to mere job training, we risk closing students’ minds to matters that might not translate into employability. I’ve built my entire career around philosophy, which makes me the polar opposite of the “education for jobs” approach, but the pressure to be “job-ready” still weighed heavy on my mind during my studies. How would I find work as a philosopher? What would I do with what I’ve learned? Today, I’m often asked by students considering philosophy whether they should bother, and what job prospects await them at the end. It’s a valid question – as much as they might not like it, philosophers (like all academics) have to live in the real world. And with the glut of PhDs, the casualisation of academia and dwindling funding for the humanities (thanks, Stem), means many academics with PhDs are living below the poverty line. But if the solution to this problem must be to shift people away from the humanities and into more immediately employable disciplines, we’ll have lost something essential. That’s because alongside – in fact, prior to, economic utility – education is meant to be formative. It’s meant to help us become the types of people we ought to be: equipped to solve the problems we might face, able to live well with others and prepared to understand and make sense of the reality in which we find ourselves. Stem and all it offers can’t alone provide that kind of education. And people with cutting edge knowledge and technical skill can’t address the array of burning issues we face today and are likely to pass on to generations to come. In fact, Stem alone risks exacerbating them. If you’re not convinced, look no further than Silicon Valley. A decade after tech companies started spending obscene amounts of money competing for the brightest technical minds (and still do), they are now in the market for philosophers, sociologists and ethicists to help them move slower and fix things. There’s no question the people now working in tech companies around the world chose a highly lucrative and employable profession to enter into. But what’s coming under scrutiny now is whether a technology-intensive education system left them equipped to do the jobs they’re now facing. How do social platforms balance free speech and the need to protect vulnerable populations from harmful and hateful discourse? That’s a moral and political question – answering it well requires a broader sense of the world and its complexity. It requires the kind of thinking the humanities is adept at providing. As the meme goes, we now hold infinitely more processing power in our hands than it took to land a man on the moon, and we use it to watch cat videos. Better technology isn’t a silver bullet. Climate change action isn’t stagnating because we don’t have scientific solutions; the Cambridge Analytica scandal was as much a failure of moral imagination as it was of cybersecurity protocols. The significance of the data being collected and the ad targeting tools being designed simply wasn’t considered in the way it should have been. Why? There are probably plenty of reasons, but I’m beginning to feel that one of them is a dulling of some of the essential components of moral and political thinking. If education is going to be any kind of antidote to the maladies of our time, it needs to be about more than skills and economic utility. We need to learn to ask moral questions before we ask technical ones. This involves a level of training and skill, but it also involves a set of character traits inclined toward thinking beyond ourselves and accepting our connections and obligations to others. This won’t come from Stem; it’ll come from the same places it’s always come from: human interaction, storytelling, curious inquiry into the nature of things, and all the evaluative skills – the humanities.

Petrofac Petrofac wins five-well deal for IOG’s North Sea project

Petrofac has secured a management contract for five wells under the first phase of Independent Oil and Gas’ (IOG) Core project in the Southern North Sea. The deal covers the Southwark, Blythe and Elgood fields, with Petrofac providing planning, execution and closeout services for IOG. Drilling is set to begin in H1 2021.

https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/242690/petrofac-lands-wells-contract-for-iogs-core-project-in-north-sea/

An error occurred. Please try again. Petrofac has been awarded a five-well contract for the first phase of Independent Oil and Gas’ (IOG) “Core” project in the North Sea. Petrofac will be well operator, covering planning execution and close-out, for the Southwark, Blythe and Elgood fields, with drilling due to begin in the first half of next year. The value of the contract has not been disclosed. Petrofac will provide workers offshore and onshore to cover the scope. It follows the award of the “sizeable” SURF contract for the Southern North Sea development to Subsea 7 last month. “Core” is a development comprised of six fields in the Southern North Sea containing 410 billion cubic feet of gas, which will be transported onshore via the Thames pipeline. The Oil and Gas Authority gave regulatory approval to the scheme last month. Nick Shorten, managing director, Petrofac Engineering and Production Services West, said: “We are thrilled to be supporting IOG’s prestigious SNS gas development project. “Through the deployment of our extensive asset and well management expertise, we will work closely with IOG to assure the integrity of the wells and deliver a safe and cost-efficient drilling programme to support the advancement of their development.”

Increasing use of robots in the workplace may hit coffee market

RBC Capital Markets said the loss of jobs to automation could hit coffee sales by 2025 as people would no longer need caffeine. The investment bank said $2tn of wages could be hit by automation in the US and that consumers would turn from caffeine to CBD, one of the non-psychoactive ingredients of cannabis, to help them relax and think more creatively. It is already used in products including drinks, balms and salves.

https://www.businessinsider.com/robots-kill-coffee-future-rbc-2018-12?r=US&IR=T

$2 trillion in annual US wages could be affected by automation, RBC says in a new report. RBC analysts argue that the loss of "grunt work" means that people will no longer need caffeine in 2025 in the same way they do in 2018. Instead of sipping coffee, people will turn to CBD to ease the anxiety of 2025's tech overload, RBC analysts theorize. The rise of robots could lead to an unexpected consequence, according to a new RBC Capital Markets report. The consumer edition of RBC's "Imagine 2025" report, released Monday, estimates that $2 trillion in annual US wages could be affected by automation. The report delves into many consequences of the rise of automation and artificial intelligence, including robots taking over a vast number of jobs from everyone from warehouse workers to waiters. The report also includes a less obvious outcome of the robot takeover: coffee and other caffeinated drinks becoming obsolete. "AI will minimize the amount of grunt work from manufacturing, driving trucks or cars anywhere, back office, really most jobs that may require a caffeine boost," the report states. "These caffeine-related jobs will either evolve or go away." Instead, RBC analysts theorize that people will seek beverages that keep them awake to "think and become more creative." "CBD may become the ultimate complement for caffeine, helping consumers relax," the report reads. "In fact, we could foresee a scenario where CBD and other relaxing agents become MORE popular than caffeine/stimulants as consumers continue to feel the stress/anxiety of technology-related stimuli (work, social media, etc)." CBD is one of the non-psychoactive compounds found in cannabis. The ingredient is used in salves, oils, balms, and beverages, creating a $1 billion business despite ongoing legal questions. Read more: Coca-Cola's CEO shoots down rumors that the beverage giant is eyeing the legal cannabis market 'at this stage' — and it could mean missing out on a bigger market than soda RBC analysts predict that every industry will be impacted by the rise of AI and automation. On the positive side of the equation, AI can be used to reduce costs and personalize products. On the negative side, AI might help make privacy obsolete and hasten the loss of middle-class jobs, which can in turn feed into the rise of authoritarianism. In one eerie aside, RBC analysts ask: "What if AI and machine-learning techniques become so advanced that data and logic drive every human decision over emotions? Could devices help humans decide what they want to do, eat, watch, buy, wear, and even feel? Will this decrease humans' ability to think independently? Will humans become machine-dependent for life?" In other words, if RBC is right, AI might not only kill coffee, but also free will.

IWG Common Desk shifts networking events to Zoom

After being forced to close its workspaces due to Covid-19, Dallas-based Common Desk has shifted its networking events to Zoom and provided resources to support entrepreneurs during the pandemic and lockdown, founder Nick Clark has said. The company surveyed members to gain insights into how it could improve and has encouraged employees to take time out in order to avoid burning out, he said. Clark maintained that Common Desk is in a healthier position now than it was in February.

https://dallasinnovates.com/to-common-desk-covid-19-wasnt-the-death-of-coworking-it-was-the-start-of-something-new/

To Common Desk, COVID-19 Wasn’t the Death of Coworking. It Was the Start of Something New Trey Bowles and Delanie Majors from The DEC Network hosted Founder and CEO of Common Desk Nick Clark to discuss how his company is innovating to help entrepreneurs get back into shared office spaces. The pandemic has shifted how entrepreneurs work from desks in co-working spaces to desks at home. However, it’s not stopping Common Desk from building community with its members. Founded by Nick Clark, Common Desk is a coworking space focused on hospitality, authenticity, and consistency for its working professionals. Their focus on serving their entrepreneurs is not stopping due to COVID-19. “I think the most dangerous thing with COVID as a brand is all it takes is one mistake because we’re dealing with people’s lives when it comes to a pandemic, and very much so we feel responsible for people,” Clark said during a Dallas Startup Week event. “So we took the approach of saying, ‘let’s put safety first and foremost, we will have to close down our spaces. What we can do is provide resources and community for entrepreneurs.” Common Desk has shifted its events from in-person to virtual Zoom meetings, allowing for entrepreneurs to build community with their fellow team members. “In the weirdest of ways, it allowed us to develop this new kind of online community for the members that really partake in what we are doing, and we’re able to get to know them so much better,” Clark said. “I think our staff grew a little closer and it boosted morale.” Clark and his teams continue have weekly meetings over Zoom, not only to discuss business but to host happy hours online to give the team a resemblance of normal. He said that Common Desk is in a healthier state now than they were in February. “That is something I’m really, really proud of.” Clark also noted that overwork and burnout has been an issue at Common Desk, as their employees are emotionally invested in the work they do. This has caused Clark and his team to encourage employees to take time away from work. “We’ve been keeping a very close pulse in our company’s morale. We’ve created a survey that goes out to all of our members and it really helps us gauge what leadership is getting something wrong or when we communicate something incorrectly.” When asked about how businesses can keep running and growing during the pandemic, Clark had this to say: “Mistakes are part of the journey, if you are not making mistakes, then you must not be trying hard enough. The obstacle in front of us, which is COVID, will present opportunity. If you’re on an entrepreneurial journey and you’re just getting started, I think now’s the time to go in and get after it and go start something.” This discussion was part of Dallas Startup Week’s Innovation in Coworking in a COVID-19 World. Trey Bowles and Delanie Majors from The DEC Network hosted CEO and Founder of Common Desk, Nick Clark. Get on the list. Dallas Innovates, every day. Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.

Finally, a breakthrough alternative to growth economics – the doughnut | George Monbiot

Economics in the 20th century aspired to be a science of human behaviour: a science based on a portrait of humanity. The dominant model says more about the nature of humans than it does about other humans. We cannot use the models that caused our crises to solve them. We need to reframe the problem. Doughnut economics rightly takes the emphasise away from GDP growth at the expense of the environment.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/12/doughnut-growth-economics-book-economic-model

So what are we going to do about it? This is the only question worth asking. But the answers appear elusive. Faced with a multifaceted crisis – the capture of governments by billionaires and their lobbyists, extreme inequality, the rise of demagogues, above all the collapse of the living world – those to whom we look for leadership appear stunned, voiceless, clueless. Even if they had the courage to act, they have no idea what to do. The most they tend to offer is more economic growth: the fairy dust supposed to make all the bad stuff disappear. Never mind that it drives ecological destruction; that it has failed to relieve structural unemployment or soaring inequality; that, in some recent years, almost all the increment in incomes has been harvested by the top 1%. As values, principles and moral purpose are lost, the promise of growth is all that’s left. You can see the effects in a leaked memo from the UK’s Foreign Office: “Trade and growth are now priorities for all posts … work like climate change and illegal wildlife trade will be scaled down.” All that counts is the rate at which we turn natural wealth into cash. If this destroys our prosperity and the wonders that surround us, who cares? We cannot hope to address our predicament without a new worldview. We cannot use the models that caused our crises to solve them. We need to reframe the problem. This is what the most inspiring book published so far this year has done. In Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist, Kate Raworth of Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute reminds us that economic growth was not, at first, intended to signify wellbeing. Simon Kuznets, who standardised the measurement of growth, warned: “The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measure of national income.” Economic growth, he pointed out, measured only annual flow, rather than stocks of wealth and their distribution. Raworth points out that economics in the 20th century “lost the desire to articulate its goals”. It aspired to be a science of human behaviour: a science based on a deeply flawed portrait of humanity. The dominant model – “rational economic man”, self-interested, isolated, calculating – says more about the nature of economists than it does about other humans. The loss of an explicit objective allowed the discipline to be captured by a proxy goal: endless growth. The aim of economic activity, she argues, should be “meeting the needs of all within the means of the planet”. Instead of economies that need to grow, whether or not they make us thrive, we need economies that “make us thrive, whether or not they grow”. This means changing our picture of what the economy is and how it works. The central image in mainstream economics is the circular flow diagram. It depicts a closed flow of income cycling between households, businesses, banks, government and trade, operating in a social and ecological vacuum. Energy, materials, the natural world, human society, power, the wealth we hold in common … all are missing from the model. The unpaid work of carers – principally women – is ignored, though no economy could function without them. Like rational economic man, this representation of economic activity bears little relationship to reality. So Raworth begins by redrawing the economy. She embeds it in the Earth’s systems and in society, showing how it depends on the flow of materials and energy, and reminding us that we are more than just workers, consumers and owners of capital. The embedded economy ‘reminds us that we are more than just workers and consumers’. Source: Kate Raworth and Marcia Mihotich This recognition of inconvenient realities then leads to her breakthrough: a graphic representation of the world we want to create. Like all the best ideas, her doughnut model seems so simple and obvious that you wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself. But achieving this clarity and concision requires years of thought: a great decluttering of the myths and misrepresentations in which we have been schooled. The diagram consists of two rings. The inner ring of the doughnut represents a sufficiency of the resources we need to lead a good life: food, clean water, housing, sanitation, energy, education, healthcare, democracy. Anyone living within that ring, in the hole in the middle of the doughnut, is in a state of deprivation. The outer ring of the doughnut consists of the Earth’s environmental limits, beyond which we inflict dangerous levels of climate change, ozone depletion, water pollution, loss of species and other assaults on the living world. The area between the two rings – the doughnut itself – is the “ecologically safe and socially just space” in which humanity should strive to live. The purpose of economics should be to help us enter that space and stay there. As well as describing a better world, this model allows us to see, in immediate and comprehensible terms, the state in which we now find ourselves. At the moment we transgress both lines. Billions of people still live in the hole in the middle. We have breached the outer boundary in several places. This model ‘allows us to see the state in which we now find ourselves’. Source: Kate Raworth and Christian Guthier/The Lancet Planetary Health An economics that helps us to live within the doughnut would seek to reduce inequalities in wealth and income. Wealth arising from the gifts of nature would be widely shared. Money, markets, taxation and public investment would be designed to conserve and regenerate resources rather than squander them. State-owned banks would invest in projects that transform our relationship with the living world, such as zero-carbon public transport and community energy schemes. New metrics would measure genuine prosperity, rather than the speed with which we degrade our long-term prospects. Such proposals are familiar; but without a new framework of thought, piecemeal solutions are unlikely to succeed. By rethinking economics from first principles, Raworth allows us to integrate our specific propositions into a coherent programme, and then to measure the extent to which it is realised. I see her as the John Maynard Keynes of the 21st century: by reframing the economy, she allows us to change our view of who we are, where we stand, and what we want to be. Now we need to turn her ideas into policy. Read her book, then demand that those who wield power start working towards its objectives: human prosperity within a thriving living world. Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth (Random House Business Books, £20). To order a copy for £17, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of £1.99.

Judge Rules ICOs covered by securities law in win for investors

A New York federal judge has given blockchain-based platforms a new degree of credibility after ruling that prosecutors can pursue charges against a man who defrauded cryptocurrency investors out of $300,000 through violations of the Securities Exchange Act. The decision confirms that initial coin offerings (ICOs), which are increasingly used to finance investments, should be subject to the same legal protections as existing financial instruments, despite the hostility of regulators towards the technology. Lawyers acting on behalf of Maksim Zaslavskiy had argued that the charges should be dismissed as the deals concerned currencies, rather than securities.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/legal-issues/blockchain/us-securities-can-cover-cryptocurrencies

Image: Shutterstock Blockchain-based platforms promise to improve the way the commodity trading and the supply chain industry operates by addressing inefficiencies and issues of trust with complex transactions typically involving multiple parties. Blockchain’s ability to transparently record complicated transactions, track goods, and reduce fraud makes it desirable for industry-wide adoption. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) allow companies to transform the ownership of assets or other rights into blockchain-enabled digital, tradable tokens. These are frequently sold upfront to finance investments. ICOs, however, have their share of drawbacks. One of the big ones is the issue of regulation. For instance, companies located in countries subject to international sanctions can use ICOs to work around restrictions and tap into international funding. This does not make regulators happy. Yet creating and operating systems that recognize both tokens and conventional currencies in order to settle trades will be expensive and complex. Also, ICOs still need to prove they are a cheaper and better choice than other funding options for large industrial-scale commodity projects. The relationship between regulators and ICOs is—not surprisingly—tense. On the one hand, the very spirit of ICOs is anti-regulation, separate from asset-based securities and commodities, an independent valuation that has nothing to do with traditional, centralized currencies (at least in its incipient form). On the other hand, many see regulation as not only inevitable, but desirable. Regulation will give recognition and, among other things, credibility. This past Tuesday, a New York federal judge addressed the issue. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie in Brooklyn allows federal prosecutors to pursue their case against Maksim Zaslavskiy. The Brooklyn resident was arrested in November on charges that he defrauded investors in two cryptocurrencies, violating the federal Securities Exchange Act. Prosecutors said that Zaslavskiy last year raised at least $300,000 from investors in a cryptocurrency called REcoin, which he claimed was backed by real estate, and another called Diamond, which he claimed was backed by diamonds. No real estate or diamonds was backed by the virtual currencies, according to the prosecution. In March, Zaslavskiy’s lawyers asked Dearie to dismiss the charges, arguing that REcoin and Diamond were currencies, not securities, and therefore not covered by the Securities Exchange Act. That argument was rejected by Dearie who said there is more flexibility in regulatory interpretation. Therefore, U.S. securities laws can be applied to fraud cases involving cryptocurrency offerings. Thus, we may have seen one of the most important legal decisions in the short life of cryptocurrencies. “That is a first,” says Ian King, senior analyst for Banyan Hill Research. King uncovers companies ripe for innovation in this sector and investigates new uses for blockchain technology. “In this particular case, the judge ruled that cryptocurrency ICOs should be regulated as securities. For this ICO, the defendant claimed that the cryptocurrency offering was backed by real estate and diamonds. In other words, you were buying something that represented ownership in a real world asset,” King writes to FreightWaves. Cryptocurrencies can be separated into two classes: utility tokens and securities tokens. The latter comprises issuances such as the one in the court case, a token that represents something else of value. Utility tokens, on the other hand, can be redeemed for something of digital value. There are cryptocurrencies that represent cloud storage or network bandwidth. The SEC head Jay Clayton has likened them to tokens at a laundromat. The result of the ruling now incorporates the Howey test. The Howey test is what regulators have used to determine whether or not something is a security. These questions boil down to two points: 1. Does the token have value primarily as an investment or as a useful item? 2. Is there a single issuer backing up that value or is the value resulting from a network of unaffiliated participants in an industry and market? “In this case, it is clear that cryptocurrency was issued as a security, but the jury is still out on the utility token asset class,” writes King. Regulation of virtual currencies is still in its early stages, and Congress has not passed any laws addressing it directly. In March, another federal judge in Brooklyn ruled that cryptocurrencies could be regulated as commodities by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Tesla acquires battery specialist Hibar Systems

Tesla has acquired Canadian battery manufacturing firm Hibar Systems for an undisclosed sum. Tesla has made no public mention of the takeover, which took place at some point over the last four months. An archive version of Hibar's website, which has since been shut down, stated that the company specialises in building equipment for battery manufacturing processes, including a high-speed lithium-ion battery manufacturing system. The acquisition has fuelled speculation that Tesla wants to establish its own battery cell production capacity.

https://electrek.co/2019/10/05/tesla-quietly-acquires-battery-manufacturer/

Tesla has quietly acquired a battery manufacturing and engineering company based in Canada called ‘Hibar Systems’ in a push to start making its own battery cells. Tesla Acquires Hibar Systems There’s no detail available about the acquisition other than Tesla listing Hibar Systems as a subsidiary in its official filings with the Canadian Federal lobby registration, as first reported by Canada’s Electric Autonomy. The manufacturing company wasn’t on Tesla’s subsidiary list in July and now it appeared on it on October 2 – meaning that the acquisition happened in the last 4 months. Hibar has since gone dark, killed its website and replaced it with a single page as it is being taken over by Tesla. According to an archive version of its website, the company specialized in building manufacturing equipment for different processes in battery manufacturing: “Among Hibar’s latest technology offerings are its advanced Automated Vacuum Filling Systems for Lithium-ion battery applications for use in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, computer notebooks and similar products.” More recently, it ventured into making a full “high-speed Lithium-ion battery manufacturing system”. Last year, it was awarded $2 million CAD from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to build the system in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada: “$2 million to support the development of a high-speed Lithium-ion battery manufacturing system to meet growing market demand for mass electric energy storage solutions.” It’s unclear if this battery manufacturing system has been deployed yet, but they have been making battery cell manufacturing equipment for a long time. The company’s headquarters are in Richmond Hill, Ontario, but it also has facilities in China and Germany. Iain McColl, a mechanical engineer, is the president and CEO of the company, which went through a management buyout in 2006 – making all management part owner before Tesla’s takeover. LinkedIn lists 79 employees working at Hibar Systems. Tesla Expansion in Canada Tesla’s expansion in battery manufacturing in Canada is not exactly surprising since the automaker has made a battery research deal with renowned Canadian li-ion battery pioneer Jeff Dahn. In 2016, Dahn transitioned his research group from their 20-year research agreement with 3M to a new association with Tesla under the newly formed ‘NSERC/Tesla Canada Industrial Research’. Through the agreement, Tesla invested in a new research lab close to Dahn’s group near Halifax, Nova Scotia. The collaboration has recently generated several interesting patents and research papers on a new Li-ion battery cell that would have much greater longevity than the current technology. Tesla Battery Cell Manufacturing The acquisition also comes at a time when it’s becoming obvious that Tesla is working to establish its own battery cell manufacturing capacity. After working with Panasonic for years and now recently adding LG Chem as a supplier for battery cells, the automaker recently all but confirmed that it’s going to manufacture its own battery cells. Earlier this year, Tesla acquired an ultracapacitor manufacturer called Maxwell, but it has been speculated that the acquisition is more likely related to the company’s new Li-ion electrode technology. Last month, we reported on Tesla starting to list jobs for battery cell manufacturing Now with the acquisition of Hibar, Tesla also owns a company with expertise in making battery cell production equipment. Electrek’s Take Things are getting exciting. Everything points to Tesla working to establish its own battery cell production using a combination of its own expertise working on batteries for over a decade, the recently acquired Maxwell and its electrode technology, Jeff Dahn and his team research and testing expertise, and now this new battery production equipment manufacturer. We expect the details of this plan to be announced at the upcoming “battery and powertrain investor day”, which is supposed to be held early next year. The more we learn about Tesla’s acquisitions and move toward battery manufacturing, the more it becomes obvious to me that the plan is quite ambitious and already quite far along into development. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tesla announced battery production lines at facilities already owned by Maxwell or now Hibar.

TalkTalk Government launches Project Speed

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched Project Speed, which he claimed would "scythe through red tape and get things done", potentially benefiting the broadband sector. Firms including CityFibre welcomed Johnson's comments but noted the lack of specifics, and called for the implementation of "policy and regulatory conditions" to support the UK's digital infrastructure.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/06/broadband-isps-respond-to-boris-johnsons-call-to-build-build-build.html

Tuesday, Jun 30th, 2020 (1:27 pm) - Score 8,962 The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has today pledged to accelerate new infrastructure projects by establishing something called Project Speed to “scythe through red tape and get things done,” although unfortunately the announcement was rather short on specifics (or anything truly new) for broadband and mobile. Prior to today’s speech in Dudley there had been some newspaper reports, which suggested that broadband might be one of the areas to benefit from the Prime Minister’s announcement (i.e. some limited talk of new investment). But so far as we could tell the Prime Minister didn’t actually announce anything new on that front. The best we got today were a few fleeting mentions of broadband and a pledge of £900m for a range of “shovel ready” local growth projects in England over the course of this year and next (we’ve already reported on a few of those), as well as £96m to accelerate investment in town centres and high streets through the Towns Fund this year (old news). Both are existing announcements and include some aspect of broadband delivery. Lest we forget Boris Johnson’s existing commitment to invest £5bn in order to get “gigabit broadband sprouting in every home” by the end of 2025 – focused on the final 20% of premises (here). Curiously there wasn’t any specific mention of that target today, which is a little surprising since almost everything else seemed to be a re-announcement of existing plans. But there was one interesting bit below. Boris Johnson said: “Delays in our system are a massive drag on the productivity and the prosperity of this country and so we will build better and build greener but we will also build faster. And that is why the Chancellor and I have set up Project Speed to scythe through red tape and get things done. And with every home we make, every mile of full fibre broadband that we lay, with every flood-defending culvert that we dig, with every railway station, hospital or school that we build. We will of course be tackling the next wave of this crisis, by helping to create thousands of high-paid high-skilled jobs. Because we know in our hearts that the furloughing cannot go on forever. … And in those towns that feel left behind we have plans to invest in their centres. And with new academy schools, new green buses, new broadband. And we want to make them places where people have the confidence to stay, to raise their families and to start businesses.” Project Speed sounds interestingly, although at this stage we’re not entirely sure how (if at all) it will differ, in terms of aiding broadband delivery, from the good work that DCMS’s existing Barrier Busting Task Force has already been doing for the past few years. Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre, said: “Project Speed will not find a faster technology than full fibre infrastructure to support the country’s recovery. Our multi-billion pound shovel-ready build programme is already well underway which will allow CityFibre to create up to 10,000 jobs up and down the country. From Bradford to Southend, Doncaster to Ipswich and beyond, the opportunity is there for full fibre to create a new agile, green and balanced economy where nobody is left behind. What the U.K. needs now is the Government to put in place the right policy and regulatory conditions to level up our digital infrastructure and unlock a new platform for success.” Lloyd Felton, CEO County Broadband, said: “We welcome today’s announcement of a multi-billion pound investment in the UK’s infrastructure to turbo charge economic growth, but note that there was no firm commitment to re-fuelling the pledge towards providing full-fibre connectivity to the whole of the UK by 2025. The COVID-19 lockdown has transformed almost every aspect of modern life and, creating an unexpected mass trial of working from home, video calling family and friends, virtual education for our children, online consultations and the move away from traditional TV to online streaming… The golden thread running through this is broadband and whilst the UK’s digital infrastructure has, by in large, been holding steady, the creaking at the seams is becoming noticeably louder. For too long we have relied on outdated copper cables to deliver this essential utility and the UK continues to lag behind our European neighbours. We must turbocharge the rollout of future-ready full-fibre broadband so businesses have the digital capacity for growth and households can keep connected to the ever-growing number of devices and services in the home. Nowhere is this more important than in rural parts of the country which have historically been left behind. We are continuing to drive forward the rollout of our Hyperfast full-fibre service to ‘often-forgotten’ rural communities across Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire following a multi-million private investment. A collaborative approach of private and public investment will mean the UK can stand tall in the digital sphere and compete on an international scale. Any failure to do so will ripple through generations to come. We must not delay.” Daren Baythorpe, CEO of Full Fibre Network ITS, said: “Connectivity has been vital for businesses to continue to operate during lockdown and will play a critical role in the country’s economic recovery as we navigate the new normal. As a business, we focus on building networks reusing existing ducts where we can – quick to build, clean, green and sustainable. We are committed to continuing to play our role in the government’s ambitions and supporting Project Speed, rolling out full fibre networks as part of our Faster Britain programme, working with our partner community to deliver connectivity and broadband where it is needed most.” Hopefully we’ll get a better idea of what the Government intends once the next Spending Review comes around. Not to mention the long awaited National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS), which is apparently due later this year (we’ve heard that one before). Meanwhile some might be forgiven for responding to the “build, build, build” call with a quote from the 1996 film Jerry Maguire – “show.. me.. the.. money..” (replace “money” with “policy” or “framework” as required).

Neoen ups Tesla Big Battery size to 150 MW

French developer Neoen has completed the AUD71m ($51.9m) storage expansion at the Hornsdale Power Reserve (HPR) – dubbed the Tesla Big Battery – boosting total capacity by 50 MW to 150 MW. It paves the way for testing of HPR's digital inertia capabilities which, if successful, could prove battery facilities' ability to offer inertia services and fast-frequency grid responses, leading to more market participation for energy storage and accelerating the sector's development.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/09/03/neoen-completes-expansion-of-tesla-big-battery-in-australia/

From pv magazine Australia The Hornsdale Power Reserve‘s (HPR) 50%, AU$71 million (US$51.9 million) storage expansion is complete. Neoen’s HPR, also known as the Tesla Big Battery, is now 50 MW/64.5 MWh bigger, with an upgraded capacity of 150 MW. The A-Team of Tesla – the South Australian government, Clean Energy Finance Corp. (CEFC), and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) – have cobbled together the finances, and the gumption, to expand the already highly successful mega-battery. Now, the expanded HPR can make history as the first battery to provide grid-scale inertia services and fast-frequency response on Australia's National Electricity Network (NEM). Louis de Sambucy, managing director of Neoen Australia, said that testing could now begin on HPR’s synthetic or digital inertia capabilities, as the company “reinforces its contribution and commitment to South Australia’s 100% renewable energy target.” In the first half of 2020, HPR virtually tripled the French developer’s storage revenue year on year. Neoen’s storage revenue jumped from €8.4 million (US$9.9 million) in the first half of 2019 to €24.6 million in the first half of this year, due to “an exceptional non-recurring event in Australia … the key factor behind this very hefty increase.” The “exceptional non-recurring event” was a tornado in late January, which pulled down the Heywood interconnector between South Australia and Victoria. South Australia was effectively isolated from the rest of the NEM for 18 days. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) utilized Neoen’s Hornsdale site and two other smaller batteries – Dalrymple ESCRI and Lake Bonney – to maintain grid reliability and keep electricity prices down. Popular content Expanded remit The successful testing of HPR’s synthetic inertia services could result in changes to the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Market Ancillary Services Specifications, which would open up more space for energy storage to participate in the market. ARENA, which contributed an AU$8 million grant toward the expansion, also believes the upgraded battery could also help to reduce renewable curtailment in South Australia. Indeed, AEMO’s Chief System Design and Engineering Officer, Alex Wonhas, said that the expansion enabled the “optimal use of this world leading battery to support higher levels of renewable integration.” “Of critical importance to ARENA is the valuable information we will gain in showing that batteries are capable of providing inertia services and fast frequency responses to the grid, paving the way for potential regulatory changes and revenue streams to incentivise further grid scale batteries to be built across Australia,” said ARENA CEO Darren Miller. Back in July, pv magazine Australia sat down with Neoen Deputy CEO Romain Desrousseaux. He said that the expansion would take the company’s storage business a step further, and prove that big batteries can deliver new services, such as inertia.

Danish disinfection robots fight coronavirus in China hospitals

Self-driving Danish disinfection robots are now being shipped to hospitals in China to help combat the coronavirus. The concentrated UV-C light emitted by the robots as they drive has a germicidal effect that removes virtually all airborne viruses and bacteria on the surfaces of a room. The robots will be deployed in all Chinese provinces.

https://industryeurope.com/sectors/automationandrobotics/danish-disinfection-robots-fight-coronavirus-in-china-hospital/

Self-driving Danish disinfection robots are now being shipped to hospitals in China to help combat the coronavirus after medical supplies company Sunay Healthcare Supply signed an agreement with Danish company UVD Robots last month. The first robots shipped in late February, with many more to be shipped via air for deployment in the fight against the coronavirus. × Expand UVD robot Using ultraviolet light, the robot can disinfect and kill viruses and bacteria autonomously, effectively limiting the spread of coronavirus without exposing front-line hospital staff to the risk of infection. Through Sunay’s partners in China, the robots will be deployed in all Chinese provinces. “With this agreement, more than 2,000 hospitals will now have the opportunity to ensure effective disinfection, protecting both their patients and staff,” said Su Yan, CEO of Sunay Healthcare Supply, a medical equipment supplier to the Chinese market. Now sold in more than 40 countries, UVD Robots is already delivering its self-driving disinfection robots to hospitals in other parts of Asia in addition to healthcare markets in Europe and the United States. The use of autonomous robots increases the safety of hospital staff, patients and visitors by reducing the risk of contact with bacteria, viruses and other harmful microorganisms. The concentrated UV-C light emitted by the robots as they drive has a germicidal effect that removes virtually all airborne viruses and bacteria on the surfaces of a room. The technology and results helped the UVD robot win the robotics industry’s “Oscar” – IERA Award in 2019. “We found the UVD robot to be superior compared to other technologies and are pleased to – in a very short amount of time – enter into a reseller agreement with exclusive rights to supply the UVD robots in China,” said Su Yan. UVD Robots CEO, Per Juul Nielsen, said he was pleased to be helping combat the spread of the virus in China through the company’s solution: “In a severe crisis like this where the world health is threatened, our innovative technology really proves its worth." UVD Robots is a subsidiary of Blue Ocean Robotics, which develops a wide range of service robots. The development of the UVD robot started in 2014, when a group of Danish hospitals demanded a far more effective way of reducing infection rates in hospitals. The robot was the result of a collaboration between bacteriologists, virologists and hospital staff, as well as robot developers, designers, engineers, investors and business people from Blue Ocean Robotics. Claus Risager, CEO of Blue Ocean Robotics and Chairman of the Board of UVD Robots, has called the deployment of the technology a tremendous source of satisfaction for employees, management and company owners. “We are now helping solve one of the biggest problems of our time, preventing the spread of bacteria and viruses with a robot that saves lives in hospitals every day.” Back to Homepage Back to Technology & Innovation

Robot set to provide evidence in Parliament for AI and robotics

A robot called Pepper is set to give evidence on AI and robotics in the UK Parliament. Designed to help care for the elderly, the robot will appear before the education committee to talk about how the technology can benefit schools and universities. The evidence will include a demonstration by Pepper of how robots can be utilised in the future.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/a-robot-is-set-to-appear-in-parliament-for-the-first-time-a3959946.html

A robot is set to appear in front of MPs next week to give evidence on artificial intelligence and robotics. It is thought to be the first time a non-human will appear as a witness before the UK parliament. Pepper the robot is part of an international research project that aims to develop the world’s first culturally aware robots that can help care for elderly people. On Tuesday, the education committee will ask Pepper about the implications for education of developments in artificial intelligence. Pepper will give a demonstration to MPs during the committee meeting / PA MPs will also hear about Pepper’s work with students at Middlesex University, which includes an initiative involving teaching primary level children. During the meeting, Pepper will give a demonstration and then MPs will look at how robots can be an asset to learning and how droids can transform workplaces. Committee chair Robert Halfon told Tes that discussing the role of robots is important. He said: “If we’ve got the march of the robots, we perhaps need the march of the robots to our select committee to give evidence. “This is not about someone bringing an electronic toy robot and doing a demonstration, it’s about showing the potential of robotics and artificial intelligence and the impact it has on skills.” Additional reporting by PA.

iomart applying machine learning to cyber security

Information technology and cloud computing company iomart has partnered with technology transfer firm Crossword to create a machine learning-based defence against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. The latter is a form of cyberattack which mimics human behaviour, making them difficult to prevent or block without cutting off human users.

http://www.4-traders.com/IOMART-GROUP-PLC-4002021/news/iomart-Works-with-Crossword-on-Machine-Learning-Approach-to-Cyber-Defence-23021373/

iomart has today announced that it is working with the technology transfer company Crossword on a Machine Learning based approach to cyber defence. The two companies are co-operating on preventing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on iomart's customers based on Crossword Cybersecurity's Nixer technology. The partnership is part of a move to provide an enhanced package of cyber defence measures for our customers. It will help us combat the growth in complex, ever-changing application-layer DDoS attacks that are designed to mimic normal human behaviour, making them hard to block without cutting off real users. Bill Strain, Chief Technology Officer for iomart said, 'Application-layer DDoS attacks vary so much that a defence based on looking at the signatures of previous attacks just doesn't work. We have DDoS protection at network level but have been looking for a machine learning based defensive technology that evolves with the attacks down to the application layer, and we really like the approach that Crossword Cybersecurity have taken with Nixer.' Tom Ilube, CEO of Crossword continued, 'iomart is the perfect partner for us because they provide hosting and cloud services to customers at every level from SME up to some very big Corporates. We will be able to bring the AI capabilities of Nixer to bear on creating and evolving an adaptive additional layer of defence for their customers, giving them the option of even better application security.'

Target expand curb side pick-up options for groceries

American retailer Target have expanded their product lines on their curb side pick-up service to include fresh and frozen groceries following a test run in 2 cities the expanded service is now available in over 400 stores across 10 states in the USA. There are already plans in motion to have the service nationwide in 1500 stores by the end of the year.

https://www.supermarketnews.com/online-retail/target-launches-enhanced-online-grocery-pickup

Target Corp. has kicked off online pickup service for fresh and frozen grocery items at more than 400 stores in 10 states. Minneapolis-based Target said select stores in Illinois, Ohio, Colorado, Utah, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky and Kansas now offer the enhanced Drive Up and Order Pickup service, which allows customers to shop 750 items across produce, dairy, bakery, meat and frozen categories at Target.com or via the Target mobile app and pick them up at a store within a few hours. Related: Target adds fresh, frozen food to online grocery pickup mix Target noted that expansion of the enhanced service to hundreds of stores across the Midwest marks the first step of plans to offer fresh and frozen foods for Order Pickup (in-store pickup) and Drive Up (curbside pickup) at over 1,500 stores nationwide by the holiday season. Target Corp. Orders placed for Drive Up service are brought out to the customer's car within two minutes, Target said. The rollout follows pilots in the Twin Cities and Kansas City markets during the spring and incorporates improvements in response to customer feedback, as well as a tripling of the product assortment, Target said. The discount store chain already offered more than 250,000 items for pickup across categories such as home, apparel, daily essentials and others. “When it comes to safe, fast and easy shopping, Target leads the way,” Dawn Block, senior vice president of digital at Target, said in a statement. “By expanding our Order Pickup and Drive Up assortment to include fresh and frozen grocery items, we’re making the Target Run even easier, ensuring that guests can get everything they need, using the fast, convenient services they already love.” Related: Target to raise hourly starting wage to $15 No membership or minimum order are required for both pickup services, which are free. Drive Up is available in 1,750 of Target’s 1,871 stores, and orders are brought to the customer’s vehicle at the designated parking spot in less than two minutes. With Order Pickup, available at all Target locations, customers retrieve their orders at the order pickup counter. Target also offers same-day delivery of groceries, household essentials and other items via its Shipt service in more than 1,500 stores in 48 states. A Shipt personal shopper picks, packs and delivers the order within a few hours. First-time users get a free four-week trial, and thereafter customers can select a $99 annual membership or a $9.99 pay-per-order option. Shipt orders also are placed through Target.com or the Target app.

Engineers develop new smart drying technology

Researchers have unveiled an innovative smart drying technology that could help extend the shelf-life of dairy powders such as milk and whey powders, and milk protein concentrates. Developed by researchers from Australia’s Monash University, together with academic collaborators in China, France and the US, the technology uses small-scale drying equipment with X-ray diffraction and infrared technology to enable more accurate observation of the drying behaviour of different materials in various drying conditions.

https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/novel-smart-drying-technology/

Monash University Pilot scale spray dryer at Monash University RESEARCHERS at Monash University in Australia, along with academic collaborators in China, France, and the US, and industrial collaborators, have developed a smart drying technology that could be used to improve the quality, and extend the shelf-life of dairy powders, an important Australian export. The technology suite, which has been under development for over ten years and is claimed by the team as a “world first”, was developed with the goal of optimising spray drying conditions, the popular methods used for making dairy powders such as milk and whey powders, and milk protein concentrates. Using small-scale drying equipment, including at the scale of a single droplet, along with x-ray diffraction and infra-red technology, the fundamental changes that occur in powder products in different environments can be observed. During transportation and storage, dairy powders can undergo spoilage, browning/caking, and the solubility of the powders can become compromised. The drying technology platform will help industry manufacturers understand how to minimise these changes. And, the platform can be employed in the early stages to reduce the amount of time and money spent on developing new products. “The platform was developed to enable more accurate prediction of drying behaviour particularly when dealing with new formulations. Instead of using trial-and-error approaches, which can be very costly, we can use much smaller samples using single droplet drying to understand how certain materials would behave under different drying conditions,” said Cordelia Selomulya, lead researcher, and professor at the department of chemical engineering at Monash. She added: “The data can be used in modelling to predict outcomes from different drying conditions in a spray drying operation.” Optimisation using this platform could also lead to reduced production costs through a combination of improved evaporation efficiencies and lower temperature spray drying. This research is important to the Australian dairy industry. Dairy powders collectively account for half of Australia’s A$2bn (US$1.5bn) dairy export industry. The country therefore has to be able to keep up with demand, whilst continuing to provide the high-quality powder products it is known for. Given the importance of dairy powders to Australia, Selomulya’s team is “…continuously refining the approach, to enable more accurate analysis” especially given the “wide array of feed formulations being introduced.” The continued work could help improve the products of industry partners such as Bega and contribute to keeping Australia amongst the top dairy exporters in the world.

Facebook gets user ‘interests’ right 40% of the time

Facebook correctly identified a user's interests 40% of the time in a study of 10 sample users. The social media platform most accurately identified interests in shopping and fashion at 52.7%, followed by food and drink at 52.1%. The least accurately identified interests were in the category of education at 22.7%, followed by fitness and wellbeing at 25.2%. Facebook "Interests" are used by advertisers to target ads to users based on likes, apps-used and ads clicked on.

http://www.adnews.com.au/facebook-interests-not-accurate/type/yafNews

AdNews has dipped its toe into the pool of ‘interests’ that Facebook assigns users for advertising purposes and of the sample survey we looked at, the social media giant got user ‘interests’ right 40% of the time. The findings here are based on a sample of 10 users – a small fraction of Facebook’s 2.1 billion user base – and do not reflect the accuracy of its broader targeting capability, which also uses self-reported information about a user’s geographic location, gender, age, political preference and other demographics, to help advertisers reach an audience. When looking at interests, given some are hit and miss, it raises questions about current machine learning technology and how accurate it can be when it comes to predicting things such as a person's favourite sports teams, food, fashion or hobbies. Based on this small sample, the social media platform is most accurate in working out people’s interests in fashion, food and relationships, but scored poorly in fitness, education and hobbies. ‘Interests’ are one of the ways advertisers are able to target relevant ads to consumers on the social media platform, and evolve the more the platform is used. Facebook told AdNews that ‘interest targeting’ reaches people based on the apps they use, the Facebook pages they liked and the ads they click on and off the Facebook platform. Facebook also takes into account demographics, such as age and gender, in predicting a user’s interests. “Our platform aims to connect people with relevant advertisers at scale. The more relevant an ad is, the more likely someone is to find it useful and engage with it,” a Facebook spokesperson told AdNews. The findings AdNews tested out interest accuracy by asking 10 people to note all of their Facebook interests in the 14 different categories, which includes things like hobbies, news and entertainment, sports, travel, fashion, lifestyle, food and more (see infographic). The sample included six females and four males from different occupations. Participants were asked to mark each interest either ‘1’ for relevant, ‘0.5’ for partially relevant or ‘0’ for not relevant at all. The sample provides an indication of how much interest accuracy varies between users, but is too small to provide any conclusive evidence of what the real accuracy score would be across the vast social media network. These results should be interpreted with this in mind. Facebook assigned a combined 3573 interests to the 10 users, which equates to about 357 interests per person. After marking for accuracy, the sample’s combined interests score was 1343, which averages out to 134 accurate interests per person. The average accuracy rate was 39.4%, while the median accuracy was 40.8%. Accuracy scores varied for each person, with the highest at 60.5% and the lowest at 8%. Five participants had an accuracy score of 45% and above. By category, Facebook was most accurate in shopping and fashion (getting 52.7% of interests right), followed by food and drink (52.1%), family and relationships (50.9%), technology (46.8%) and travel, places and events (45.2%). The least accurate categories for this group were education (22.7%), fitness and wellbeing (25.2%) and hobbies and activities (28.1%). The range of accuracy across categories also fluctuated significantly across group, particularly as most participants had one category that had zero accuracy. The highest range was 91.3 percentage points and the lowest was 29.17 points, with a median of 65.4%. Why this matters Targeting has become increasingly important to advertisers trying to reduce wastage and improve the cut-through and effectiveness of campaigns by providing users with relevant ads. This is particularly the case with digital display advertising, which has been tarnished by years of intrusive and annoying ad units on websites fuelling the rise of adblockers. Facebook and Google are widely regarded as the most sophisticated digital platforms for targeting. In the case of Facebook, it’s important to note that it allows users to monitor their ad ‘interests’ and delete the ones that aren’t relevant, providing users with transparency and control over what ads they are served. A user’s interests also naturally evolve the more a user interacts with the platform. AdNews asked Facebook how accurate the interests were and was referred to a 2016 blog by VP of ads and business platform, Andrew Bosworth. “While more than a hundred companies already serve interest-based advertising on websites and apps today, we offer a better experience because we care about the integrity of Facebook ads,” Bosworth wrote. “Ads are reviewed against our standards and to ensure they are as respectful of people’s experience as possible. “For example, we don’t permit ads that include sound unless you interact with them and we prohibit deceptive ads and ads for unsafe products and services. We’ve developed technology to determine when someone clicks on an ad on a mobile device by accident, so you don’t get taken to a website or app you didn’t mean to visit.” Facebook openly admits its interest-targeting technology is not perfect and it doesn’t always get it right. This study sheds light on the challenges media companies face in trying to accurately predict what a consumer likes even with one of the largest pools of consumer data on the planet. Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at [email protected] Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.

Scottish Qualifications Authority recognises GCHQ cyber courses

GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre’s CyberFirst courses have received accreditation from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). The courses, aimed at young people aged between 14 and 17, were announced in 2016, as part of the National Cyber Security Strategy. The courses are designed to ultimately plug the cyber skills gap and SQA’s credit rating should give potential employers confidence in the quality of an applicant’s training.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252461322/GCHQ-cyber-courses-for-teens-recognised-by-qualification-board

The National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) CyberFirst courses for digital natives aged 14-17 have been credit-rated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). The CyberFirst initiative was created as part of the UK government’s five-year National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS), announced in 2016 and supported by supported by £1.9bn funding. The NCSC has welcomed the move as a mark of confidence in the cyber security agency’s efforts to help strengthen the cyber skills pipeline and address the shortage of these skills. The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) rating also gives students and employers confidence in the quality and level of content offered in CyberFirst courses. Rating is structured around a “robust and rigorous” framework, said the NCSC, in partnership with tech learning provider QA and the Smallpeice Trust, a charity dedicated to promoting careers in engineering. CyberFirst Defenders (14 to 15-year-olds), Futures (15-16) and Advanced (16-17) courses are designed to give students the opportunity to explore the latest tools and technology, and develop their skills. Chris Ensor, NCSC deputy director for skills and growth, said that since 2017, more than 3,000 students have attended the NCSC’s free CyberFirst courses. “Securing SQA accreditation emphasises the high standards of the programme,” he said, adding that CyberFirst courses offer students an “ideal entry point to a fantastic career in cyber security”. This summer, a variety of five-day courses will be available for all levels and ages, said Ensor. “I’d encourage young people interested in computing and technology to take a look at what’s on offer on the NCSC website,” he added. The NCSC and QA have designed and delivered a number of project-based education programmes for 11 to 18-year-old pupils nationwide. CyberFirst courses are aimed at demystifying technology and cyber security, encouraging young people into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem), and providing an insight into cyber-related careers and opportunities. Lisa Harrington, managing director of QA Learning, said the approval of these awards by the SQA Committee and the credit rating without any recommendations or conditions is “a ringing endorsement for the initiative as meaningful training”. The clarification that SCQF credit rating gives means that students and employers will easily be able to understand the degree of skills acquired on a CyberFirst course, she said. The CyberFirst programme has been allocated a credit rating reflecting the difficulty of content and time required to undertake the courses. For example, CyberFirst Futures, for 15 to 16-year-olds, is recognised for being taught to the same level as a GCSE.

IWG Aussie co-workspace folds under weight of Covid-19

Australian co-working operator Fishburners has said its location in Brisbane will close because of the Covid-19 crisis and it will develop its digital operation, with plans for a members’ platform and an AI tool to link its members with potential mentors. Fishburners has backed more than 400 start-ups, which have attracted total investments of $21m, in the past four years, and while the physical location in Brisbane will continue to operate, it will now be run by Brisbane Marketing. Fishburners plans to continue running its Sydney location, however.

https://www.smartcompany.com.au/coronavirus/fishburners-brisbane-closed-covid-19/

Fishburners is closing its Brisbane co-working space, moving instead towards an ‘omnichannel’ model as it feels the effect of COVID-19. The startup community will be boosting its digital presence, as it considers its future post-pandemic. The physical space will close on June 30. Since it opened in Brisbane in 2016, the hub has supported more than 400 startups, and contributed to the creation of 900 jobs, Fishburners said in a statement. Those startups have raised a collective $21 million in investment, and generated $142 million in revenue to the Queensland economy. Members of the Brisbane space will be able to continue working at the same physical location, The Capital, but under the management of Brisbane Marketing. “This has been a challenging few months for people all over the world, especially felt by entrepreneurs, businesses and organisations who are faced with the daunting task of navigating a very different environment and new unknowns,” the statement said. “As a consequence of the COVID crisis, we are all seeing a significant shift in work styles emerging as people look for ways to truly integrate the virtual and physical worlds.” Virtual vs physical Speaking to SmartCompany, Fishburners chief executive Nicole O’Brien noted that working conditions for co-working spaces have “changed dramatically”. Startups and small businesses are themselves facing a challenging period. Even as social distancing restrictions start to ease, many are cutting this kind of expense. “That absolutely makes running a physical co-working space very difficult, financially,” O’Brien says. “The financial viability is difficult when you’ve got a sustained economic hibernation in place.” At the same time, the pandemic has accelerated the shift towards remote work and virtual collaboration. Fishburners is lucky, O’Brien says, in that it already had a virtual platform, and a virtual membership option available. “We were able to really double down on that platform and build it out,” she says. The organisation is launching a digital platform for members, dubbed the Fishburners Founders Hub, which will offer a suite of online tools and resources for entrepreneurs. The team has created more content for the new offering, O’Brien explains, with webinars, tools and resources more specifically tailored to the stage a business is at. It will also offer an artificial intelligence tool to match members with a mentor or expert, to help facilitate the kind of community you would get from a physical space. However, O’Brien admits digital spaces can’t replace physical ones entirely. Often, part of the benefit of co-working is being able to bounce ideas around and connect with other entrepreneurs. “The virtual will never replace that opportunity to chat with somebody by the coffee machine … and exchange ideas,” she says. “We’re going to see the best of both worlds now, where people can have that hybrid.” Fishburners’ flagship Sydney hub will remain open. Located in the Sydney Startup Hub, the business secured a six-month rental holiday from the New South Wales government. And, the business has greater scale and reach in Sydney, O’Brien says. “The Sydney market is a different market to Brisbane.” An uncertain future The news comes at a time when the future of the co-working business model is in question. The coronavirus pandemic has driven many businesses to adopt remote work, and quickly, and many employees are in no rush to get back into the office, or back on public transport. Last month, SmartCompany spoke to Jodie Imam, co-founder of co-working space Depo8, which had to close its doors for good after the pandemic hit. At the time, Imam said the pandemic will likely have long-term effects on the co-working industry. “I cannot imagine us going back to life exactly as it was,” she said. “The whole thing will have to be reinvented.” However, O’Brien believes that, in the long-term, the pandemic could actually strengthen the viability of the co-working business model. Firstly, she anticipates that some people who are out of work or stood down now will be working on side-hustles and new innovations. Once the health crisis has passed, we could see a spate of new ventures looking for a home outside the home office. At the same time, as COVID-19 has forced a move to remote work, it’s also sparked a conversation about flexibility. While some people enjoy working from home, it’s not for everyone, O’Brien notes. But, both corporates and SMEs may well see an opportunity to reduce the cost of their real estate by renting a cluster of desks, instead of an entire office. “That’s certainly how we’re going to look at it going forward,” she says. “We’re in a unique position to provide that flexibility.” NOW READ: Alan Jones: Why we’re putting M8 Ventures into sleep mode NOW READ: WeWork dropped the best idea it had: So, will anyone pick it up?

ESG managers rejecting Facebook over data privacy

Data privacy is becoming a more prominent issue for ESG managers who have started to look past the confines of solely ESG issues. Facebook were flagged by Domini Impact Investments, an investment advisory firm who subsequently dropped Facebook from its holdings, due to data privacy issues. Though widely renowned for negatively screening "sin" stocks like weapons, tobacco and pornography, ESG standards are starting to look at data breaches and general privacy as a pertinent topic within the ESG arena.

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20180713/FREE/180719954/facebook-data-privacy-issue-already-identified-by-esg-investment

Shortly after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica collected data on Facebook users during the 2016 election campaign, Domini Impact Investments, a registered investment advisory firm that specializes in responsible investing, decided to drop Facebook shares from its holdings. It had already flagged the company for data privacy issues the year before. “We decided Facebook was really the most clear-cut example of soliciting intimate details about you and selling it to advertisers,” said Amy Lee Domini, founder of Domini. Nora Chan, Facebook corporate communications associate manager, said in an email that Facebook had no comment. This was not the first time that Domini, which evaluates investments based on environmental, social and governance standards, had chosen to divest from a company to make a statement. In the past, the investment firm eliminated Walmart from its holdings because of labor violations in its supply chains, and Computer Associates International, now known as CA Technologies, due to high executive pay. Though most well-known for negatively screening “sin” stocks like weapons, tobacco and pornography, ESG standards also typically look at data privacy, an issue increasingly pertinent to companies and businesses. “Data privacy is becoming a bigger issue for investors to monitor,” said Iyassu Essayas, director of ESG research at Parnassus Investments, in an email. “Data privacy is not just an issue for social media companies. It’s an issue for any company that stores, maintains or monetizes sensitive or personal data.” (More: DOL guidance on ESG funds shouldn’t have chilling effect on social impact investments) Over the years, significant controversies have brought the issue of data privacy to the foreground. In 2005, Yahoo disclosed the contents of a Chinese reporter’s emails regarding Tiananmen Square to the Chinese government. In 2013, Target Corp. was the focus of one of the largest data breaches ever, which exposed more than 40 million customer debit and credit card accounts. In 2017, Equifax, a credit reporting agency, was hacked, exposing 143 million American consumers to information theft. Socially responsible trends ESG-focused investments do not hold to universal standards, though companies look to initiatives like the United Nations Global Compact, a strategic initiative for supporting socially responsible companies, as a framework. However, with data aggregation, ESG analysis has evolved from screening out sin stocks to evaluating material risk for companies. It then drills down on the issues that are most likely to affect a company’s profitability. In other words, it makes more sense to rate a tech company or a bank based on data privacy than, say, carbon emissions. That focus can help evaluate a company for negative impact that the markets and traditional financial analysis might miss. Jon Hale, global head of sustainability research at Morningstar, said that anyone analyzing for ESG prior to last year would have been aware that data breaches could occur. For example, Arabesque, a global asset management firm headquartered in London, had screened out Facebook several months before its recent issues came to light because its quantitative investment processes had identified the tech giant’s data privacy practices. The firm’s screen takes out companies that fall below 25% in its ESG ratings. Because of weaknesses in gathering data, the company had built a framework for analysis, called S-Ray, that fills in gaps in information by aggregating data from the companies, from news, from non-government organizations and Google trends. “There’s always the thing the company is saying,” said Andreas Feiner, head of ESG research at Arabesque. “But then there’s news that comes out that says that isn’t the case. So we always try to balance the internal information with the external information.” Is it profitable? Critics of ESG investing argue that socially minded funds do not make for profitable investment portfolios. In fact, despite Facebook’s stock dropping steeply due to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, nearly 18% in March, it still recovered and reached new all-time highs. It crossed the $200 per share threshold in June, signaling the strength of the social media company. (More: Advisers still think ESG strategies underperform) Nevertheless, Mr. Feiner said that there generally is a good correlation with ESG analysis and stock market performance. “It’s about a percent of additional revenue,” he said. And companies involved in significant data privacy controversies risk increased regulatory risks, reputational harm and potential fines. Facebook is under investigation by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, an investigation which the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have joined, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Companies aren’t necessarily going to go out of business, but a data breach can be a costly misstep that requires them to spend significant time and resources to improve data privacy practices and to win back public trust. “It’s a serious issue,” Mr. Hale said.

Land degradation and desertification

Land degradation has accelerated during the 20th century due to increasing pressures of agricultural and livestock production, urbanisation, deforestation, and extreme weather events. This is stressing the world's arable lands and pastures essential for the provision of food and water and quality air.

https://www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/desert/en/

These social and environmental processes are stressing the world's arable lands and pastures essential for the provision of food and water and quality air. Land degradation and desertification can affect human health through complex pathways. As land is degraded and deserts expand in some places, food production is reduced, water sources dry up and populations are pressured to move to more hospitable areas.

Italy's Falck to co-develop 200 MW wind, solar pipeline with REG

Italy's Falck Renewables and UK company REG Windpower have agreed to co-develop 200 MW of wind and solar schemes. The projects will be developed in the UK by joint venture Naturalis Energy Developments, which already has two consented schemes under its belt. Falck said it will have the option to buy and build the projects itself or sell them on after construction authorisations are secured.

https://renewablesnow.com/news/falck-reg-partner-up-for-200-mw-of-uk-renewables-projects-672380/

Italy-based Falck Renewables SpA (BIT:FKR) announced on Thursday a partnership with British REG Windpower Ltd to develop together some 200 MW of wind and solar projects in the UK. The European firms have created a new joint venture (JV) named Naturalis Energy Developments Ltd, 70% owned by Falck and 30% by REG Damery Developers Ltd. The devoted Development Company already has one wind and one solar project consented in its portfolio. As joint projects obtain construction authorisations, Falck Renewables Wind Ltd will have an option to buy and build these itself or sell them to the market, the company stated. Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!

4G signal to be available on London underground in 2019

Following a successful trial on the Waterloo & City Line, the London Underground looks set to achieve its ambition of full 4G network coverage across the entire underground network by 2019. Transport for London (TFL) will begin tendering for a 4G service provider in 2018. “Our expectation is that the commercial partner will cover the capital and operating costs of the telecoms operation and would provide a revenue share for us,” said TFL's director of commercialisation Graeme Craig. Once the 4G connectivity is live there will be no areas left in London where phone users aren't contactable.

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/london-underground-tube-4g

Londoners will be able to use their smartphones deep below the city’s streets in 2019. Last August, London mayor Sadiq Khan pledged that Londoners would be able to use their mobiles to make calls or go online on Tube trains, with a view to having the scheme up and running across the network in two years. It looks like he has made good on his promise for better connectivity, as the Evening Standard has reported that commuters will be able to use their phones on London Underground trains from 2019. The good news follows a successful trial on the Waterloo and City line, which runs between Waterloo and Bank underground stations. London Underground to get connected Tunnels and stations along the line were installed with 4G technology, allowing passengers to check emails, make calls and read the news, all during their subterranean commute. Vodafone, O2, Three and EE all took part in the trial, which also enabled staff to practise laying new fibre cables within the structure of the underground network. Only O2 and Vodafone carried out signal testing inside the tunnels. Transport For London (TFL) is to begin tendering for a service provider to deliver the 4G mobile coverage in 2018, meaning there will no longer be a place in London where mobile users are not contactable. Director of commercial development at TFL, Graeme Craig, said: “The success of this trial shows that we are on track to unlock one of the UK’s most high-profile not-spots [an area with no broadband or mobile internet coverage] and deliver 4G mobile coverage throughout our tunnels and Tube stations.” Craig told Wired: “Our expectation is that the commercial partner will cover the capital and operating costs of the telecoms operation and would provide a revenue share for us.” Paris, Tokyo and Berlin all have mobile coverage on their underground train networks. While Londoners can already access Wi-Fi at the vast majority of underground stations and platforms, the signal dips once the train moves through tunnels. According to Wired, the Waterloo and City line was chosen because its tunnel is “particularly demanding in terms of radio coverage” as well as the fact that it only has two stops. Tube station in London. Image: Songquan Deng/Shutterstock

Worldwide food waste

Roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year - approximately 1.3 billion tonnes - gets lost or wasted. Food losses and waste amount to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialised countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.

https://www.unenvironment.org/thinkeatsave/get-informed/worldwide-food-waste

Public and private entities as well as consumers from across the food systems, must work to cut food loss and waste to enhance the use of natural resources, mitigate climate change and support food security and proper nutrition for all. The International Food Loss and Waste: Get Involved guide offers key messages, facts and figures, and actions that stakeholders can take to help reduce food loss and waste.

Tech firms push for foreign worker visas amid travel restrictions

Denial rates for H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers in the US increased to 29% in Q2 of FY2020, leading Facebook, Google and other big tech firms to lobby for looser restrictions. The numbers, up from 6% in FY2015, demonstrate the Trump administration's persistent efforts curb immigration, while further restrictions being proposed to protect US workers will mean retaining foreign professionals could become even more difficult for the technology industry. However, the US Tech Workers advocacy group claims that slackening the visa programme would see firms hiring cheap foreign labour above US employees.

https://www.axios.com/big-tech-fight-high-skilled-visa-holders-c4827feb-20a9-45ca-8474-90b81f003bd8.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosdeepdives&stream=top

Data: National Foundation for American Policy and USCIS; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios The technology industry has long advocated for access and expansion of H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers and has been vocal about its disdain for President Trump's moves to curb them. The big picture: Denial rates for H-1B visas for tech companies have gone up significantly during Trump's first term, according to government data compiled by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP). Between the lines: It's harder than ever for tech companies to recruit and retain foreign professionals seeking to work in the U.S. — even as the pandemic fuels further demand for high-skilled technical labor and more of people's personal and professional lives move online. By the numbers: The annual cap for H-1Bs is 85,000, a number tech companies were trying to increase long before the Trump administration's restrictive policies. In fiscal year 2019, 190,098 applications were filed. Denial rates for new H-1B petitions for initial employment rose to 29% through the second quarter of fiscal year 2020 from 6% in fiscal year 2015, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services compiled by NFAP. The Trump administration is now looking to further tighten restrictions on H-1B visas. It has been pushing a change to the definition of a "specialty occupation," and on Sept. 4 sent a proposed new rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget. The rule is partly meant to "better protect U.S. workers and wages" while requiring employers to pay "appropriate" wages to H-1B visa holders. What they're saying: "America’s continued success depends on companies having access to the best talent from around the world. Particularly now, we need that talent to help contribute to America’s economic recovery," Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda told Axios. "Highly skilled visa holders play a critical role in driving innovation — at Facebook and at organizations across the country — and that’s something we should encourage, not restrict," a Facebook spokesperson told Axios. The other side: Opponents of boosting the visa program argue that companies use the visas to hire cheaper labor rather than pay American workers more. Those opponents include the group U.S. Tech Workers, which met with Trump in August. Flashback: In June, big tech companies signed onto an amicus brief arguing for a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration's moves to suspend a number of foreign visas, include H-1Bs.

Wiltshire Farm Foods recruits 8 new chefs

The UK’s largest direct to consumer frozen meal delivery service have brought on 8 new top chefs from across the south west of England to expand and improve their summer menu. Wiltshire farm foods have taken advantage of restaurant closures and out of work chefs a temporary but luxury expansion to their menu.

https://www.businessfranchise.com/news/3501/wiltshire-farm-foods-recruits-leading-chefs-for-collaboration

Wiltshire Farm Foods recruits leading Chefs for collaboration Published: 25 June 2020 The nation’s leading frozen food delivery service, Wiltshire Farm Foods, has recruited eight leading Chefs across the South West for a brand new summer menu collaboration. At a time when many restaurants and pubs have had to temporarily close, Wiltshire Farm Foods has identified how to support chefs affected by the pandemic by updating its range with an innovative injection of culinary skill and creativity. Working alongside Head Chef, Phil Rimmer, chefs include; Jethro Lawrence, Head Chef at Woolley Grange Hotel; Rob Allcock, Chef Patron at The Long Arms, South Wraxall; Richard Knighting, Executive Chef at Corkage, Bath; Elliott Lidstone, Head Chef and Owner at BOX-E, Bristol; Henry Scott, Head Chef at Henry’s, Bath; Peter Vaughan, Executive Chef and Director at Vaughan’s Kitchen, Devizes; Josh Dobson, Sous Chef at Bunch of Grapes, Bradford-on-Avon and Simi Rezai-Ghassemi, cookery teacher and owner of Simi’s Kitchen in Bath. Phil Rimmer says; “It’s been fantastic to work alongside fellow Chefs bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to the kitchen. In a time of national crisis pulling together and supporting each other is what we do best as a country, so collaborating with a wide range of culinary talent in creating new dishes for our customers has been such a positive project for myself and the entire Wiltshire Farm Foods team.” Each Chef has worked on a signature dish. These include; Peter Vaughan’s Slow Cooked Beef with Onions and Dorset Ale; Richard Knighting’s Slow Cooked Lamb with Minted Peas and Beans; Elliott Lidstone’s Creamy Chicken, Pearl Barley and Cauliflower Risotto; Jethro Lawrence’s Gammon in Somerset Cider Sauce and Simi Rezai-Ghaseemi’s Chickpea and Apricot Stew. Desserts range from the classic Chocolate and Cherry Brownie with Vanilla Cream Sauce to the seasonal Gooseberry Bakewell Tart and indulgent Date Pudding with Coconut and Date Sauce. Peter Vaughan says: “My grandparents were Wiltshire Farm Foods customers so I created my dish with them in mind. This project has been a superb culinary challenge – I have a real admiration for Phil Rimmer and the team. They’ve been wonderful to work with.” Talking about the experience, Josh Dobson says it’s been an eye-opener: “I was so impressed by the passion and dedication of the chefs at Wiltshire Farm Foods and the level of development that goes into every dish. It’s really changed my perception of frozen food.” COO of Wiltshire Farm Foods, Ian Stone adds: “The South West attracts some of the best Chefs in the country and we were keen to collaborate with those whose businesses had temporarily been affected by the pandemic to bring a fresh and exciting new summer menu for our customers.” Find out more about the Wiltshire Farm Foods franchise opportunity here >

US State and Federal laws may clash over drones

In what one law professor is calling "one of the largest property-rights grabs by Congress in history," a US Senate bill would restate federal law over state and local laws, giving the FAA supremacy over all drone laws, including the design, manufacture, testing, licensing, registration, certification, operation and maintenance of drones, providing a "one stop shop" for drone deliveries by multinationals like Amazon and Google. However, national groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argue that a 'patchwork' of laws, similar to state legislation covering noise, safety and privacy is a workable alternative, despite warnings from the vice president for policy at DJI, the leading drone manufacturer, that adopting differing rules would result in chaos.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/13/state-drone-laws-could-clash-federal-drone-policy/81604344/

Bart Jansen USA TODAY North Dakota prohibits mounting lethal weapons on drones. Arkansas won't allow remote-controlled aircraft to photograph critical buildings such as power plants and oil refineries. Michigan bans using drones for hunting — or to harass hunters. And North Carolina requires commercial drone operators to take a test to ensure they're familiar with the rules of the road. These are among state- and city-level laws adopted – among hundreds of more bills proposed – to regulate the fast-growing world of drones. But these local laws are on a collision course with the Federal Aviation Administration, which contends it controls the airspace and wants to set a single national policy for drones instead of a patchwork of local laws. FAA’s authority over airspace is unquestioned for safety issues such as keeping drones lower than 400 feet or away from airports, said Troy Rule, an associate professor of law at Arizona State University. Whether that authority extends to issues like privacy is a matter of debate, he said. “It depends who you ask and it’s not very clear at all,” Rule said. “It would need to be litigated.” The FAA's authority over safety "still leaves a lot of room for states to act, and they have," said Stephen Martinko, a former transportation staff member in Congress who is now a government affairs counselor at K&L Gates LLP. "When you start doing that, it gets very complicated and very confusing." FAA: Drone registration eclipses that of regular planes Congress ordered FAA in 2012 to develop rules governing how drones would share the sky with passenger planes. The first regulation for commercial drones weighing up to 55 pounds is expected in June. The FAA in December published a seven-page statement asserting its congressional authority to regulate use, management and efficiency of the national airspace. A U.S. Senate bill introduced Wednesday would restate that supremacy of federal law over state and local laws dealing with the design, manufacture, testing, licensing, registration, certification, operation or maintenance of drones. A committee vote is scheduled Wednesday on the bill. The Senate measure would explicitly give FAA supremacy over all drones laws, Rule said. That would give companies like Amazon, Google and Walmart a one-stop shop for their drone-delivery proposals. But that would also block local governments from adopting measures prohibiting encroachment on private property similar to zoning laws, he said. “This is arguably one of the largest property-rights grabs by Congress in history,” Rule said. Senate bill would force airlines to disclose more about fees National groups are debating whether it's better to have a single federal law or a variety of local laws. “The FAA’s message is clear,” Brian Wynne, CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, told a Senate panel Thursday. “State proposals have the potential to create a complicated patchwork of laws that may erode, rather than enhance, safety.” Brendan Schulman, vice president for policy at DJI, one of the largest drone manufacturers, urged national standards to teach the rules of the road. . If cities, states and the federal government each adopt different rules, “I think it’s going to be chaos,” Schulman said. But Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union, said a variety of local laws might not be so bad. He compared drone policies to other quality-of-life issues about noise and safety and privacy, dealt with through local legislation for leaf-blowers or handguns. “It will be a patchwork,” Stanley said. “This is a complex, sausage-making process in place.” Senators question FAA about faster drone regulation In 2015, 45 states debated 168 bills around drones, according to the National Council of State Legislatures. Twenty states passed least 26 pieces of legislation, the group said. Michigan, for example, approved a pair of laws banning drones for hunting or to harass hunters. “These laws help protect the integrity of the sport,” said state Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township. The debate has been rocky in spots. Complaints poured in from photographers, news stations and agricultural interests after Arkansas state Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, introduced legislation to outlaw drones photographing private property.. “I thought the sky was falling,” Harris said. Harris ultimately won approval of the law by fitting it under an anti-voyeurism statute, to prohibit filming someone in their backyard or through a window from a drone. “This was important for a particular segment of the population of women who may be in hiding in an abusive situation,” Harris said. Another Arkansas law approved last year prohibited using drones to photograph or electronically surveil potential terrorist targets such as power plants or oil refineries. State Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, said the chemical industry asked him to sponsor the legislation after a measure dealing with broader privacy concerns was defeated. “They obviously need to be secure,” Shepherd said. “It’s an area of law that at least at this point, the development of it is going to be primarily at the state level.” In North Dakota, state Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, proposed one of the first drone bills in the country in 2013, to require police to have a warrant if they use the aircraft for surveillance. The bill failed. When he revived it in 2015, the legislation became law with an additional provision to ban lethal weapons on drones. That was taken to allow law enforcement to mount non-lethal weapons such as tasers, although local police say they haven’t done yet, he said. “I don’t think we have to worry about it being confusing,” said Becker, who plans legislation in 2017 to ban all weapons on drones. “If we can figure out the difference in speed limits and the fines for speeding in different states, we’ll do just fine with differences in drone legislation.” North Carolina began in January requiring commercial drone operators to pass a test and obtain a permit from the division of aviation before flying. The state has issued 108 permits this year through March 10, according to Chris Gibson, the drone-program manager for the state’s division of aviation. The test requires familiarity with state laws prohibiting weapons on drones, getting permission from property owners to launch and recover drones, and dealing with privacy, to prevent taking pictures of people on private property without their permission, Gibson said. “We were very careful to not do anything to regulate airspace or how these things can operate in the airspace,” Gibson said. “It’s really geared toward regulating how they are interacting with persons and property on the ground in North Carolina.”

UK's 67-day coal-free run comes to a close

The UK’s longest period without using coal to generate electricity since the industrial revolution ended after 67 days and almost 23 hours, with Yorkshire’s Drax power station starting a coal unit for maintenance. The period began as demand slumped by 20% YoY at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The previous coal-free record was just over 18 days, ending in June 2019. During the 67 days, renewable energy generated 36% of power requirements, gas contributed 33%, and nuclear 21%. The National Grid Electricity System Operator aims to operate the grid without fossil fuels by 2025.

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/coal-free-power-uk-record-time-2020-how-long-renewable-energy-a9570891.html

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The UK’s record coal-free run has come to an end after more than two-months, making it the longest period since the industrial revolution the country has not used electricity produced using the fossil fuel. The total coal-free period lasted 67 days, 22 hours and 55 minutes, and ended on Tuesday night when the Drax power station in north Yorkshire brought one of its coal units online for maintenance, during which time it added some power to the national grid. The record far outstrips the previous longest stretch without coal-fired power, of 18 days, 6 hours and 10 minutes, which ended in June last year. The coal-free period began this year amid the coronavirus lockdowns, which saw demand for power plummet by up to 20 per cent compared to the same period last year, as schools, manufacturing plants and businesses closed, and significant numbers of people worked from home. Over the period of the coal-free run, renewable energy sources made up the biggest share of the mix, generating nearly 36 per cent of power, while gas provided around 33 per cent, and nuclear 21 per cent. The polluting fossil fuel has played an increasingly small role in Britain's power mix in recent years, with a government target to phase it out altogether by 2024, and saw its share of generation fall to just 2 per cent last year. The National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said it is planning to be able to operate the grid for periods without any fossil fuels, including gas, by 2025. Coal usage typically drops off in warmer months, and since last summer, the largest contribution coal has made to the UK’s energy was at the end of January, when it made up 6.9 per cent of the power mix. As recently as 2015, on many days of the year, coal contributed more than 50 per cent of the power used by the grid, and it still made up 25 per cent of the total power mix in 2016, according to records kept by Drax Electric Insights. The first coal-free day was recorded in 2017, and until this month’s record, the previous longest period without coal was in May 2019 when coal power contributed nothing to the grid for two weeks. Overall, coal contributed just 2.1 per cent of the country’s total power mix in 2019. The coal-free run ended after Drax in North Yorkshire carried out tests on one of its units which required it to generate power. Drax said essential maintenance had been carried out on one of its coal generating units “as is usual during the spring and summer months when demand is lower, and the coal units are not required to run”. In a statement, the company said: “Following the completion of this work, we need to make sure the unit is performing well, ready for the winter when demand for power increases and the coal units are expected to run. “As a result, tests are being carried out now which require the unit to generate power.” Drax will stop generating power using coal in March 2021, though its two coal units will remain available until September 2022. The world’s first coal-fired power station, the Edison Electric Light Station, opened in London in 1882 and coal remained a constant source of power until 2017 – a period of 135 years. The opening of the Edison Electric Light Station at Holborn viaduct came two years after the world’s first hydroelectric power generation scheme, which was developed in 1878 at Cragside in Northumberland, by William Armstrong. It was not strictly a commercial venture, primarily being used to light his own house, but Armstrong was an early advocate for renewable energy and even hypothesised about future solar power generation. He believed coal “was used wastefully and extravagantly in all its applications”, and as early as 1863 he predicted Britain would cease to use coal within two centuries. After the closure of two plants in March 2020, just three coal-fired power plants remain in Great Britain: Drax, Ratcliffe and West Burton, and also one, Kilroot, in Northern Ireland – though this doesn’t contribute energy to the national grid. Additional reporting by PA

MG, Fortum unveil 50 kW charging station in Gurugram

MG Motor India has unveiled the latest in a string of public 50 kW fast-charging stations at its flagship showroom in Gurugram. It precedes next month's launch of MG's first all-electric vehicle, the MG ZS EV. Finnish firm Fortum installed the station, along with others in South Delhi, West Delhi, Noida and Gurugram. Another six have been deployed at MG dealerships in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

https://www.saurenergy.com/ev-storage/mg-and-fortum-install-first-public-fast-charging-station-in-gurugram

MG Motor India and Fortum have unveiled the first 50 kW DC charging station at MG’s flagship showroom at Gurugram. Underlining its commitment towards catalysing an EV revolution, MG (Morris Garages) Motor India and Fortum Charge & Drive India have unveiled the first 50 kW DC charging station at MG’s flagship showroom at Gurugram. The charging station has been installed by Finland-based clean energy major Fortum and was unveiled and operationalised for public use by Anil Shrivastava, IAS, Principal Consultant & MD, Mission on Transformative Mobility & Battery Storage, NITI Aayog, ahead of the launch of MG Motor’s first pure electric car – the MG ZS EV, next month. Under the partnership, starting with the national capital, Fortum has installed four public 50 kW fast-charging stations in South Delhi, West Delhi, Noida & Gurugram respectively. Besides, six more public 50 KW DC fast chargers have been installed at MG’s Dealer locations in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. The smart chargers can be accessed by an EV user owning vehicles compatible with CCS/CHAdeMO charging standards and by registering with Fortum Charge & Drive India through its Mobile App. Rajeev Chaba, president & managing director, MG Motor India. Said that with an aim to be the leader in the EV segment in India, we are pulling out all stops to ensure adequate charging infrastructure for our first EV customers. “Our endeavour is to create a robust ecosystem for EVs, right from charging to end-of-life for electric vehicles in India and the installation of the first public fast charger is the first major step in this direction. The upcoming launch of the MG ZS EV is aligned with the government’s long-term objective to have more electric vehicles on the road in the next few years.” Commenting on the occasion, Sanjay Aggarwal, Managing Director, Fortum India, said, that Fortum has the vision to make the world cleaner. And that it is happy to establish India’s first public charging network of 50 KW DC chargers in partnership with MG. “We have already witnessed an uptake in the adoption of electric vehicles in the last one year through our existing charging network of 15/20 DC001 Chargers. This collaboration will further bolster this growth. As one of the key players, we are constantly evaluating the Indian market for charging infrastructure and will continue to give a pleasant charging experience to EV users through our partnership like one with MG.”

SECI receives 551 MW in bids for 1.8 GW wind tender

A Tranche VIII tender for 1.8 GW of inter-state transmission system-connected wind power projects, launched by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), has been undersubscribed by over 1.2 GW. Some stakeholders cited the tariff cap of INR2.85/kWh ($0.041) for the lack of interest. In April, SECI's 1.2 GW tender under Tranche VII suffered a similar outcome, with only half the capacity awarded with a cap of INR2.83/kWh. However, a preceding Tranche VI auction was oversubscribed by 1.2 GW, with the lowest tariff quoted at INR2.82. 

https://mercomindia.com/seci-wind-tender-left-undersubscribed/

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)’s tender to set up 1,800 MW of inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected wind power projects under tranche VIII has been undersubscribed by 1,249 MW. According to a market source, “CLP India has submitted its bid to develop 250.8 MW of wind power projects and Avikaran Energy (Enel Green) has submitted the bid to set up 300 MW of wind power projects.” When contacted, a SECI official confirmed that the tender had been undersubscribed but chose not to comment on the bidders. SECI had tendered the capacity in June 2019 with a tariff cap of ₹2.85 (~$0.041)/kWh. The Tranche-VIII tender has suffered the same fate as the Tranche-VII wind tender by SECI. In April 2019, Mercom reported that SECI’s tender for 1,200 MW of ISTS-connected wind power projects on a pan-India basis under tranche-VII was undersubscribed by 50%. SECI had tendered the capacity in February 2019. For this tender, SECI had set a tariff cap of ₹2.83 (~$0.041)/kWh.

Lebanon's central bank reviewing money transfers by public figures

Commercial banks in Lebanon have been ordered to review forex transfers by "politically exposed" people during the anti-government protests between 17 October and 31 December, 2019. The memo, issued by the Lebanese central bank's anti-money laundering division, also calls for any suspicious activity to be reported.

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/wires/1.8407083

BEIRUT, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Lebanese central bank has asked commercial banks to review transfers abroad by politically exposed people between Oct. 17 and Dec. 31, when anti-government protests led banks to block transfers out of the country, according to a circular obtained by Reuters on Thursday. A Jan. 9 circular from the central bank's anti-money laundering unit asked banks to identify the source of funds deposited in such these accounts and to report any suspicious activity on the account. The circular asked the banks to comply by Jan. 31. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)

Jeff Bezos Cashed Out $4 Billion in Amazon Stock For a Mighty Shopping Spree

In one fell swoop, Jeff Bezos has signaled with an expensive purchase that his Hollywood ambitions go beyond turning Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) into an entertainment giant.

https://www.ccn.com/jeff-bezos-cashed-out-4-billion-in-amazon-stock-for-shopping-spree/

Seattle, Washington is likely to be seeing less of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos after he shelled out $165 million to buy a Hollywood home. Jeff Bezos is moving to Hollywood. The Amazon CEO just purchased a $165 million property in the 90210 area code after cashing out $4 billion worth of AMZN shares. | Image: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File Jeff Bezos now has a Hollywood residence in the prime 90210 zip code. Founders of two prominent Hollywood studios previously owned the property at different times. The net worth of the Amazon boss is up $17 billion this year. In one fell swoop, Jeff Bezos has signaled with an expensive purchase that his Hollywood ambitions go beyond turning Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) into an entertainment giant. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Amazon Chairman has acquired real estate worth $165 million in the Los Angeles area. The property, which lies in the coveted 90210 zip code, previously belonged to movie mogul David Geffen, who founded DreamWorks SKG film studio with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. A property only billionaire founders can afford Before Geffen, the property was owned by the co-founder of Warner Bros. (now owned by AT&T) studio. It was designed in the 1930s and boasts of such amenities as a 9-hole golf course, guest houses and tennis court. Geffen acquired the property in 1990 for $47.5 million. Without adjusting for inflation, Geffen has earned a profit of $117.5 million assuming he made no improvements to the property. The amount Bezos spent is tiny relative the proceeds of his recent sale of Amazon shares. In a sale that concluded earlier this month, Bezos netted around $4 billion. Even after the sale and a divorce last year that cost him a significant chunk of wealth, he’s still the world’s richest person. The gap is widening with the second richest person, Bill Gates, trailing him by over $10 billion. Less than two months into 2020, Bezos’ net worth has gone up by $17 billion. Bezos doesn’t want to just rub shoulders with the stars; he wants to live with them The move comes at a time when the Amazon Chairman and CEO is becoming a regular feature in Hollywood circles. Three years ago, Amazon Prime Video became the first streaming service to win after it bagged three Oscars. This year Amazon’s French film “Les Miserables” was nominated in the Best International Feature category. His appearances at Hollywood events have not escaped attention. At this year’s Oscars, he heavily featured in a monologue. Watch the video below to see Jeff Bezos getting roasted by comedians Chris Rock and Steve Martin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aPMJlMUfq4 Bezos’ Hollywood links have gotten even more personal over the years. His girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, is a filmmaker. Sanchez has worked with Hollywood directors that include The Twilight Saga’s Catherine Hardwicke. She also consulted on the Dunkirk film. Sanchez filed for divorce from Hollywood talent agent Patrick Whitesell last year in April. How the Amazon billionaire plans to conquer Hollywood Amazon Studios has been pivoting towards blockbuster productions. After paying $250 million to acquire TV rights for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, Amazon Studios will spend about $1 billion to make the series. This will make it the most expensive series ever. In 2019 it was estimated that Amazon Prime Video spent about $6 billion on original programming. While it was much lower than Netflix’s, it’s still higher than the budget allocated by other competing streaming services.

Competition hitting wealth management sector

Goldman Sachs’ investment management revenue fell by 18% in this year’s second quarter. Wealth management teams are increasingly selling lending products to wealthy individuals rather than facilitating in trading as robo-advisors and index funds offer a faster and cheaper trading service, making them particularly popular among millennials.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/04/wall-streets-cash-cow-is-getting-cooked.html

watch now One of Wall Street banks' biggest businesses is taking heat from competitors old and new. Many big banks are seeing fees from wealth and investment management divisions fall, putting a crimp in critical revenue at a time when Wall Street is having an increasingly tough time matching their return on equity targets. related investing news This regional bank can benefit from the online betting boom, JPMorgan says Goldman Sachs ' most recent earnings report noted that investment management net revenue of $1.35 billion fell 18 percent from the second quarter of the prior year, and on the bank's earnings call CFO Harvey Schwartz noted that average fees are coming down. While fees are falling all over Wall Street, there's a chance that at least Goldman can make it up in the long run on volume: the bank said it saw client inflows in both cash and long-term assets. Other wealth managers are seeing top clients add to cash holdings on fears of market turbulence and geopolitical conflict. And falling fees on Wall Street rarely come without job cuts too far behind them. Fewer transactions, more loans Jim Lopes | Getty Images UBS ' wealth management Americas business has grown increasingly dependent on recurring income from products including investment funds, according to its earnings reports, and less on transaction-based revenue, which is on the decline. The bank did not respond to a request for comment. Investors' declining trading activity comes as yield has become increasingly scarce, and if the trend persists, it could mean that other investment alternatives, whether robo-advisors or index funds, gain traction. "Brokerage fees are already being eroded in both of these jurisdictions as cheap beta products become readily available and increasingly accepted," said a joint report covering wealth managers last month from Deutsche Bank Markets Research and consulting firm Oliver Wyman, entitled "Running faster to stand still." At big banks, at least, wealth management teams have increasingly turned to selling lending products to wealthy individuals, more than helping them make trades, the report said. At Morgan Stanley , the bank's second-quarter numbers reflected a 24 percent increase in loans within its wealth management division. The bank declined CNBC's request for comment. watch now

Warnings released as legionnaires' disease spreads in Sydney

Public health warnings have been released in Sydney over the spread of Legionnaire's disease, as health officials grapple to find the source of outbreak; three have so far contracted the disease with one man fighting for his life. Cooling towers are now being inspected as outbreaks are often associated with contaminated air conditioning systems in large buildings. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3574363/Legionnaire-s-outbreak-prompts-warning-Sydney.html

Public health officials are scrambling to find the source of an outbreak of the potentially deadly Legionnaires' disease in the Sydney CBD. A team of 16 council and health workers are inspecting dozens of cooling towers in Margaret, Kent, King and George Streets on Thursday. The City of Sydney has confirmed that three members of the public have contracted the disease. A Sydney man has been left fighting for his life after contracting the potentially deadly Legionnaires' disease (stock picture) It comes as an elderly man and two women - who all work around Wynyard train station - have fallen ill since Anzac Day,Seven News reported. The elderly man is in a critical condition, while one woman remains in hospital. The third person has since been discharged. A City spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'As public health is our number one concern, we are taking the matter very seriously, and providing every assistance to NSW Health who are leading the investigation. 'The City will continue to provide the community with information about the issue as it becomes available.' Tens of thousands of commuters pass through the suspected infection area each day, and it is also a focal point for tourists. Cooling towers in the area are being inspected as outbreaks are often associated with contaminated air conditioning systems in large buildings. The City spokesperson said: 'Under the Public Health Act, the City maintains a register of air conditioning towers and who is responsible for their maintenance. An elderly man and two women - who all work around Wynyard train station - have fallen ill since ANZAC Day (stock picture) 'However, due to Sydney's global city status, the City of Sydney also conducts a proactive risk based inspection and sampling program of approximately 1,400 cooling towers across its area. The City's cooling system inspection program is up to date.' Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia caused by a bacterial infection of the lungs that can develop after someone breathes contaminated water vapour or dust. The latest outbreak comes after a man aged in his 80s died in March after contracting the disease near Town Hall area.

Water stress - You can edit this

Water stress occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period. Water stress causes deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of quantity (aquifer over-exploitation, dry rivers) and quality (eutrophication, organic matter pollution, saline intrusion.)

https://www.eea.europa.eu/archived/archived-content-water-topic/wise-help-centre/glossary-definitions/water-stress

HelpCenter Definition Water stress occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period or when poor quality restricts its use. Water stress causes deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of quantity (aquifer over-exploitation, dry rivers, etc.) and quality (eutrophication, organic matter pollution, saline intrusion, etc.). Source: http://epaedia.eea.europa.eu/alphabetical.php?letter=W&gid=108#viewterm

Malware discovered on new CCTV systems sold by Amazon

A researcher has found pre-installed malware on a CCTV system sold by Amazon, stumbling . The researcher stumbled across the malware while trying to configure the surveillance system. After Having found that the page failed to host normal controls or settings, the researcher he opened the browser’s developer tools and discovered a hidden iFrame, which was retrieving content from Brenz.pl; t. This domain was used in malware distribution campaigns in 2011. All the Brenz.pl operator would need to do is push the malicious code through the hidden iFrame. Once the CCTV operator accessed the relevant page, the malware would be downloaded and installed. This in turn would give the attacker the ability to use the equipment to spy on the victim, and potentially use it for data theft.

http://thehackernews.com/2016/04/home-security-system.html

Be careful while buying any off-brand electronics from Amazon, as they could end up infecting you. Recently, independent security researcher Mike Olsen discovered that the CCTV surveillance devices sold on Amazon came with pre-installed malware. Olsen discovered this nasty secret after he bought a set of outdoor CCTV surveillance cameras from Amazon for one of his friends. He picked Sony Chip HD 6 Camera 1080P PoE IP CCTV surveillance camera kit sold by the Urban Security Group (USG) on Amazon, as it had good reviews and was a relatively cheap set of 6 cameras with all necessary equipment included. While helping his friend set up the cameras, Olsen logged into the administrator panel to configure the surveillance system and found that the page hosted "no normal controls or settings." Assuming that it might be bad programming, Olsen opened up the browser's developer tools and was surprised to discover a hidden iFrame loaded at the bottom of the body tag, retrieving content from Brenz.pl. Surveillance Camera Comes Pre-Installed with Malware A quick Google search revealed that the Brenz.pl domain was used in malware distribution campaigns, according to a blog post by cyber-security vendor Sucuri in 2011. In short, this means that the newly bought surveillance camera kit could be infected with malware anytime, when the Brenz.pl operator decides to push malicious code to the DVR's backend through the hidden iFrame. UPCOMING WEBINAR 🔐 Mastering API Security: Understanding Your True Attack Surface Discover the untapped vulnerabilities in your API ecosystem and take proactive steps towards ironclad security. Join our insightful webinar! Join the Session Once the CCTV camera's operator accessed that page, the malware would be downloaded and installed, potentially leading to unlawful spying and data theft. Since the Breza.pl domain was already on the firmware, there might be other nasty malware included in the firmware as well, that does not provide the camera's owner to access the backend. The malware distributed by the surveillance cameras can have the ability to hijack video feeds or make the customer's cameras part of a DDoS Botnet , something that happened last year. So be careful what you buy. Check reviews of every product before buying, even if the product brand and the eCommerce platform is trusted.

Anti-virus tech offered to offices monitor employee health

Companies including Truework and Gensler are offering technology to help offices reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. Truework’s software allows employers to track their workers’ health and Gensler’s workplace planning app creates socially distanced office layouts while businesses that sell thermal cameras are rebranding goods as anti-virus products. The US market for contact-tracing technology for employers could reach $4bn a year, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). However, preventative measures and newly imposed rules are untested, cautioned Laura Becker from IDC.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/business/virus-office-workplace-return.html

Employees will wear wristbands or carry credit card-size badges that collect signals about their whereabouts and proximity to one another; that data is sent to devices that transmit it to the cloud. Microshare said employers could also use its system to identify spots where infected workers may have recently gathered, enabling companies to shut down specific areas, rather than an entire building, for deep cleaning. The badges may appeal to secure facilities or factories where employees are not allowed to bring their personal phones, as well as to people who would rather not have their employers track them on their smartphones. “Asking you to put something on my phone, that’s a really slippery slope,” said Ron Rock, the chief executive of Microshare. But even employee-tracking wristbands and badges raise questions about increased prying by employers, he said. “You start to come up against: Is somebody going to the bathroom too often? Is somebody going to the cafeteria too often? Is somebody smoking too much? Is somebody in parts of the building where they don’t belong?”

Clineeds matches doctors with clinic spaces in Airbnb style

Chicago-based start-up Clineeds has launched a space-listing service that connects doctors with vacant clinic spaces. Doctors, chiropractors, dentists and therapists can list rental space for free, and users are only charged for premium listing spots. Founded in 2015, Clineeds currently lists spaces in more than 485 clinics and has more than 4,800 active users registered. Demand for medical office space reached an all-time low of 7.4% at the end of 2016, according to commercial property firm Colliers.

http://blog.vts.com/is-an-airbnb-style-platform-for-healthcare-real-estate-just-what-the-doctor-ordered

Is an Airbnb-Style Platform for Healthcare Real Estate Just What the Doctor Ordered? Liz Wolf Freelance Writer, VTS While Airbnb matches travelers with people with a room or house to rent, a similar platform has been launched for physicians with excess space – whether it’s just a room or an entire office building. Chicago startup Clineeds is a new listing service that’s bringing the sharing economy to healthcare. The website helps healthcare professionals convert vacant medical and clinic space they’re not using within their practices into rent while offering physicians and medical groups seeking to grow their practice a platform to find available space. Doctors, chiropractors, dentists and therapists can list space for rent for free on Clineeds. The self-funded company only charges users who want “premium listing spots” for increased exposure of their space on the site. Clineeds was founded in 2015 by two Chicago physicians. Co-founder Rishi Garg told VTS that Clineeds currently has more than 485 clinics listing space on their website and more than 4,800 active users registered. He said the startup has given doctors access to more than 1 million square feet of healthcare space that otherwise would not have been available. This could come in handy since strong demand for medical office space pushed the national vacancy rate to an all-time low of 7.4 percent at year-end 2016, Colliers reports. Most of the activity on Clineeds’ site is from medical practices like plastic surgeons, massage therapists, dentists and dermatologists looking to expand. Many leases range from six to 12 months. ‘For lease: Clinic space available Tuesdays, Fridays’ While many doctors have full-time leases, there’s downtime within their practices, Garg said. Meanwhile, other doctors are looking for clinic space where they can see patients in a particular geographical area—but only part time. “Most patients get their health care within five or six miles of where they live,” Garg told Chicago Business. “If you look in New York, dermatologists have three different offices in three different parts of the city because they want to capture different parts of that market...The problem is rent is crazy.” “You really need to expand the geographical scope of your practice in order to maximize the number of patients you see,” Garg told VTS. “A lot of the cash-based practices are using our website to expand the scope of their practice, but limit the cost of their rent. If I could hook up with another physician, who’s not using their office space on Tuesdays [for example] – and it’s a full-fledged, operational clinic — it makes sense to engage in that type of transaction.” Some docs don’t want to ‘go big’ Despite the trend of physicians moving away from small offices and joining giant healthcare groups, there are still doctors fighting this trend by starting smaller practices and looking for ways to save money, including sharing rent and equipment. However, Garg says it’s hard for physicians to lease their clinic space to these docs. “Imagine trying to rent out your surgical space on Craigslist,” he said. To date, Clineeds is live in a number of cities, but the majority of activity is in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., where real estate prices are very high. How can brokers benefit Brokers can also create listings on Clineeds for free and network with healthcare professionals looking to lease (or even buy or sell) space, Garg said. “We feel very strongly that we’re opening up the commercial healthcare market space,” Garg said. “Healthcare professionals are busy. We don’t have time to find the right space, negotiate the terms, create the lease agreement, perform a credit check and execute the lease… We’re bridging that gap between doctors and brokers and bringing them all together in one platform… When I was looking for an apartment in Chicago, I had access to over 50-plus realtors. As a physician, I had to literally call about three dozen healthcare offices in Chicago to find the perfect part-time office space.” It can be a networking tool “I think it’s a really great idea,” said Evan Lewitt, who works in CBRE’s healthcare brokerage services in the Greater Los Angeles and Orange County markets. “I think there’s a need for it. Doctors are now increasingly looking to share space and be creative and connect with other doctors, and this is a great platform for that... It’s kind of like Craigslist in a way, but just for one specific section of Craigslist. There are other ways to connect, but I think it’s great that there’s someone out there marketing specifically for healthcare real estate.” As a broker, Lewitt sees advantages to Clineeds’ platform. “I like going on and seeing what people are looking for,” he said. “If someone says they’re looking for space in Huntington Beach and I have a listing in Huntington Beach, I can send them the brochure and see if they want to take a tour. It’s a way for me to find people looking for space.” Clineeds also offers a platform for retiring physicians to sell their practice, which often includes a commercial office building. “That’s another key area for commercial realtors,” Garg said. “A huge portion of that practice’s value is actually derived from the real estate.” A better way to fill space Despite low vacancies, a significant amount of new medical office space is coming on line nationally. One survey found that in 2016, 19.4 million square feet of outpatient medical real estate development projects were completed, totaling nearly $7.7 billion in construction value, and another 17.3 million square feet is under construction. Garg said Clineeds was founded on the premise that medical groups continue building clinics and hospitals so fast that eventually there will be a large surplus of space, and healthcare groups will need a better way to fill unused space. “You don’t realize how much overcapacity there is in healthcare,” he said. “These hospitals are building buildings as fast and big as possible for brand awareness, but sooner or later they will have so much excess capacity and real estate on their books, and they’re going to have to deal with it. We give them an opportunity to monetize these assets.”

CFTC's Massad Visits China For Derivatives Reform

CFTC chairman Timothy Massad visited Shanghai Clearing House officials earlier this week in an effort to create closer ties between US and Chinese regulators. Massad noted the importance of worldwide central counter-party clearing while also pushing for closer relations between regulators and market participants.

https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/804843/cftc-s-massad-visits-china-for-derivatives-reform

By Joyce Hanson (June 8, 2016, 3:15 PM EDT) -- Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Timothy Massad on Tuesday visited Shanghai Clearing House officials to address the vital role of worldwide central counterparty clearing and to push for closer ties between U.S. and Chinese regulators and market participants involved in the global derivatives markets.... Stay ahead of the curve In the legal profession, information is the key to success. You have to know what’s happening with clients, competitors, practice areas, and industries. Law360 provides the intelligence you need to remain an expert and beat the competition. Access to case data within articles (numbers, filings, courts, nature of suit, and more.) Access to attached documents such as briefs, petitions, complaints, decisions, motions, etc. Create custom alerts for specific article and case topics and so much more! TRY LAW360 FREE FOR SEVEN DAYS

“Keep Corporations Honest” campaign launched by pro-litigation finance lawyers

Law firms and litigation funders in Australia have launched “Keep Corporations Honest”, a public campaign ahead of a parliamentary public hearing seeking to impose further regulation of the litigation finance sector. Developments in the battle over litigation funding laws in Australia will be closely watched since is it originated there.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/13/fears-a-crackdown-on-class-actions-in-australia-could-let-big-businesses-do-what-they-like

For Rebecca Oates, taking part in a class action against medical products giant Johnson & Johnson over a pelvic mesh implant that caused her years of pain was never about the money. Despite winning the case last year, the hundreds of women who signed up to the class action – and potentially tens of thousands more who have also endured agony due to the devices – have yet to see a cent because Johnson & Johnson is currently appealing the decision. “There’s so many other aspects, like bringing the issue to light, and coming together, and making change, especially at the government level,” she says. “No amount of money is going to be compensation for our lives being ruined, no amount, and the effect it’s had on our families and our children.” The meshes were supposed to help women with prolapse of pelvic organs. But Oates says that after doctors implanted mesh in her, six years ago, she endured endless pain, could no longer work at her job in retail and could no longer be intimate with her partner. “Now there’s help, now people are believing us, now we’re getting treatment,” she says. The vaginal mesh implants, which Oates says felt like a cheese grater digging into her flesh, have also been banned in Australia. She says she is disturbed by the attack on class actions and the litigation funders who bankroll them mounted by business lobbyists, including the US Chamber of Commerce, which has hired lawyer Stuart Clark, a former president of the Law Council, to advise it in Australia. While law firm Shine Lawyers took the risk of running the mesh class action without a backer, most class actions rely on a funder to put up the cash to run the case in return for a slice of any winnings. Now there’s help, now people are believing us, now we’re getting treatment Rebecca Oates “If these US lobbyists are coming and trying to put an end to that, I think it’ll just be detrimental for everything in the future,” Oates says. “It sort of just gives big businesses and corporations a way out, of being able to do what they like without any repercussions. “People’s lives get ruined if they’re free to go about their business and do what they like without ever being held accountable.” Ahead of public hearings at a parliamentary inquiry on Monday, law firms and litigation funders have launched a public campaign, Keep Corporations Honest, to fight back against claims including that class actions have cost the Australian economy billions of dollars and dramatically driven up the cost of insurance for company directors. The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has already taken action to curb class actions and litigation funders. In May, he ordered litigation funders to get a financial services licence, and a few days later followed up by watering down rules that require listed companies to keep the market up-to-date about their affairs, breaches of which often form the foundation of class action lawsuits. But the US chamber, through its Institute for Legal Reform and its Australian representative, Clark, wants to go further. Clark says he wants litigation funders to be tightly regulated, face a fit and proper person test and be forced to hold money in Australia against a case going against them. He is scathing of profits in the industry that, when a case is successful, can see a funder make many times its initial investment. However, class action participants and lawyers fear that clamping down on funded class actions will also limit the ability of law firms to take on cases such as the vaginal mesh one, which Shine ran without a backer. Rebecca Oates worries attacks on class actions and litigation funders could allow big businesses to ‘do what they like without any repercussions’. Photograph: Supplied Shine’s head of class actions, Jan Saddler, said running an unfunded action like the Johnson & Johnson case was “an enormous strain on the resources of the firm”. “There are just, unfortunately, too many cases of wrongdoing for law firms to run unfunded,” she said. Shine filed the Johnson & Johnson case in 2012, but it did not come to trial until 2018. After seven months of hearings, during which the court heard the US-based multinational used Australian women as “guinea pigs”, the federal court judge Anna Katzmann ruled in favour of the women in November last year. A hearing of the appeal is due to take place in February next year. Much of the ire of the business lobby is directed against shareholder class actions, where investors in a company sue it for failing to keep the market properly up to date about its financial situation. But class actions have also been launched by taxi and hire car operators against Uber, by Volkswagen owners against the company for cheating on emissions tests and by workers against their employers for underpayment. “Over the last 25 years, class actions have successfully transferred billions in compensation from corporations who broke the law to Australians who were hurt by the illegal action,” says Slater & Gordon’s head of class actions, Ben Hardwick, who is acting as the spokesman for the Keep Corporations Honest campaign. In addition to Slater & Gordon and Shine, the campaign’s members include law firms Maurice Blackburn – which once launched a shareholder class action against Slater & Gordon – and Phi Finney McDonald, as well as many of the litigation funders operating in Australia. The country’s biggest funder, Omni Bridgeway (formerly IMF Bentham) is not a member. “Litigation funders provide an efficient means of protecting litigants from risk, shielding the taxpayer from expense, and keeping corporations honest,” Hardwick said. “But you’ll never hear big business put forward a viable idea for an alternate source of class action funding, because their real agenda is for class actions to wither and die.” Litigation funding is a uniquely Australian institution, like penicillin, wifi and the stump jump plough Stuart Clark Clark dismisses criticism of the US chamber and its institute’s interest in Australian law. “Frankly the response of those who are critical of the ILR’s involvement is xenophobic,” he says. “The ILR has been involved in law reform projects around the world where it is seeking a just system.” He says US organisations are entitled to take an interest in Australian law, just as Australian organisations do in the laws of other countries. Australia is a closely watched jurisdiction for developments in litigation funding law because it is an Australian invention, he says. “Litigation funding is a uniquely Australian institution, like penicillin, wifi and the stump jump plough. “The rest of the world looks to what happens in Australia.”

Container shipper Seaspan revenue rises from vessel additions

Hong Kong independent charter owner Seaspan Corporation reported Q4 2017 revenues of $214.4m, a year-on-year increase of 0.6%. The company said the decline in figures was down to higher expenses, including a 2.6% increase to shipping costs to $48.1m and a 15% hike in operating lease expenses to $30.6m, off the back of a sale-leaseback transaction. Seaspan recently added to its fleet, with two 11,000 TEU vessels with a 17-year charter agreement, and leased two secondhand 2,500 TEU ships to Maersk under a four-year deal.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/28/seaspan-corporations-earnings-continued-sinking-in.aspx

Last year presented its share of challenges for Seaspan Corporation (ATCO), which continued in the fourth quarter. While the company's revenue stopped sinking, profits haven't bottomed out just yet. However, after completing several strategic initiatives in the past year, the company believes it can return to delivering profitable growth in 2018. Seaspan Corporation results: The raw numbers Metric Q4 2017 Q4 2016 Year-Over-Year Change Revenue $214.4 million $213.2 million 0.6% Normalized net earnings $36.0 million $38.8 million (7.1%) Normalized EPS $0.16 $0.21 (23.8%) What happened with Seaspan Corporation this quarter? Seaspan still hasn't completely turned around: Seaspan's revenue rose both year over year as well as from last quarter. That said, it did come in at the bottom end of the company's $214 million to $218 million guidance range. Recent vessel additions helped drive the increase, with the company adding two ships to its operating fleet during the year, which more than offset lower rates from vessels on short-term contracts. Earnings, however, dipped both year over year and from the third quarter, when the company hauled in $38.1 million, or $0.18 per share, in normalized net earnings. Driving the decline was higher expenses. Ship operating costs, for example, rose 2.6% to $48.1 million due to higher spending on spares and repairs related to planned maintenance on certain vessels, while operating lease expenses jumped 15% to $30.6 million because the company added one ship that it financed through a sale-leaseback transaction. General and administrative expenses, meanwhile, rose sharply due in part to an increase in share-based compensation relating to the retirement of former CEO Gerry Wang. Normalized earnings per share declined more sharply because the company sold stock in the past year to bolster its balance sheet and finance vessel acquisitions, including selling $40.4 million of shares during the fourth quarter. In addition to issuing more stock, Seaspan issued $80 million of debt as well as securing a credit facility to finance two newbuild ships that should join the fleet in the first half of this year. After the quarter ended, the company closed a $250 million investment from Fairfax Financial (TSX: FFH) to fund future growth and repay debt. to fund future growth and repay debt. During the quarter, the company sold two 4,250 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) vessels while taking delivery of a new 11,000 TEU ship that started a 17-year charter agreement. The company continued adding to its fleet after the quarter closed, receiving another new 11,000 TEU vessel that also began a 17-year charter, and buying two secondhand 2,500 TEU ships that it leased to shipping giant Maersk under four-year agreements. What management had to say Board chairman David Sokol commented on the company's recent progress by saying: 2017 was an important and pivotal year for Seaspan. We continued to achieve strong operating results, maintain a sizable contracted revenue backlog, and grow our operating fleet on long-term time charters by taking delivery of five newbuildings with charters of 10 to 17 years. With a focus on driving shareholder value, we also took important steps to strengthen our corporate governance, deleverage our balance sheet, and increase our unencumbered asset base. We are pleased to have commenced 2018 with a $250 million investment by Prem Watsa-led Fairfax and the acquisition of two second-hand feeder vessels chartered to Maersk. Our transaction with Fairfax, as well as our success expanding our relationship with the world's largest liner company, underscores Seaspan's industry leadership and sharpened strategic focus. While Seaspan's financial results haven't quite turned around due to the lingering effects of the downturn in the shipping sector, the company has still been working hard to shore up its operations and balance sheet. It completed several moves over the past year to raise capital that reduced debt and provided it with funding to acquire vessels that should eventually drive its financial result higher. Looking forward Seaspan began "the next phase of our voyage," according to Bing Chen, who took over as CEO last month. His "goal during this important phase is to leverage our integrated platform to create substantial franchise value" by ensuring its fleet, operating platform, customer focus, and financial strength are "among the best in the industry." The new CEO further noted that with market fundamentals improving, "we see a rich set of opportunities before us," that should enable the company to deliver accretive growth as it increases its industry-leading position.

CryptoKitties secures $12m for Ethereum-based virtual game

Blockchain-based virtual game CryptoKitties has raised $12m in Series A funding from a group of investors led by Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The digital-collectibles platform utilises Ethereum’s ERC-721 protocol and allows users to buy, sell, collect, breed and swap virtual cats. It is estimated that more than $23.2m worth of CryptoKitties’ virtual cats have been sold by consumers since the game’s inception.

https://coinjournal.net/cryptokitties-raises-us12m-series-a-from-top-investors-as-it-spins-out-into-separate-company/

CryptoKitties, the viral Ethereum-based virtual game, has raised US$12 million from a roster of prominent investors as it’s being spun out as a new company, breaking away from Canadian venture-studio Axiom Zen. Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures led the Series A funding round which also included participation from top-notch angel investors Bill Tai, a renowned venture capitalist, Naval Ravikant, the CEO and founder of AngelList, Mark Pincus, the founder of Zynga, and Fred Ehrsam, the former founder of Coinbase, among others. Commenting on his firm’s investment into CryptoKitties, Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Ventures, wrote in a blog post: “At USV, we think digital collectibles is one of many amazing things that blockchains enable that literally could not be done before this technology emerged. “We also think digital collectibles and all of the games they enable will be one of the first, if not the first, big consumer use cases for blockchain technologies.” Launched in November 2017, CryptoKitties allows users to buy, sell, collect, breed and exchange unique virtual cats. CryptoKitties utilizes Ethereum’s ERC-721 protocol, a non-fungible token standard originally authored by the CryptoKitties team. The game quickly rose to fame with rare kitties going for well over US$100,000. At some point, CryptoKitties became the largest decentralized application on the Ethereum protocol, accounting for more than 13% of the network’s transactions. The craze peaked to the point that initial coin offerings (ICOs) could not launch due to network congestion caused by the sale and trading of digital kittens on CryptoKitties. According to a third-party estimate, consumers have made 331,722 CryptoKitties transactions, selling more than US$23.2 million worth of virtual cats since the platform’s inception. For each transaction, the company charges a 3.75% commission of the total value, according to the Terms of Use. CryptoKitties made its debut in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan earlier this month. Since CryptoKitties introduced the concept of cryptocollectibles, a horde of similar blockchain-based virtual games have launched to tap into the mania. These include CryptoCelebrities, CryptoPuppies, CryptoPets, Cryptobots and CryptoBunnies by China’s smartphone maker Xiaomi. Most recently, e-commerce startup Rare Bits launched a peer-to-peer marketplace for crypto-based assets and cryptocollectibles.

FCA calls for overhaul of cash saving products

An overhaul of cash saving products aimed at improving interest rates offered to long-term customers has been proposed by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulator previously revealed that first-time customers for cash saving products are being given higher interest rates than long-standing customers, known as a “loyalty penalty”. The FCA proposes that providers set a single easy access rate for all accounts and allow consumers to withdraw their funds when they wish, a move that could raise interest payments by £260m ($338m) annually.

https://www.brecorder.com/2020/01/13/561192/uks-watchdog-wants-overhaul-of-cash-savings-products/

Britain's financial markets watchdog proposed an overhaul of cash saving products on Thursday designed to improve interest rates offered to long-standing customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said last year that first-time customers for cash savings products were getting higher interest rates than existing customers when they came off introductory offers, dubbed a loyalty penalty in the industry. Under the FCA proposals, firms will have to set a single easy access rate (SEAR) across all accounts that let savers withdraw their money when they want in a move that would boost interest payments by 260 million pounds ($341 million) a year. Banks will still be able to compete by offering an introductory rate that is usually cut after a set period. "Firms will have flexibility to offer multiple introductory rates for up to 12 months, then they will need to choose one SEAR for their easy access cash savings accounts, and one for their easy access cash savings ISAs," the FCA said. The FCA said competition in cash savings products was not working well for many of the 40 million consumers who hold either an easy access savings account or easy access cash Individual Savings Account (ISA). Christopher Woolard, the FCA's head of competition, said the proposed new rule should be in place before the start of the 2021-2022 tax year and will help the 90% of cash investors that switch products infrequently or not at all. UK Finance, which represents banks, said that regulatory intervention that increases the overall cost of deposit funding for providers will, in general, result in providers having to raise the cost of loans to maintain adequate margins. Companies will also have to publish data every six months on the SEARs they offer so investors can compare different institutions when they first open a savings account. One bank was offering over 80 easy access accounts paying between 1.45% and 0.25% interest even though they are virtually identical, Woolard said. Citizens Advice, a consumer body campaigning against loyalty penalties, said the FCA "must now hold its nerve and make sure these proposals are introduced". The Bank of England's main interest rate has been hovering around record lows for the past decade, hitting the rates on products such as popular individual savings accounts or ISAs - even before discriminatory rates for long-standing customers. The watchdog has put out the proposals for public consultation.

Speedy Hire Hewdon buys Firefly’s rental arm

Manchester-based plant hire company Hewden has acquired East Sussex cleantech firm Firefly. The move expands Hewden’s plant portfolio to include hybrid units, solar panels, cables, lighting, distribution units and generators, and is expected to cement its position in the fast-growing events sector. Adrian Murphy, chief executive of Hewden, said: “This investment allows us to expand our portfolio of sustainable power products”.

http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/southeast/firefly-sells-rental-arm

South East Deals, Manufacturing East Sussex cleantech company Firefly has sold its rental arm to equipment and crane fire firm Hewden. A variety of types of equipment will be added to Hewden's product portfolio as part of the acquisition including generators, hybrid units, solar panels, distribution units, cables and lighting. Hewden said that the new equipment would help to strengthen its overall proposition, particularly within the events sector where it has experienced significant growth. The financial value of the deal was undisclosed. Adrian Murphy, chief executive of Hewden, said: "Sustainability is no longer a nice to have, but rather a fundamental part of how businesses should run. Hewden is committed to providing the most sustainable solutions possible from the products we hire to the places we operate. "This investment allows us to expand our portfolio of sustainable power products and ensure we deliver on our promise to be the leading onsite solutions provider." Manchester-headquartered Hewden can trace its roots back to 1961 when Matthew Goodwin established Hewden (Plant Hire) in the same year that Ronnie Stuart started RG Stuart Plant. In 1968, the two companies merged to create Hewden Stuart. Firefly, whose head office is located at Lewes, designs and manufactures hybrid generators.

Russia to fine Google over Android bungling

A Russian court has ruled that Google violated national anti-trust rules by bundling its services and operating system on Android-based devices. The search giant faces a fine if it doesn't comply with the ruling and will now have to modify its business practices and contracts with Russian smartphone makers.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/03/google-loses-appeal-russia-yandex-android-bundling/

Google has suffered a major blow in Russia, after a court sided with an earlier ruling that the ad giant had violated the country's anti-trust rules by having its services bundled on Android-based devices. Last September, competing search engine—Yandex, which is headquartered in Russia—brought a successful complaint against Google bundling its products on Android phones and tablets. At the time, the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) ruled that users of Google's operating system shouldn't be lumped with the ad and search giant's other services. On Monday, Moscow's Arbitration Court chucked out Google's appeal against that ruling, and said that it "fully supports" the earlier FAS decision. "Google['s] actions led to prohibition of pre-installation of apps of other producers," it added. Google will now be required to change its business practices with smartphone makers in Russia, or else face a fine if it fails to adhere to the ruling. Ars sought comment from Google on this story, but it hadn't got back to us at time of publication. The Moscow court's decision to reject Google's appeal comes at a sticky time for the company, which has been the subject of a long-running alleged abuse of dominance probe in the EU, where the multinational commands roughly 90 percent of the search market. It's been reported by Bloomberg that Google could imminently be hit with a so-called Statement of Objections from competition officials in Brussels over the company's Android OS. Ars has been hearing similar rumours in recent weeks.

Lucid EV delivers 400-mile range through energy efficiency

California automaker Lucid Motors will, later this year, begin production of its Lucid Air electric sedan. The beta version of the car has a 400-mile motorway speed range, according to CEO Peter Rawlinson. He added that the company has spent over a year exploring ways to the make the vehicle more energy efficient, from revisiting its aerodynamics and powertrain, to boosting its voltage.

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1127098_lucid-air-electric-sedan-won-t-use-a-huge-battery-for-400-mile-tesla-rivaling-range

The Lucid Air electric sedan that goes into production late this year won’t quite be the Lucid Air that the company had originally planned. By all indications, from Lucid’s CEO Peter Rawlinson, that’s a good thing. Portions of the company ground to a halt from 2017 until last spring, when a new round of funding from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund kicked in. While those years must have been nail-biters for Rawlinson, it gave his core engineering team the chance to revisit some of the key technology in the Lucid Air—especially the propulsion and battery systems, which he calls an area of core competence for the company. Lucid Air In an interview with Green Car Reports last month, Rawlinson said that versus the “alpha” cars—which the company teased for its top-speed tests—the "beta" cars have a new level of finesse (along with some Formula E lessons incorporated). “There’s not one part of that drivetrain that hasn’t really been transformed,” he said. That transformation will include something that matters much to EV shoppers: an even higher rated driving range of 400 miles or more. Rawlinson, already the original chief engineer of the aluminum-intensive Model S and the former chief engineer at Lotus, was no stranger to the idea of pushing for higher efficiency. But the team pushed beyond what they had at the alpha stage by revisiting virtually every detail concerning efficiency. That includes not just the powertrain efficiency, but also the aerodynamics, the rolling losses—everything down to, as he pointed out, the choice of wheel bearings and the drag on the brakes. Going after Tesla tech “I would suggest that if there was one single metric of the potency of any one company’s technology in the EV space, that it’s efficiency,” Rawlinson said. “And what I mean by that is how many miles you can travel for a given amount of energy. “And in that, you start seeing that one company, a California company, is ahead of all the rest by a very, very long margin,” Rawlinson said, and quickly added: “We believe we are ahead of everybody. From the data we have we believe we’ll come out with a car that’s not just 400 mile range at an EPA five-cycle (the way EPA range is determined), but a 400-mile range at highway speed.” Lucid Air Among the bigger decisions since Lucid’s early alpha cars: They’ve switched from induction motors to permanent-magnet motors. And they’ve increased the voltage from the previous 400 volts “significantly.” Rawlinson didn’t want to disclose exactly what voltage it’s running, but “we’ve gone to a high voltage,” he said. (Ed note: Based on hints from Rawlinson, we expect the vehicle’s system voltage to be in the vicinity of 900 volts). High-voltage is an efficiency play, not a charging one Rawlinson said that high voltage comes with a number of advantages, but there’s a common misunderstanding that a car set up for higher voltage will charge faster. “Each cell sees about 4.2 volts when it's being charged,” he explained. “The rate of charge of an individual cell and therefore the whole pack is actually independent of the voltage of the car; it actually doesn’t matter.” The true advantage of higher voltage is its ability to downsize some key components, potentially reducing cooling needs and efficiency losses, he said. “If you double the voltage you halve the current; and if you halve the current you quarter the heating losses in the circuitry. And therefore in the cables that connect to the car there’s a quarter of the heat, so you don’t have to cool those cables, and there’s a quarter of the heat in the busbars in the battery. " That means less power used by the cooling system to keep it all cool. Again, the result is better efficiency—and more range. Lucid Air prototype during high-speed test at Transportation Research Center, Ohio “When you floor a powerful car like the Lucid Air, you can lose 200 horsepower just in heating the battery pack—unbelievable—and it’s sort of in minimizing those losses that we’ve made some real breakthroughs,” Rawlinson said. “Not just because of the high voltage—that isn’t a breakthrough, but with the way we’ve (laid out) our battery pack, which I believe is unique, we’ve really minimized those losses.” Part and parcel with Rawlinson’s laser-focus on efficiency is his aim to keep the weight of batteries to a minimum for that 400-mile range. “The smart way to create range is with the smallest battery pack possible,” he said. Lucid plans to use the same 2170-format cells as the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y “because of the economics,” and Rawlinson says that it’s “signed, sealed, and settled with a household name.” Going for range the “smart” way The one thing Rawlinson isn’t sold on for economics is the commoditization of platforms and interchangeable off-the-shelf EV components. “There’s a symbiotic relationship between motor, inverter, software, transmission, and battery pack,” and when these things are mismatched, he argues, you see “a dumb way to create a lot of range...by having a humongous battery pack.” “We’re seeing that in some of the newcomers to this space,” he said. “They’re heavy, they take up a lot of space, and they’re very expensive.” Expect to get a much deeper download of Lucid Air specs and details at its New York Auto Show reveal in April. Or, with a preview Thursday for reservation-holders, perhaps sometime sooner.

Tesla May Have Just Found A Home For Its Next Gigafactory

Germany is the “logical choice” for the first manufacturing factory of the U.S. EV maker in Europe, Adam Jonas and other analysts at Morgan Stanley wrote in a note on Thursday, as carried by Bloomberg.Germany “is the heart of the global luxury-auto market, with an economy dependent on internal-combustion tech and a government focused on climate change,” according to Morgan Stanley.Just days ago, Germany raised by 50 percent the incentives for buyers of EVs, as part of the government’s Climate Protection Program 2030. Morgan Stanley sees German EV sales at 6.5 million cars a year by 2030, second only to China. Elon Musk himself said in June last year that Germany is a leading choice for a possible future Tesla Gigafactory in Europe.

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Tesla-May-Have-Just-Found-A-Home-For-Its-Next-Gigafactory.html

Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, which is also set to be one of the biggest and fastest-growing electric vehicle (EV) markets in the world, could be the ideal location for Tesla’s Gigafactory in Europe, according to Morgan Stanley analysts. Germany is the “logical choice” for the first manufacturing factory of the U.S. EV maker in Europe, Adam Jonas and other analysts at Morgan Stanley wrote in a note on Thursday, as carried by Bloomberg. Germany “is the heart of the global luxury-auto market, with an economy dependent on internal-combustion tech and a government focused on climate change,” according to Morgan Stanley. Just days ago, Germany raised by 50 percent the incentives for buyers of EVs, as part of the government’s Climate Protection Program 2030. The vast auto market in Germany is expected to be a huge electric car market in the future, although consumer preferences in the country that is home to many legacy carmakers could be difficult to change. Morgan Stanley sees German EV sales at 6.5 million cars a year by 2030, second only to China. A “Giga Deutschland” manufacturing site would also benefit Tesla because the U.S. manufacturer will be part of Europe’s biggest economy, Morgan Stanley’s Jonas says. Related: Human Batteries: Matrix Science Debunked Building the European Gigafactory in Germany is not a new idea. Elon Musk himself said in June last year that Germany is a leading choice for a possible future Tesla Gigafactory in Europe. Germany is a leading choice for Europe. Perhaps on the German-French border makes sense, near the Benelux countries,” Musk said on Twitter in June 2018, while in April this year he said that Tesla was “considering” building a factory in Germany. ADVERTISEMENT In August, German daily Rheinische Post reported that Tesla was looking for a location for a possible factory site in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which borders Belgium and the Netherlands. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

Legal & General given go-ahead for energy efficient modular homes drive

Legal & General will build 154 homes at an eight-acre site on Portholme Road, Selby in North Yorkshire. All homes are being designed to achieve EPC A ratings, of which only 1% of all new builds achieve. The company has ambitions to build 3,000 modular homes out of the factory annually by 2024.

https://www.edie.net/news/6/Legal---General-given-go-ahead-for-energy-efficiency-modular-homes-drive/

Join our growing army of changemakers and get unlimited access to our premium content Legal & General Modular Homes will build 154 homes at an eight-acre site on Portholme Road, Selby in North Yorkshire. The houses will be constructed offsite at Legal & General’s in Sherburn-in-Elmet factory and transported in large pieces to the site. This modular way of constructing offsite will help lower material use and waste, while streamlined construction processes will lower the carbon footprint of the project. The company has ambitions to build 3,000 modular homes out of the factory annually by 2024. An additional 350 homes are expected to be created this year. The development will consist of 76 one-and-two bedroom apartments and 78 two-and-three bedroom houses, with 30% consisting of affordable housing. All homes are being designed to achieve EPC A ratings, of which only 1% of all new builds achieve. “Using modular construction, Legal & General will be able to deliver high-quality homes at a much faster rate than through traditional construction. In a post-Covid-19 crisis environment, the speed of delivery will be more important than ever before,” Legal & General Modular Homes’ chief executive Rosie Toogood said. “Our journey to revolutionise the UK’s construction industry is well underway, and planning consent at Portholme Road, Selby is testament to this. This scheme, along with our proposals at Bonnington Walk in Bristol, will showcase the benefits of modular construction. Achieving planning permission for this Selby scheme is a fantastic milestone for the business, and a major achievement for the team, particularly set against the current backdrop.” The company believes the modular manufacturing sector could be worth around £40bn and will help spur UK jobs while boosting the economy. The Selby site will provide up to 130 jobs, with a further 50 added through Legal & General recruits. Legal & General Modular Homes will deliver a full development proposition from buying land, developing the product, achieving planning consent through to delivery. Legislative assistance The UK Government is aiming to halve the energy use of new buildings by 2030. The Government will invest £170m in innovations which seek to enhance resource efficiency, improve energy efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions across the industry while shortening construction times, with ministers expecting this investment to be matched with £250m of private sector funding. Such innovations to drive smart construction include offsite modular manufacturing techniques, AI-assisted digital design tools, new manufacturing technologies and smart building management systems. Additionally, a long-term trajectory to improve energy performance standards – including upgrading private rented homes to EPC Band C – will also be developed, but only where “cost-effective and affordable”. All fuel-poor homes will be upgraded to Energy Performance Certificate Band C by 2030. The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) came into effect 1 April 2018, imposing new rules on both domestic and commercial properties within the private rental sector. Before the new legislation was introduced, research found that energy efficiency standards had fallen in almost one-fifth of commercial properties. The new rules prohibit landlords from granting a tenancy to new or existing tenants if the property has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating below band ‘E’. Research claims that 35,000 E-rated buildings could actually fall below the MEES threshold. Matt Mace

Tesla shareholders urged to oust Elon Musk over $55bn pay deal

Pirc, an influential adviser to shareholders, on Tuesday recommended that investors voted against Tesla’s executive pay deal. Pirc said the deal had exposed the company to a lawsuit, alleging that: “The board, including CEO Elon Musk, awarded themselves excessive compensation packages over a three-year period.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/30/tesla-shareholders-urged-to-oust-elon-musk-over-55bn-pay-deal

Tesla investors are being urged to vote to remove Elon Musk, the electric vehicle company’s chief executive, from the board of the firm as anger mounts over his bonus deal that could pay him a record $55.8bn (£40bn). Pirc, an influential adviser to shareholders, including the UK’s local authority pension funds, on Tuesday recommended that investors voted against Tesla’s executive pay deal because it “unfairly enriches the chief executive”. Pirc said the deal had exposed the company to a lawsuit, alleging that: “The board, including CEO Elon Musk, awarded themselves excessive compensation packages over a three-year period that allegedly allowed directors to ‘enrich themselves at the company’s expense’.” The shareholder adviser called on investors to vote against re-electing Musk to the board because of the pay deal, and warned he posed “a serious risk of reputational harm to the company and its shareholders”. Pirc said Musk’s frequent controversial outbursts on Twitter had cost Tesla millions of dollars in settlements and also represented an “unnecessary reputational risk to the company”. Tesla’s primary vehicle factory in Fremont, California, where employees were required to return to work despite lockdown restrictions. Photograph: Stephen Lam/Reuters Last year Musk was sued for $190m in defamation damages over derogatory tweets about the British caver Vernon Unsworth, who was helping to rescue 13 people trapped in a Thai cave. A jury found the tweets did not reach the legal standard for defamation, and Musk was not found liable for damages. In 2018 the US Securities and Exchange (SEC) regulator fined both Musk and Tesla $20m over the chief executive’s tweets that he planned to take the company private at a substantial premium to the share price, causing the stock price to surge. As part of the settlement with the SEC Musk was forced to give up his position as Tesla’s chairman. The SEC ruled: “In truth, Musk knew that the potential transaction was uncertain and subject to numerous contingencies. Musk had not discussed specific deal terms, including price, with any potential financing partners, and his statements about the possible transaction lacked an adequate basis in fact.” Pirc said the episode had “prompted accusations of stock market abuse, with the SEC alleging that Musk had lied to investors. Mr Musk and Tesla settled these claims with the SEC, paying $40m, causing financial damage”. Pirc’s shareholder report also raised concerns about Musk’s tweets in opposition to Covid-19 lockdown measures. “Mr Musk has been a vocal opponent of the Covid-19 quarantine, and reportedly required workers to return to work during quarantine, without sufficient precautions/protections and despite protests from workers,” Pirc said. “This concern is furthered as it has also been reported that multiple Tesla employees have tested positive for Covid-19 since returning to work.” Investors were also urged to vote against re-electing Robyn Denholm as Tesla’s chair. She succeeded Musk when he was forced to step down in November 2018. Pirc said she should step down because of her role overseeing Musk’s pay award as independent non-executive chair and as a member of the remuneration committee. Tesla’s annual general meeting was due to take place on 7 July, but the company on Sunday delayed the vote until September.

Progress to produce erm SONIA hindered by market disruption

A trial to trial term SONIA fixings proposals provided by LSEG, ICE, Refinitiv and Markit has stalled due to lack of derivative input date during the trial period as dealers pull swap prices from screens, according to Risk.net. Three of the four benchmark administrators have been unable to gather enough input date and although the fourth has produced a rate, there are questions over its methodology, Risk.net reported.   Relevant document: Review of TSRR proposals – Clarus Financial Technology – November 2019https://www.clarusft.com/sonia-term-rates-which-is-best/

https://www.risk.net/derivatives/7532026/sonia-term-rate-contenders-tested-by-market-mayhem?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RN.Daily.DU.A.M-F0600&utm_source=RN.Daily&im_amfcid=15123586&im_amfmdf=1f878e6de983dbba82889bc19f1dc737

A trial period for four rival benchmark administrators to stake their claim as the go-to provider for forward-looking term Sonia rates is proving to be a more arduous assessment than envisaged, as Covid-19 volatility wreaks havoc with underlying markets. Three of the hopefuls have struggled with a lack of derivatives input data for their versions of the rate; the fourth has produced a rate, but there are questions over its methodology. The UK financial regulator has signalled it doesn’t intend

Blast secures $12m to let gamers save as they play

A tech startup that enables video gamers to save money whilst they play has attracted $12m in seed funding. Blast has developed an app through which users can create an account and link their bank details to their electronic wallet on the service. They can then set how much money they want to save based on various in-game triggers and achievements. In tests, the average user increased their savings by more than seven percent over an eight week period. They can also win weekly cash prizes if they reach the top of the app's leaderboard.

https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/32407/blast-raises-12m-for-app-that-helps-gamers-save-while-they-play

Blast, a startup that lets gamers link their gaming activity to their bank accounts so they can save as they play, has boosted its seed funding round to $12 million. Entrepreneur Tony Robbins, fintech fund CreditEase, and VC fund RX3 are among the new investors to pump $7 million into the firm, topping up a $5 million raise from March. Led by Walter Cruttenden, who co-founded micro-investing app Acorns, Blast has built an app that provides a way to save money by playing mobile games, based on in-game triggers set by the user. Once they have downloaded the app, users create an account and link their checking account to their Blast wallet. Gamers can then decide how much they want to save based on simple time triggers or more complex achievement triggers. Blast then boosts the money gamers put aside because the funds are held in an FDIC-insured account earning 1% APY. Gamers can also receive dividends for missions and win weekly cash prizes if they come in the top 25% of the app's leaderboard - with first place receiving $1000. The Android app works in the background of all mobile games in the Google Play Store and is also compatible with some PC games on the Steam marketplace with more to come. Blast has also started a waitlist for games on iOS, which launches in the autumn. Blast says that it wants to make saving exciting for younger people. During an eight week beta period, the average user’s account was up more than seven per cent. Says Cruttenden: "It’s tough for most people to save money, so we created Blast to help people start accumulating wealth simply by doing what they already enjoy - playing their favorite games...Gamers tell us they feel better with the time they spend gaming when they know they are micro-saving or micro-earning in the background."

Brexit pushes Turkey even further from the EU

Turkey's chances of joining the European Union have been dealt yet another blow by the Brexit, as their only "heavyweight" ally, Britain, will no longer be there to support their case. Turkey was used by the 'leave' campaign to illustrate the dangers posed to the UK by the escalating refugee crisis. Regarded as a "controversial" candidate for the EU, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his "authoritarian" regime has ruffled feathers with suggestions his country could hold a similar referendum, asking whether the Turkish people want to join the EU.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/06/turkey-brexit-makes-life-harder-for-turks.html

June 30, 2016 The winners of Britain’s June 23 referendum used Turkey as a bogeyman to boost their case to leave the European Union. To what extent the “Turkey fear” swayed their victory remains unclear, but one thing is for sure: The outcome has pushed Turkey farther away from the European Union. A month ahead of the vote, the “leave” block made Turkey a central topic in its campaign, linking it deliberately to the refugee crisis that threatens European institutions and democracy. Stoking popular fears, the Brexiteers claimed, “Since the birthrate in Turkey is so high, we can expect to see an additional million people added to the UK population from Turkey alone within eight years.” They went as far as to suggest that “because of the EU’s free movement laws, the government will not be able to exclude Turkish criminals from entering the UK.” To soothe his compatriots, Prime Minister David Cameron felt compelled to declare that “at the current rate of progress [Turkey] will probably get round to joining in about the year 3000.” Now, a week after the Brexit vote, Turkey is opening a new chapter in its EU accession talks — Chapter 33, titled “Financial and Budgetary Provisions.” The inauguration, scheduled for June 30, was agreed as part of the refugee deal package that Turkey and the EU sealed March 18. So, does this debunk Cameron’s assertion that Turkey is a thousand years away from EU membership? Are the conservative and nationalist Brexiteers right after all? Is Turkey really on the way to membership? The answer is no. The opening of Chapter 33 has no added value in terms of energizing Turkey’s accession process, for it covers post-membership arrangements on contributions that countries make to the EU budget once they have joined in. In other words, it has no transformative impact that brings the candidate country closer to membership like other chapters that go by the titles “Agriculture and Rural Development,” “Judiciary and Fundamental Rights,” “Justice, Freedom and Security” or “Environment.” Cameron’s millennial prognosis for Turkey may have been a hyperbole, but the snail-paced progress — or rather the lack of progress — in Turkey’s accession talks is a fact. Since the negotiations started in October 2005, Turkey has managed to open talks only in 15 out of the 33 policy areas it must complete, including only three in the past six years. Only one of those chapters has been concluded and closed. Lying at the heart of the deadlock is the Cyprus conflict. Back in December 2006, EU leaders froze eight chapters for Turkey and decided it can open talks in other policy areas but cannot formally complete them as long as a major dispute over Cyprus remained unsolved. The sanctions came in response to Ankara's failure to open its seaports and airports to the use of Cypriot vessels, a commitment it had made under a customs union accord with the EU. The row stems from Ankara's refusal to recognize the Republic of Cyprus, represented by the Greek Cypriot government in the south of the island, which enjoys international recognition. In 2004, the EU admitted Cyprus as a divided island. In a unilateral move, Cyprus — or the “Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus” as Ankara calls it — has blocked another six negotiating chapters for Turkey. From a technical point of view, one could conclude the Cyprus problem is the obstacle snagging Turkey’s accession talks. Hence, resolving the problem would be expected to unclog and revitalize the process, but the matter is not that simple. In the decade after the de facto suspension of Turkey’s accession process, both Turkey and the EU have changed a lot, gravitating away from each other. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has built an authoritarian, Islamist regime that shows little respect for human rights, has largely crushed media freedoms and abolished checks and balances, dragging Turkey away from the rule of law, democracy and secularism. Erdogan has increasingly demonstrated he has little intention to make Turkey an EU member — not only with his actions, but also with open outbursts against the EU. Take for instance his response last week to European Parliament President Martin Schulz, who said Erdogan’s own policies stood in the way of the EU’s planned visa waiver for Turkey. Speaking on the day the “leave” camp triumphed in Britain, Erdogan said Turkey could hold a similar referendum to ask its people whether the accession talks should continue or not. Europe does not want Turkey in because “the majority of its population is Muslim,” he said. Yet, the Brexit vote is bound to hurt Turkey-EU relations, regardless of how much the Erdogan regime cares for them. First, Turkey is losing Britain as its only powerful ally in the EU. Past experience shows that a candidate country’s accession depends on this prerequisite: not only none of the EU heavyweights should oppose its bid, but at least one of them should be providing strong political support. For Turkey, Britain was the sole supportive heavyweight. It is now left alone with France and Germany, which are both averse to its membership. Second, the EU has displayed a tendency for introversion in times of crisis, buckling under the weight of its problems. Clearly, this is a huge disadvantage for Turkey, which is already a tough and controversial candidate. France’s rejection of the EU Constitution in 2005 had created a similar atmosphere, but the crisis is much deeper this time. Europe’s refugee crisis — obviously a major factor in the Brexit phenomenon — is likely to trigger other Brexit-like secessionist movements in Europe’s far-right and nationalist quarters. Turkey, in this context, is in a very hapless position, being the embodiment of Europe’s three biggest fears: radical Islam, immigration and the challenges brought about by enlargement. With the threats of radicalism and immigration on the rise, the EU’s popular masses and political elites are bound to grow even more averse to Turkey.

Elon Musk says he is quitting Twitter 'for a while'

Elon Musk is one of the site's most high-profile users. He regularly sends tweets making major announcements about himself or his companies. But his Twitter account has brought controversy, too, with Mr Musk regularly causing controversy with his posts. It comes days after SpaceX launched Nasa astronauts into space in a historic mission.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/elon-musk-twitter-nasa-spacex-tesla-grimes-a9544136.html

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Elon Musk says he is quitting Twitter "for a while". The SpaceX and Tesla founder is one of the site's most high-profile users, and regularly sends tweets making major announcements about himself or his companies. But his Twitter account has brought controversy, too, with Mr Musk regularly causing controversy with his posts. "Off Twitter for a while," Mr Musk wrote in the post. It comes just days after SpaceX launched Nasa astronauts into space in a historic mission. When it did, it became the first private company to send humans into orbit, carrying Nasa astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station (ISS) over the weekend. The launch was also the first time Nasa had launched astronauts from US soil in nine years. Musk did not confirm why he had decided to take time off the social media site. The billionaire has had a number of controversial moments using his Twitter account. Last year he was found not liable in a defamation case involving a British cave explorer. Vernon Unsworth had sued the Tesla co-founder after he called him "pedo guy" and "sus" (suspicious) on Twitter in a spat following the July 2018 Thai cave rescue. Musk has also previously been sanctioned by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations of misleading investors with some of his tweets, including one about taking the company private. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 / 25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at California’s Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty He has said in the past that his Twitter account is "complete nonsense". The South Africa-born entrepreneur and his partner, Canadian singer Grimes, made headlines last month when they welcomed their first child together, a boy, giving him the unusual name X AE A-Xii. Additional reporting by Press Association

Machine learning wards off threats at TV studio Bunim Murray

TV studio Bunim Murray has teamed up with cyber security firm Darktrace. The firm has been in business for 30 years and is known for its reality TV shows. CTO Gabe Cortina says a cyber security breach could have seriously damaged the company.

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252488240/Machine-learning-wards-off-threats-at-TV-studio-Bunim-Murray

When the world locked down in the spring of 2020 and millions of people all over the world suddenly had pivot to a culture of semi-permanent remote working, security teams and IT professionals were forced to contend with an equally sudden pivot among cyber criminals to exploiting the pandemic, and the gaping holes many businesses left open in the rush to maintain a semblance of normalcy. But for California-based television studio Bunim Murray, fears that stressed remote workers would become unwitting victims to cyber threats were allayed thanks to a multi-year partnership with British cyber security wunderkind Darktrace, and the recent adoption of its Antigena Email product – described as a “self-defending” inbox. While its name is probably little-known to most viewers, Bunim Murray is kind of a big deal in TV. Founded in the late 1980s when two TV producers were flung together to produce a so-called ‘unscripted soap opera’ for the MTV network, the resulting show, The Real World, was instrumental in establishing the reality TV genre. The new company went on to develop global hits including Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Project Runway and The Simple Life. Bunim Murray’s CTO Gabe Cortina arrived at the firm with the infamous 2014 hack on Sony Pictures weighing on his mind. This incident centred on the release of The Interview, a comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco which depicted the fictionalised assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. Likely perpetrated by groups with links to the North Korean state, the large-scale leak of data from the studio caused great embarrassment for many high-profile individuals. From the get-go, Cortina understood that a similar kind of breach could be seriously damaging to Bunim Murray. “We’ve been in business for 30 years. We have a strong brand and we’re known for delivering high-quality shows,” he tells Computer Weekly. “We’re always thinking about this because it’s not just about losing control of intellectual property. If there is disruption to the business, a lot of the time we’re basically delivering shows [to networks] the same day they air. So if we have an incident and it takes us three days to recover, that would mean we’re delivering late.” Within a few weeks of taking up his post, Cortina found himself faced with a cyber security incident. “That was a wake-up-call for our CEO and CFO to do something about security,” he says. “It turned out that we were able to handle the intrusion and it wasn’t a big deal for us, but it could have been more serious. “At that point, our journey started, and it started with some of the basics of security, just having good policies, good practices and making sure our infrastructure was up to date,” he says. “And as I was starting to progressively build out our security, I heard about machine learning being used more and more in intrusion detection, and Darktrace, believe it or not, cold called me.” A new security team Cortina arranged a meeting with Darktrace’s sales team, although he concedes he was still a sceptic when it came to realising the benefits of machine learning in security. “I said, ‘What I’d like to do is go through a bake-off with several different products – I’d like to include yours, is it possible I could try it?’. Within a week, we had the Darktrace Immune System inside our datacentre,” he says. “When it turned on it was the first time I’d ever actually seen everything on our network, and over the course of a week and a half it baselined all the activity of all of our users. It was amazing.” Cortina cancelled the bake-off and bought it. “It wasn’t like we just got an appliance or a service, we got the benefit of their entire team. They did a really good job of making sure it was up and running, and because every environment is different the Darktrace team helped us tune the machine learning with models that helped reduce false positives and so forth – so immediately we started getting benefits. “We also use it like a feedback system – as we saw different threat vectors come in, it would give us information on what we needed to do. So not only was it stopping threats, but it was alerting us to potential threats that we could shore up against across our entire platform. “Instead of having to spend a lot of time on security and keep up with everything, it’s just like having a big security team. Darktrace is now our security team, really. “Plus there’s the fact that Darktrace’s machines are actually learning for every installation they do. When they add another customer and other threat factors come in there, Darktrace is basically learning everything that’s going on, so we’re getting the benefit of group knowledge in close to real-time.” But it is since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic that the relationship has kicked up a notch. Most of Bunim Murray’s applications are SaaS-based, hosted in the cloud, so switching over to remote working was never going to be as big of a challenge as it would have been for an on-premise devotee. But nevertheless, says Cortina, the presence of an automated security service helped ease the process a little bit more. “We’ve built our infrastructure around flexibility and usability, and Darktrace fits right into that sweet spot,” he says. “During that transition, when we were so focused on everybody having the right equipment at home and there was a lot of chaos going on, it was nice not to have to worry about security.”

Covid-19 expected to create opportunities for litigation finance firms

While the legal sector has been upended by the pandemic with many firms cutting jobs and pay, and overhauling summer associate programmes the litigation finance industry is preparing for a wave of lawsuits related to covid-19. Law firms with leaner bank accounts than usual are expected to be more open to turn to litigation fund to help bankroll cases.

https://www.businessinsider.com/virus-lawsuits-may-spur-litigation-funding-2020-6?r=US&IR=T

Litigation financing industry is bracing for a wave of Covid-19 related lawsuits. Financially pressed law firms are likely more willing to tap outside funding to pursue lucrative lawsuits. Global law firm Kirkland & Ellis is poised to reap the benefits of taking on more plaintiff-side cases. Private equity firm Fortress Investment Group is also a big player in litigation finance. Law firms are facing economic turmoil, cutting back lawyers and staff, as well as pay, as they face the uncertainty triggered by Covid-19. This isn't great news for firms, but there may be a big benefit in it for the burgeoning litigation finance industry. Lawsuit investors — who provide money in exchange for a percentage of the financial outcome — are counting on a flurry of litigation against insurance companies, as well as bankruptcies, to end in courtroom and arbitration battles. Law firms, with their pockets emptier than usual, seem likely to be more open to giving litigation funds increased opportunity to help bankroll cases and share in high-stakes outcomes. As the stock market gyrates, investment banks, hedge funds and even some family funds offices are casting eyes on commercial litigation finance as a possible winning money ticket. But such investing is risky; funders don't get their money back unless they prevail. Stakes in high-dollar lawsuit outcomes sometimes pop up in court verdicts, but most funds don't talk about such investments publicly. Plaintiffs worry that using outside money creates doubt that they have a legitimate legal claim. Conflicts of interest, sensitive information and reputational risks can make some investments unattractive. But that has not deterred big players like New York-based private equity Fortress Investment Group, which has partnered with litigation funder Bentham IMF to finance some legal matters, and which last year bought up litigation funder Vannin Capital. Read more: The legal industry has been upended by the pandemic. Firms are cutting jobs and overhauling summer associate programs — while some specialties are heating up Its team that evaluates proposed litigation finance investments has grown from two people to 16 in the decade since Jack Neumark joined as managing director in 2010 after stints at elite law firms, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. "Major law firms generate significant and consistent cash flow and, as a result, they have not been as interested in looking elsewhere for litigation financing, but that is changing. Opportunities are definitely developing," said a litigation funding manager. The economic disruption means more disputes, said David Perla, co-chief operating officer at Burford Capital, a publicly traded litigation funder. "Firms and companies are trying to keep as much capital as possible," he said. "We are getting a lot of inquiries about funding new cases and cases already in progress." Law firms have some restrictions that are different from companies. Typically, they book income then disperse it yearly to the owners, who are the equity partners. The annual disbursement curbs the ability to invest long term in cases that can take years to wind their way through courts or arbitration. It is unusual for major firms to accept a case on a contingency fee, a practice that flourishes in personal injury litigation, because of the risk of losing. But experts in the field say: "this is beginning to change as partners at these firms recognize the potential to earn significant profits from these arrangements." An early adopter was global law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which last year decided to take on more contingency clients. Andrew Kassof, a leader of the firm's 700-lawyer litigation practice, said the firm first examined its record in dozens of plaintiff-side cases over the past decade. "The results were great. So, we decided that we would bet on ourselves," said Kassof, who also serves on the firm's global management executive committee. The firm won't take just any plaintiff's case. For example, it isn't handling class actions or whistleblower cases, he said. Read more: Litigation finance has boomed into a powerful, $10 billion-plus business. Here's why the shadowy industry is now exploding. The rewards can be huge. Last year, for example, Kirkland won an $82 million verdict in a fraud case involving the sale of clinical software. Under the plaintiffs' model, a lion's share would go to the firm, which has one of the industry's highest profits per equity partner, just under $5.2 million last year. Going forward, firms are looking at trade and patent disputes as fertile areas for such litigation work. And, according to a lawyer experienced in tapping outside legal financing, "lots of firms are looking at alternatives to hedge their risk. It's a great time to be in litigation." Since such litigation is typically complex, the outside funding is used to cover expensive and laborious tasks, such as expert witness preparation, to prepare for a courtroom trial or an arbitration panel. Litigation funders sank more than $2 billion into litigation cases between the middle of 2018 and the middle of 2019, according to a survey released last November by Westfleet Advisers, a litigation finance broker. To make sure they get their money back – plus a cut of any eventual award – funders scrutinize the facts in a legal matter, as well the law and prior cases, and research the players and even the judges or arbitrators – then decide whether it makes sense to advance funds. In an indication that the funding market is planning for a busy future, two litigation funders recently raised hundreds of millions of dollars to increase their lending capacity. Parabellum Capital last month received commitments of some $450 million to fund the expected wave of litigation, much of it involving the pandemic's damage to businesses. Another fund, GLS Capital, raised some $345 million a few months earlier. Even as their commercial prospects look good, there are ripples in the litigation funding world. Critics complain that massive funding pools only spur people to file frivolous lawsuits against businesses. Last summer, Burford, which manages funds worth some $2.8 billion, was on the receiving end of charges by short seller Muddy Waters Researchthat it essentially had doctored its returns. The charge pummeled the company's shares, and it was sued by investors, an action that was later dropped. But the tempest renewed drew unwanted attention to a field which operates in a lot of secrecy. Still, more than a dozen states – the most recent being Minnesota earlier this month (June) – have abandoned legal barriers to outside investment in legal claims. The Minnesota Supreme Court sanctioned such outside funding, noting in a ruling that "litigation financing, like the contingency fee, may increase access to justice for both individuals and organizations."

Barclays Investors Granted Class Cert. In Offering Suit

Barclays Bank Plc stockholders have been granted class certification after a New York federal judge found the lead plaintiff has adequate standing and is an appropriate class representative. The stockholders have launched action following claims they were misled by Barclays when the bank offered them materials ahead of its public offering worth $2.5bn in 2008.

http://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/805761?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section

By Suevon Lee (June 9, 2016, 11:24 PM EDT) -- A New York federal judge on Thursday certified a class of Barclays Bank Plc stockholders who claim the bank misled them in offering materials ahead of its $2.5 billion public offering in April 2008, saying the lead plaintiff has standing and is an adequate class representative.... Stay ahead of the curve In the legal profession, information is the key to success. You have to know what’s happening with clients, competitors, practice areas, and industries. Law360 provides the intelligence you need to remain an expert and beat the competition. Access to case data within articles (numbers, filings, courts, nature of suit, and more.) Access to attached documents such as briefs, petitions, complaints, decisions, motions, etc. Create custom alerts for specific article and case topics and so much more! TRY LAW360 FREE FOR SEVEN DAYS

UK ban on new diesel, petrol cars should be brought forward: bp

The UK government should bring forward its ban on new petrol and diesel cars from the current date of 2040, according to bp CEO Bernard Looney. He said the company would support policies to enhance electrification and the use of hydrogen in transport. Bp recently warned oil output could slump to 30 million barrels a day (bpd) in 30 years mainly because of Covid-19 pushing down demand – pre-pandemic it was about 100 million bpd. Looney, who succeeded Bob Dudley in February, is attempting to transform the company into a green major, with a net-zero carbon emissions target date of 2050.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-8731981/BP-backs-petrol-diesel-car-sales-ban.html

BP has backed plans to bring forward a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK. Bernard Looney, chief executive of the FTSE 100 energy major, said the ban 'can and should be brought in sooner than 2040' – the current target set by the Government. Ministers and officials are looking into whether or not the date should be changed to 2035. Rub of the green: BP chief exec Bernard Looney will take advantage of the shift from oil Looney said: 'Whether that is 2035, 2032 or 2030, we are up for it – and importantly up for the measures and supporting policies to boost electrification and hydrogen in transport that would make it possible.' BP also warned yesterday that demand for oil may already have peaked as the Covid-19 pandemic speeds up the decline of fossil fuels. The energy company said the coronavirus crisis is likely to have a 'significant and persistent' impact on the global economy that will set it on a greener path. It could trigger permanent changes in people's behaviour, such as travelling less and a permanent shift away from full-time office working, which would dent demand for transport fuels. But even if this does not happen and the world continues 'business as usual', BP believes oil demand will still peak in the early 2020s and stay broadly the same for the next 20 years. Looney is trying to transform the oil heavyweight into a green power giant, producing net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In its annual energy outlook report, BP modelled three scenarios, all of which showed oil demand falling over the next 30 years and renewables taking a bigger proportion of power generation. In the 'business as usual' scenario, in which there is not a lasting hit from the pandemic, oil demand would recover to pre-Covid levels of about 100m barrels per day within a few years. Consumption will stay there for two decades before falling to about 95m barrels by 2050. In another scenario, the impact of the pandemic means oil demand would never fully recover to 2019 levels – dropping to less than 55m barrels a day by 2050. But if there was a much deeper economic fallout and an acceleration of policies and technologies to speed up the transition to renewables, demand would plunge to around 30m barrels a day in 2050. It makes a marked change from last year, when the firm modelled a scenario that assumed demand could grow steadily to about 130m barrels a day by 2040. Oil prices plummeted from around $70 a barrel to as low as $19 a barrel in April, and it is now around $40. It has prompted BP to cut 10,000 jobs from its 70,000-strong workforce and halve its prize dividend after it plunged to a £13.5billion loss in the second quarter. Looney took over from Bob Dudley in February and has unveiled plans that include increasing its investment in low-carbon technology tenfold to £3.8billlon a year by 2030 and to cut its oil and gas output by at least 40 per cent. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: 'Essentially the argument seems to be that Covid-19 has accelerated trends that were already in motion – in this case a shift away from oil and gas due to mounting environmental concerns.'

Oxford progresses electrification programme

Oxford City Council has received the first six of 27 EVs as it aims to electrify 25% of its 330-strong fleet by 2023 under the three-year, £41m ($51m) Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO) project. Led by the council and EDF Renewables UK's Pivot Power, ESO aims to take an integrated approach to decarbonising the city's power, heat and transport. Pivot said it will include the world’s most powerful EV charging network and world’s largest-ever hybrid battery.

https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-news/98361/oxford-to-install-ev-energy-superhub/

Oxford to install EV Energy Superhub 10 SHARES Posted: 27 April 2020 | Sam Mehmet (Intelligent Transport) The project aims to allow the Council to evaluate its existing fleet and assess its strategy for electrification based on usage, range, emissions, costs and suitable electric replacement. Oxford City Council has taken delivery of its first electric vehicles (EVs) as part of Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO), a project showcasing an integrated approach to decarbonising power, heat and transport across the city. Oxford City Council has added six new EVs to its current fleet, with a further 27 (including cars, a street sweeper, excavator, and mix of different sized vans) due to be delivered over the coming months. It aims to electrify 25 per cent of its 330-strong fleet by 2023. The vehicles and charging facilities have been funded by ESO, a three-year £41 million project announced in 2019 which has received £10 million from the government’s Prospering from the Energy Revolution Challenge. The project is led by Oxford City Council and Pivot Power (an EDF Renewables UK company) and includes Habitat Energy, Invinity Energy Systems (previously redT energy), Kensa Contracting and the University of Oxford. The project is also funding a ‘Try before you buy’ scheme for Oxford’s Hackney Carriage drivers with Electric Blue, which aims to accelerate the switch to zero emission capable (ULEV) Hackney Carriage vehicles. The scheme enables drivers to trial one of two models – an all-electric Nissan Dynamo or an LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) – for a two or four-week period, with the aim of reducing barriers to adoption. To kickstart the city’s switch to EVs, Pivot Power is reportedly installing the “world’s most powerful charging network,” delivering up to 25MW of power via an eight-kilometre private wire network around the south of Oxford. This network will connect public charging facilities at Redbridge Park & Ride directly to National Grid’s high voltage transmission network. It is said to have the capacity to expand with EV adoption and provide power for local businesses seeking to electrify their fleets, from logistics companies to bus operators. The Park & Ride EV public Superhub aims to include 20 charge points ranging from rapid (50kW+) to ultra-rapid (150kW+), capable of charging a car in 15-50 minutes, and 30 fast charge points (min seven kW) which can charge a car over a period of hours, for example while Park & Ride users are at work or shopping in the city centre. Pivot Power is also developing the “world’s largest ever hybrid energy storage system”, comprising a 50MW lithium-ion battery and a 2MW vanadium redox flow battery, supplied by Invinity Energy Systems, which will share the grid connection with the private wire network. This hybrid system will combine the capabilities of a lithium-ion battery with the heavy cycling, non-degrading characteristics of vanadium redox flow technology to create an innovative solution which aims to meet the complex demands of multiple energy applications. Habitat Energy’s machine learning technology is designed to optimise the system and help balance the grid by enabling greater use of clean, renewable energy sources, while carrying out trading on the day ahead, intraday and balancing mechanism markets. It will also predict overall demand on the private wire network to support the management of future fleet charging. Councillor Tom Hayes, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford, Oxford City Council, said: “Oxford is continuing to show leadership in tackling the climate emergency. With this project we’re encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles and move to zero carbon. Energy Superhub Oxford gives Oxford strengths that no other city currently has: the world’s most powerful charging network and the world’s largest ever hybrid battery, and as a result we can accelerate our electric vehicle charging infrastructure for businesses and residents. It also allows the City Council to provide support on top of what we’re already offering to Hackney Carriage taxi drivers looking to move to electric. I am looking forward to seeing this project accelerate Oxford towards zero.”

Broadridge Acquires Inveshare's Blockchain Technology Assets for $135m

Global technology-based outsourcing solutions provider Broadridge has acquired Inveshare's technology assets for $135m, and has entered into a development agreement to create blockchain applications. Inveshare has been granted "a perpetual license" for the technology and retains its position as an independent provider of proxy communications services. Richard J. Daly, Broadridge President and CEO said: "Integrating blockchain technology into the proxy process has the potential to drive significant benefits for all participants."

http://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/innovation/broadridge-acquires-inveshares-blockchain-technology-assets-for-135m/

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), a global provider of technology-based outsourcing solutions to the financial services industry, has announced that it has acquired technology assets of Inveshare Inc. and entered into a development agreement to use these assets to develop Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term applications for Broadridge’s proxy business. Join the industry leaders at the Finance Magnates London Summit, 14-15 November, 2016. Register here! Broadridge granted Inveshare a perpetual license to the acquired technology assets and Inveshare will remain an independent provider of proxy communications services.It will pay $95 million upfront to acquire the existing technology assets plus a deferred payment of $40 million on delivery of the blockchain applications. According to the firm, the transaction is not expected to have a material impact on Broadridge's financial results. Richard J. Daly, Broadridge President and CEO, noted: “Broadridge plays a critical role as a leader in proxy communications services. We are committed to staying at the forefront and bringing to market innovative new technologies and products that enhance corporate governance and reduce costs for all participants.” “Integrating blockchain technology into the proxy process has the potential to drive significant benefits for all participants, including institutional and retail investors, corporate issuers, mutual funds, regulators, and brokers by reducing complexity, increasing security and raising transparency. While lacking the extensive and critical functionality of Broadridge’s industry leading platforms, these technology assets provide Broadridge with a dynamic architecture that should enable us to more rapidly develop a streamlined distributed ledger platform to bring these benefits to our clients over the next several years,” Daly concluded.

Macquarie's GIG commercialises 1 GW US renewables within a year

The Macquarie Group's renewable energy infrastructure subsidiary, the Green Investment Group (GIG), has commercialised 1 GW of projects in North America since launching in the US a year ago. These include a 109 MW solar power purchase agreement (PPA) with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, two 75 MW PPAs with Central Electric Power Cooperative and the completion of a 200 MW project with Core Solar. The 1 GW milestone was reached after acquiring utility-scale solar and energy storage firm Savion and its 8 GW project pipeline, which in turn has pushed GIG's national development pipeline to over 10 GW.

https://www.saurenergy.com/solar-energy-news/macquarie-integrates-savion-acquisition-commercialises-1-gw-of-re-in-north-america

GIG, a subsidiary of the Macquarie, has announced that it has commercialised over 1 GW of new renewable energy projects via PPAs or sales in North America. The Green Investment Group (GIG), a subsidiary of the Macquarie Group, has announced that one year following the establishment in the US, it has built a national development pipeline of over 10 GW and commercialised over 1 GW of new renewable energy projects via PPAs or sales in North America. GIG is a specialist in green infrastructure principal investment, project delivery and the management of portfolio assets and related services. Through development subsidiaries and partners, GIG has created a national solar and storage platform focused on connecting US corporates with renewable power through GIG-developed assets. The group reached the landmark of 1 GW renewable energy in the continent after finalising the acquisition of Savion. The firm is one of the largest utility-scale solar and energy storage project development companies in the US with industry-leading enterprise and site evaluation systems. Savion’s project pipeline includes over 8 GW of solar and energy storage development projects. Based in Kansas City, Savion was previously part of Tradewind Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Enel Power North America, and was acquired by GIG in August 2019. The addition of Savion, combined with other key partnerships, has helped GIG form a solar and storage strategy in which it will provide US-based corporates with reliable and cost-competitive renewable power from newly developed solar projects through power purchase agreements. This places GIG at the heart of the fast-growing US renewable energy PPA market. GIG’s other recent partnerships in building a national US solar development platform include a joint venture with Austin, Texas-based Core Solar LLC with a development pipeline of 2 GW, and the 2018 launch of Candela Renewables, a new developer of utility-scale solar and storage power projects. San Francisco-based Candela develops assets exclusively for GIG. Through these platforms alone, GIG has already commercialised over 1 GW of new renewable energy projects. This includes: A 109 MW solar energy PPA with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Occidental, through the Core Solar partnership Two 75 MW solar energy PPAs with Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc. through the Savion platform In August, GIG and Core Solar completed the development of a 200 MW solar project with a 2020 operations date prior to its sale to a load-serving entity in Texas In September, GIG agreed to sell two Savion-developed solar generating projects to a Subsidiary of Dominion Energy. T-Mobile USA, Inc. will receive the long- term power and renewable energy credits. “The GIG team in North America has strong conviction in the growth fundamentals of solar over both the short and long term given current low penetration rates, favourable solar resource, and abundance of land combined with the increasingly competitive cost of solar compared to alternative energy sources,” said Chris Archer, head of Americas at the GIG. “We will continue to develop and expand our project pipeline and seek to partner with utilities and corporate clients with an interest in acquiring renewable energy assets or low-cost renewable energy.” In addition to the national solar strategy, GIG also successfully completed the construction of its first onshore wind farm in North America, the 200 MW Canadian Breaks project in Texas. GIG’s operations in North America are complemented by the global growth of the business which is pursuing a 20 GW pipeline of renewable energy development projects across the wind and solar.

Aung San Suu Kyi tells ICJ: Myanmar genocide claims ‘factually misleading’

The Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has defended Myanmar’s government against accusations of genocide at the international court of justice, calling the allegations an “incomplete and misleading factual picture of the situation in Rakhine state”.The attacks were initiated by members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Aung San Suu Kyi told the court as she displayed detailed maps of Rakhine state showing, she claimed, where the first assaults began in late 2016.Aung San Suu Kyi disputed the genocide convention as a basis for the case and asserted in court that the principle of international law is that it should compliment domestic justice.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/11/aung-san-suu-kyi-tells-icj-myanmar-genocide-claims-factually-misleading

The Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has defended Myanmar’s government against accusations of genocide at the international court of justice, calling the allegations an “incomplete and misleading factual picture of the situation”. Addressing a bench of 17 judges from around the world, the 74-year-old leader dismissed reports of state violence against Rohingya Muslims and blamed the conflict on an uprising by sectarian insurgents. An estimated 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since late 2016, escaping military clearance operations that a UN fact-finding mission described as “brutal”. It warned that Myanmar was failing to prevent genocide. Once internationally feted as a human rights champion, Aung San Suu Kyi is leading Myanmar’s delegation to the court in The Hague. The state counsellor, in effect the country’s prime minister, opened her defence with a 25-minute speech which placed primary responsibility for the violence on a terrorist uprising. The attacks were initiated by members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Aung San Suu Kyi told the court as she displayed detailed maps of Rakhine state showing, she claimed, where the first assaults began in late 2016. “The situation in Rakhine state is complex and not easy to fathom,” she said. “The troubles in Rakhine state … go back into past centuries and have been particularly severe. ARSA has received weapons and explosives-training from Afghan and Pakistani militants.” Her speech to the UN’s highest tribunal came on the second day of an emergency legal hearing convened to consider whether protective “provisional measures” should be imposed to prevent further killings and destruction in Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi said an initial phase of violence began in October 2016 when ARSA attacked police stations near the border with Bangladesh. “This led to the deaths of nine police officers and more than 100 civilians as well as the theft of 68 weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition.” She said a second wave of ARSA assaults launched in August 2017 aimed to seize the township of Maungdaw. Myanmar’s army had been forced to respond with “counter-insurgency operations”, she said. The charge that Myanmar’s military carried out mass murder, rape and destruction of Rohingya Muslim communities has been brought by the Gambia, a west African state that belongs to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It alleges there has been “extrajudicial killings … sexual violence, burning of homes and destruction of livestock … calculated to bring about a destruction of the Rohingya group in whole or in part”. But Aung San Suu Kyi told the court: “We are dealing with an internal armed conflict, started by coordinated and comprehensive attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. “Tragically, this armed conflict led to the exodus of several hundred thousand Muslims from the three northernmost townships of Rakhine into Bangladesh – just as the armed conflict in Croatia [in the 1990s] led to the massive exodus of first ethnic Croats and later ethnic Serbs.” Under the rules of the ICJ, member states can initiate actions against fellow member states over disputes alleging breaches of international law – in this case, the 1948 convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide. Aung San Suu Kyi said the principle of international law is that it should complement domestic justice. If war crimes or human rights violations had been committed, she said, they would be dealt with by Myanmar’s justice system, adding that in one case soldiers had already been punished for the execution of civilians. “There will be no tolerance of human rights violations in Rakhine or elsewhere in Myanmar,” she said. “No stone has been left unturned to make domestic accountability work … We are dealing with an internal conflict started by ARSA to which Myanmar responds.” One of the lawyers representing Myanmar, Prof William Schabas of Middlesex University, said the Gambia had not addressed the issue of intent to conduct genocide or stated the number of victims. He said a figure of 10,000 used by some commentators was an “exaggeration”, but, even if true, the suggestion of 10,000 deaths out of a total of more than one million Rohingya residents could not constitute an attempt to “completely destroy this [ethnic] group”. Christopher Staker, a London-based barrister at 39 Essex Chambers also appearing for Myanmar, alleged Gambia was not the true driving force behind the claim but the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) of which Gambia is only one member. Phoebe Okowa, professor of international rights at Queen Mary University in London, who is also representing Myanmar, told the court that the fact that the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, was meeting with Myanmar to prepare to return Rohingya people meant that they could not be facing a risk of genocide. Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters were out in force in front of the ICJ at dawn holdingplacards saying “We stand with you”. Swe Aye, who lives in the Netherlands, said: “Our leader is the only person who can solve this big issue for our country. This is an accusation against our whole country, not just the military. They should [concentrate on] the perpetrators.” Than Htoo said she had flown in from Myanmar. “I don’t believe the genocide claims,” she said. “We want to tell the world the truth.” Aung San Suu Kyi conceded that her country had made some mistakes. “Myanmar could have done more to emphasise our shared heritage and deeper layers of unity between the different peoples of our country,” she said. In one counter-terrorism operation, gunfire from a helicopter may have hit civilians. “It cannot be ruled out that disproportionate force was used by members of the defence services in some cases in disregard of international humanitarian law, or that they did not distinguish clearly enough between ARSA fighters and civilians,” she told the court. “There may also have been failures to prevent civilians from looting or destroying property after fighting or in abandoned villages.” The contrast between Aung San Suu Kyi winning the 1991 Nobel peace prize and her present position as chief denier that any ethnic violence has been perpetrated against the Rohingya has astonished international human rights organisations. Last year, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum revoked her Elie Wiesel award. Critics claim Aung San Suu Kyi made the surprising decision to appear at the court to contest the well-documented claims because her defiance plays well to her domestic, Buddhist-majority audience and electorate. No state has ever been found guilty of genocide.

Volvo Car tech fund to invest in AV LIDAR start-up Luminar

Volvo has become the latest car manufacturer to partner with US start-up Luminar, and will make a "significant" investment in the Californian firm, according to Henrik Green. Luminar CEO Austin Russell said the company's system uses a single laser and receiver to offer "50 times greater resolution and 10 times the range" of its rivals. Luminar has agreements with Toyota Research Institute, as well as two other car manufacturers, and aims to produce 5,000 units a quarter by the end of the year. Volvo recently announced one-third of its cars would be self-driving by 2025.

http://europe.autonews.com/article/20180614/ANE/180619873/volvo-deepens-ties-with-lidar-startup-to-speed-autonomous-push

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Guardian investigation squeezes pressure on 'pseudo-public' space

A Guardian investigation has fully revealed the extent of pseudo-public space across the UK capital. Squares and parks seemingly public but in fact owned by private corporations, such as London's King's Cross Estate, have spread across cities worldwide. The Guardian Cities inquiry highlighted a near complete lack of transparency over who owns many sites and how such areas are policed, as many councils argue they cannot maintain such areas themselves. Daniel Moylan, a Tory local councillor, said the report was "extremely worrying" and warned of a "democratic deficit" in the running of pseudo-public space.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jul/24/revealed-pseudo-public-space-pops-london-investigation-map

A Guardian Cities investigation has for the first time mapped the startling spread of pseudo-public spaces across the UK capital, revealing an almost complete lack of transparency over who owns the sites and how they are policed. Pseudo-public spaces – large squares, parks and thoroughfares that appear to be public but are actually owned and controlled by developers and their private backers – are on the rise in London and many other British cities, as local authorities argue they cannot afford to create or maintain such spaces themselves. Although they are seemingly accessible to members of the public and have the look and feel of public land, these sites – also known as privately owned public spaces or “Pops” – are not subject to ordinary local authority bylaws but rather governed by restrictions drawn up the landowner and usually enforced by private security companies. The Guardian contacted the landowners of more than 50 major pseudo-public spaces in London, ranging from financial giant JP Morgan (owner of Bishops Square in Spitalfields) to the Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Estate (owner of Paternoster Square in the City of London) and the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (owner of the open space around the ExCeL centre). To the ordinary person, there’s no distinction. To me, it's everything - I’m not the sort of person they want A homeless man at King's Cross We asked them what regulations people passing through their land were subject to, and where members of the public could view those regulations. All but two of the landowners declined to answer. We also asked all local authorities in London for details of privately owned public spaces in their borough, via the Freedom of Information Act; most councils rejected the request. In response to the Guardian investigation, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has now vowed to publish new guidelines on how these spaces – some of the city’s most prominent squares and plazas – are governed. In partnership with Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC (GiGL), the capital’s environmental records centre, Guardian Cities has produced the first ever comprehensive map of pseudo-public spaces in the capital. The underlying dataset is publicly available. Readers are invited to help contribute information on both new and existing sites to help track and monitor land ownership in London. King's Cross The King’s Cross development will host Google’s new London HQ. The Guardian offices are nearby Under existing laws, public access to pseudo-public spaces remains at the discretion of landowners who are allowed to draw up their own rules for “acceptable behaviour” on their sites and alter them at will. They are not obliged to make these rules public. The result is that unless landowners choose to volunteer the information themselves, members of the public have no way of knowing what regulations they are bound by at some of London’s biggest open spaces and whether activities they enjoy a legal right to in other public areas – be they taking photos, holding a political protest or even simply sitting down and having a nap – are permitted, or whether they will result in removal by security guards. Before (as a warehouse c1850) … and after (as the privately owned public space, Granary Square). Composite: Science & Society Picture Library/Teri Pengilley for the Guardian On the King’s Cross Estate – one of the largest redevelopment projects in London and including more than four acres of open and publicly accessible space – the Guardian was told by security officials that a list of private regulations governing users of the site did exist, but that the landowner did not wish to reveal them. Outside City Hall on the south bank of the Thames, home to London’s democratically elected mayor and assembly, private security guards working for the More London estate (ultimately owned by the sovereign wealth fund of Kuwait) prevented the Guardian from carrying out any interviews. Security officers intervened within moments of a reporter attempting to ask questions of members of the public, and immediately escorted him to the security office where it was explained that unsanctioned journalistic activity is banned on the site. When asked for an explanation of this rule and details of any other regulations that might restrict the rights of citizens passing through the area, the landowner refused to comment. Private landowners have the power to coerce us in what appear to be public streets and squares Conservative councillor Daniel Moylan “This culture of secrecy on the part of landowners is scary,” Sian Berry, leader of the Green party in the London Assembly, told the Guardian. “Being able to know what rules you are being governed by, and how to challenge those rules, is a fundamental part of living in a democracy.” Her words were echoed by Daniel Moylan, a Conservative councillor in London who served as a senior adviser to Boris Johnson during his time as mayor. “It’s extremely worrying,” said Moylan, who has warned of a “democratic deficit” in the governance of pseudo-public space. “Private landowners have the power to coerce us in what appear to be public streets and squares. If they have power over us then we must at least know what those powers are, where they get them from, and how they are held accountable.” In response to the Guardian’s investigation, Jules Pipe, London’s deputy mayor for planning, regeneration and skills, said that a commitment to “genuinely open” public spaces will be a key part of Sadiq Khan’s forthcoming London Plan, which provides a framework for all planning decisions in the capital. The new London Plan will contain guidelines covering open spaces, he explained, and will seek to “maximise access and minimise restrictions, as well as enabling planners to establish potential restrictions at the application stage for new developments”. “While the mayor agrees that private developments have a right to manage their property,” added Pipe, “it is important those areas that look to all intents and purposes like the public realm are not policed in an overly aggressive or intimidating manner.” The Goods Yard in Shoreditch: a render of how its ‘public’ space will look ‘That is private information’ But critics of pseudo-public space believe this doesn’t go far enough. “We could very easily legislate to say that all open spaces in the city are governed simply by the law of the land – both national law and the normal local authority bylaws, which are transparent and drawn up through democratic processes – and not by special, secret restrictions established by companies that vary from place to place,” argued Anna Minton, a writer and academic who specialises in the privatisation of public space. “It’s part of a crisis of accountability in our political culture at the moment. The Guardian asked a simple set of questions to landowners, and was met with a wall of silence. The message is clear: however public they may appear, these are private places, and that is private information.” The Guardian Cities investigation into the lack of transparency over how Pops are governed comes as it publishes London’s first comprehensive map of such sites. In several other major cities, including New York, Toronto and Rotterdam, the city authorities or other organisations already maintain publicly accessible maps to help citizens identify pseudo-public spaces and the boundaries that divide them from genuinely public land. Despite calls from campaigners, until now no such map has ever been drawn up for London, in part because details of land ownership are scattered between several different bodies, and information regarding public access provisions in planning agreements can be difficult to obtain from local authorities. More London The More London development on the south bank of the Thames includes the land around City Hall. Permission is needed to hold protests or interview politicians on camera In collaboration with GiGL, Guardian Cities has identified approximately 50 sites in London that meet our relatively narrow criteria for pseudo-public space: namely outdoor, open and publicly accessible locations that are owned and maintained by private developers or other private companies. They include major areas of open land around Paddington Station (encompassing both Merchant Square and Paddington Central), nearly seven acres of open space owned by Arsenal Football Club in Islington, busy shopping and dining plazas in Covent Garden and Victoria, and the pseudo-public area around one of London’s most iconic attractions, the London Eye. The dataset behind the map has been made public, and can be accessed on the GiGL website and the London Datastore. Being able to know what rules you are being governed by, and how to challenge them, is a fundamental part of democracy Sian Berry For the purposes of the map, other privately owned public spaces have been excluded, among them sites which are privately-owned by public bodies (such as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, which is managed as a private site by the London Legacy Development Corporation) and those owned or managed by charitable trusts (including Jubilee Gardens in Southwark and the large area of land under the control of the Canal & Rivers Trust), as well as locations where users would not reasonably expect to be on public land – such as churchyards, school fields and indoor shopping centres. Julie Cox, partnership manager at GiGL, told the Guardian that although this was only the first iteration of a comprehensive map of London pseudo-public space, and would therefore inevitably contain some omissions and inconsistencies, the organisation plans to update and expand this dataset in the future and is keen to hear from members of the public on what land should and shouldn’t be included. “We’re in contact with many of our partners about these data, and there’s a lot of interest,” she said. “It’s something we’d definitely like to keep updating as part of the suite of datasets we are responsible for, and ideally something members of the public can contribute to as well.” The Crescent in Portland Place, Marylebone, in 1822. In the 19th century many areas of London were sealed off from the public. Photograph: Heritage Images/Getty Images Private control over large open spaces in the city is not without historical precedent. In the 19th century many areas of central London, including stretches of Belgravia, Marylebone and Pimlico, were effectively gated communities, sealed off from the general public and policed by private entities. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries public struggles were waged to force open land and ensure streets, squares and parks were adopted by local authorities over whom Londoners of all backgrounds – not just the influential or wealthy – could exert a measure of democratic control. In the past few decades, however, the creation of corporate-owned urban areas like Canary Wharf and the Broadgate development around Liverpool Street Station began to reverse this trend, and by 2007 the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors was describing the growing private ownership and management of spaces that appeared to be in the public realm as a “quiet revolution in land ownership”. Since then, the acute budgetary pressures placed on local authorities by successive governments have encouraged municipal planners to cede control of almost all new open spaces in the city to developers; some academics now refer to a new era of ‘urban enclosure’, echoing the fencing and enclosing of Britain’s rural commons that took place during the 17th and 18th centuries. Paddington The Paddington development includes the headquarters of Marks & Spencer “As the austerity cuts hit non-statutory services such as parks harder and harder, London boroughs have been left stuck between a rock and a hard place,” said Tony Leach, chief executive of the charity Parks for London. “They know that they need to provide and maintain new green spaces for residents, but they believe they cannot afford to do so themselves.” The nature of pseudo-public space in London was highlighted in 2011, when protesters from the Occupy movement initially attempted to rally in the open space outside the London Stock Exchange in Paternoster Square, only to be removed by police on the grounds that they were trespassing on private land. Unsanctioned behaviour Public space campaigners point out that Pops appear unrestricted to the average person as long as they are behaving in ways that corporate landowners approve of, such as passing through on the way to work or using the area for spending and consumption. It is only by exhibiting unsanctioned behaviour – holding a political demonstration, for example, or attempting to sleep rough in the area – that citizens are able to discover the limitations on these seemingly public sites. Leach believes that increasing public awareness is vital, and that the publication of a map detailing the locations of pseudo-public space is an important first step. “I’m not against privately owned public spaces in essence,” he said. “The question is about the rights we enjoy there. I’m a strong believer that parks are our last remaining truly democratic public spaces, and that should continue. A lot of our great protest and reformist movements started in parks because they were natural gathering places. These spaces are a representation of our freedom in society, which is little by little being eroded. I think a lot of people just don’t realise it.” Occupy protesters on a barricade outside St Paul’s Cathedral in 2012 after they lost their fight against eviction in the high court. Photograph: Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images On a recent visit to a number of different pseudo-public spaces in London, the Guardian found that this was true. After asking dozens of individuals across several sites about the ownership status of the area around them, only one – who happened to work for the landowner’s estate management office – said they were aware it was private land. Huge variations exist in how clearly land ownership is signposted, as well as in the number of amenities provided by the landowners and the level of security in operation. Many of the newest sites feature similar types of landscaped gardens and water features, free wi-fi and big screens showing summer sport, as well as activities like table tennis, climbing walls and outdoor gyms. Alongside these conveniences, and just as omnipresent, are signs of private surveillance and what experts refer to as ‘defensive’ architecture – from CCTV cameras to benches specially designed to prevent homeless people from sleeping there. “I’m allowed to lie down on the grass, but not to close my eyes,” one homeless man, who goes by the moniker Yankee Dan, said at the recently opened Pancras Square, part of the pseudo-public King’s Cross Estate. “I tried to take a nap the other morning, just for an hour or two, and every time my eyes began to shut I was woken up by security guards.” Another homeless man at King’s Cross, who did not wish to be identified, said that it was those on the margins of the society that came up hardest against the hidden rules and borders of the site. “To the ordinary person, there’s no distinction between here, and there,” he said, pointing first at a public pavement by the taxi rank, and then at a privately owned road that leads north towards Granary Square. “To me, the difference is everything, because I’m not the sort of person they want over there.” East Village East Village, by the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, was converted from the Athletes’ Village of the 2012 Games As things stand, corporate authority over who can and can’t access open spaces in the capital is only set to grow. Nearly all of the city’s ongoing major redevelopment projects, from the mammoth Nine Elms neighbourhood in Battersea to new construction in Elephant and Castle and at Shoreditch’s Bishopsgate Goods Yard, is set to include new pseudo-public space, but details of what rights Londoners will enjoy there – or the ways in which they can expect to be policed – remain a mystery. The Guardian asked the development consortium behind Nine Elms, as well as Hammerson and the Ballymore Group, developers of the Bishopsgate Goods Yard, for information regarding future restrictions and permissions on their pseudo-public spaces, but none were willing to comment. Neither were the councils of Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Lambeth or Wandsworth – the relevant planning authorities for the two sites. “Public space, whoever owns it, should be open and free to use, and these things need to be guaranteed at the time that we as a society give permission for developments to happen,” observed Matthew Carmona, a professor at the Bartlett School of Urban Planning. “But cities like London have always had diverse combinations of ownerships, predominantly public but also private and semi-private. There’s all sorts of complications and nuances which I think fail to be understood by claims that all privatisation is bad, and all public ownership of public space is good. I’m not interested in using the issue of privately-owned public spaces as a surrogate for a larger political argument. I think there are many instances where private spaces are well-used and enjoyed, and contribute socially and economically to the city.” The Battersea Power Station development is set to boast the usual array of pseudo-public features. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images For Anna Minton, however, the aesthetic appeal or otherwise of pseudo-public spaces misses the point. “The architecture of any period, including the production of space, reflects the socioeconomic forces of that period and in that respect the growth in pseudo-public spaces is a reflection of the neoliberal city,” she argued. “This type of development is not inevitable: it’s a very Atlanticist model, seen primarily in North America and here, and not so much in Europe, and it involves local government and the private sector working together in such a way that it is really undermining our democratic rights over the city.” Alternatives to pseudo-public space do exist. In one suburb of Paris, a citizen-run project has taken control of more than 5,000 sq m of land and is helping to fuel debate about the creation of the ‘urban commons’ – commonly owned and managed spaces that are not subject to the logic of the market. In Aberdeen, plans to hand over control of the city’s historic Union Terrace Gardens to a consortium of business interests were recently abandoned in favour of keeping the site in public hands. Meanwhile, in London, private ownership of apparently public spaces continues to increase. Circus West Village on the Nine Elms complex, marketed as “the first chapter in Battersea Power Station’s unfolding story”, has just been opened, and boasts a familiar array of pseudo-public features by the Thames: outdoor chairs, art installations, sloping walkways and potted plants. Watching over them, dressed in a hi-vis jacket, was a private security guard. The Guardian asked him what rules he was enforcing, and he shrugged. “Whatever the owners tell me to,” he said, jerking his thumb towards his walkie-talkie. “It’s their land, after all.” A note on the investigation Guardian Cities contacted the landowners of more than 50 pseudo-public spaces in London, asking an identical set of questions: what restrictions are in place covering users of your land, how are these enforced, where can members of the public see a list of these restrictions, and what conditions are there in the relevant planning agreements regarding public access to your land? We also asked whether a series of public activities – including peaceful political protest, non-commercial photography, non-commercial artistic performances and rough sleeping – would be permitted on their site. Of all the landowners contacted, only two – the Canary Wharf Group, which owns large stretches of land in the Docklands, and East Village, a new development on the site of the old Athlete’s Village near the Olympic Park – provided a full set of answers. The Canary Wharf Group said that it was “very anxious to ensure that there is public access to the common areas [of its land] at all times” and that it wanted visitors to “feel that the common areas can be used as public spaces.” East Village told the Guardian that the company is “committed to making East Village as welcome a neighbourhood as possible, and any policies we have are focused on maintaining the public realm for everyone’s safety and benefit.” Both landowners insisted that they would not restrict political protests on their sites, although it should be noted that the Canary Wharf Group has previously taken out a legal injunction to prevent anti-capitalist protesters from rallying there. Both landowners also said that homeless people attempting to make a bed would be asked to leave the site but would be directed towards relevant support services. East Village said that permission was needed for any photography or filming on its land; Canary Wharf Group said that non-commercial photography and filming was allowed. Both landowners said advance permission was needed for artistic performances and requests would be considered on a case by case basis. Neither landowner provided a definitive list of rules and restrictions in operation at their site that could be accessed by members of the public. Of the other landowners contacted, the companies British Land (owner of Regents Place and Paddington Central) and CC Land (owner of the space around the Leadenhall Building) both provided short statements that did not directly address the questions asked. The remaining landowners contacted – including the Grosvenor Group (owner of Brown Hart Gardens in Westminster), Land Securities (owner of New Street Square and Cardinal Place), the Westfield Corporation (owner of open land around its shopping centres in Stratford and Shepherds Bush), and all the other landowners mentioned in the main body of the article – refused to comment. Editor: Chris Michael; reporter: Jack Shenker; research: Naomi Larsson and Athlyn Cathcart-Keays for the Guardian, Julie Cox and Chloe Smith for GiGL; production: Nick Van Mead; graphics: Pablo Gutierrez Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook to join the discussion, and explore our archive

Insurer Chubb invests in usage-based provider Bunker

Chubb is teaming up with insurtech firm Bunker to fuel the start-up’s development of usage-based insurance (UBI) products for flexible workers. Chubb’s investment follows “triple-digit” policy growth for Bunker, which first worked with Chubb on a UBI insurance offering last year.

https://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/chubb-invests-in-flexible-working-insurtech-start-up/1426766.article

Chubb has made a minority investment in flexible working, usage-based insurance (UBI) start-up Bunker. According to a Bunker press release, by 2027, MBO Partners predicts 58% of workers in the US will either be freelancers or will have previously worked as a freelancer. The US-based start-up released its first UBI insurance product with Chubb in 2017. Since then, Bunker chief executive Chad Nitschke has revealed it has experienced “triple-digit” policy growth and the product is now live in 43 states across the US. “We’re thrilled to be working with Chubb, adding them as one of our key insurance partners, continuing our mission of eliminating insurance as a barrier to the Future of Work.” said Nitschke. He continued: “We’re ambitiously carrying this innovation forward and accelerating our product roadmap by building additional technology features and unique insurance products tailored to this rapidly growing part of our economy.” Bunker had previously raised at least $8m, with its investors including Hiscox and US insurer American Family Ventures.

Japanese footballer swapping football for venture capital fund

Having just retired after a heart-breaking World Cup exit to Belgium in the round of 16, Keisuke Honda is swapping football for finance, having launched a new venture capital fund with Hollywood actor Will Smith. The fund will aim to invest in start-ups addressing social problems in the US and Japan. Japanese brokerage giant Nomura Holdings will act as the anchor investor. Having played in the Netherlands, and seeing some of his teammates sending high proportions of their salaries as remittances back to their home countries, Honda always felt compelled to act and try to make a difference within society.

https://www.24matins.uk/topnews/worldcup/japanese-footballer-honda-founds-venture-fund-with-will-smith-92101

Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s leaders in free and secure communications applications, is pleased to present its sponsorship with Tennium,... on 5 October 2021

Quiz - Has Malinga dismissed him in a hat-trick sequence?

Lasith Malinga takes hat-tricks for fun at the highest level.In fact, Malinga has more hat-tricks in one ground (three at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo) than most bowlers have in their entire careers.Which of these batsmen has the slingshot dismissed as part of his hat-tricks, and which of them are just making up the numbers here?

https://www.espn.co.uk/cricket/story/_/id/27552860/quiz-malinga-dismissed-hat-trick-sequence

Lasith Malinga takes hat-tricks for fun at the highest level. As if three wickets in three balls isn't achievement enough, he's had two separate sequences of four wickets in four balls in international cricket. The rest of humanity (and that obviously doesn't include Afghanistan's Rashid Khan) has managed just one of those. In fact, Malinga has more hat-tricks in one ground (three at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo) than most bowlers have in their entire careers. So regular - and so inevitable when he goes on one of his yorker sprees - has it become that we've got enough to put together a quiz on his hat-tricks. Which of these batsmen has the slingshot dismissed as part of his hat-tricks, and which of them are just making up the numbers here? Give it a shot and let us know how many you got right.

Pool Re introduces no-damage terrorism coverage

A recent government agreement has allowed Pool Re to extend its terrorism cover to include non-damage business interruption. This adaption will allow businesses to claim compensation from attacks that lead to loss of trade rather than just from physical damage and will be significant for small-to-medium enterprises who often struggle to economically cope with terrorist attacks. The improvement keeps Pool Re’s coverage in line with the indiscriminate methods terrorists use today, such as attacks on civilians with simple weapons; This follows the company’s recent addition of coverage for “business interruption caused by acts of terrorism using a cyber trigger".

https://www.airmic.com/news/guest-stories/pool-re-evolves-meet-terror-tactics

In the UK, the recent government agreement to allow Pool Re to extend its cover received a strong welcome from Airmic. Pool Re chief executive Julian Enoizi reviews the latest state of play. One significant improvement to the scheme will be the extension of Pool Re cover to include non-damage business interruption losses resulting from acts of terrorism. Existing legislation requires damage to property to trigger Pool Re's cover, a requirement borne of an era when the primary method of terrorist attacks was large scale explosive devices, and the main motivation, damage to commercial property. Today, however, terrorists often use simple bladed weapons and vehicles to indiscriminately attack civilians. This type of attack still poses serious adverse consequences for businesses in the event of an attack, primarily in the form of business interruption. For example, businesses whose premises were not materially damaged by a terror attack, but which were trapped within a police cordon erected in the aftermath or were unable to trade, could not be compensated under existing legislation. As such, Pool Re has welcomed the Government's commitment to amend as soon as parliamentary time allows the Reinsurance (Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993 and bridge the gap in its cover. The improved proposition will be particularly significant for SMEs, who cannot always fall back on economies of scale in the event of disaster. The new cover will be affordable, flexible, and will further increase the resilience of the UK economy as well as livelihoods and communities up and down the country. The forthcoming extension follows quickly after another landmark improvement to coverage: the addition to policies, from April this year, of cover for material damage and direct business interruption caused by acts of terrorism using a cyber trigger. Concerns over cyber terrorist attacks are heightened in the currently tense geopolitical environment, so the timing of the introduction of cyber terror cover - before a major attack - has been welcomed. This improved cover is now offered as standard to all policyholders who purchase terrorism insurance from Pool Re's member insurance companies and is based on threat assessment research commissioned by Pool Re from the Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge. Businesses are increasingly concerned about the potentially extensive repercussions of a cyber-attack, but this coverage gap, which left UK businesses exposed, has now been closed. Not all resilience tools focus on an attack's aftermath. Pool Re's new Vulnerability Self-Assessment Tool (VSAT) for medium and large businesses provides a framework for policyholders to benchmark their approach to terrorism risk management. Insureds that implement proven and effective risk mitigation measures identified by VSAT will receive a 5% premium discount on their Pool Re cover, and the initiative has been accredited by "Secure by Design", the police security approval kitemark. Between more comprehensive, more affordable cover provided in the wake of a terrorist attack, and incentives to reduce the likelihood and mitigate the effects of an attack in the first place, Pool Re is bringing together public and private spheres to make the UK safer from and more resilient to modern terrorism. Julian Enoizi is Chief Executive of Pool Re Between State and Market: Protection Gap Entities and Catastrophic Risk - workshop, 26 June City Business School and Pool Re will host this event featuring an expert industry panel to debate the following themes: Disasters in Emerging Economies: Is Liquidity Enough? What do we Really Want to Solve: Mandatory or Voluntary Insurance Cover? Addressing new Protection Gaps: Evolving Remit or Mission Creep? These themes are from a new report which will be launched at the event, to which Airmic members are invited to attend. Read more and register here.

IBM and Sichuan Hejia launch blockchain supply chain platform

IBM and Sichuan Hejia have launched a blockchain-based supply platform for financial services, the Yijuan Blockchain Technology Application System. Using Hyperledger Fabric technology, the platform will be extended to pharmaceutical retailers, banks and hospitals. The supply chain for drugs and any trading records can be tracked using the blockchain ledger, lowering risk and shortening payment periods.

http://www.infotechlead.com/big-data-2/ibm-sichuan-hejia-unveil-blockchain-based-supply-chain-financial-services-platform-48490

IBM and Sichuan Hejia launched a blockchain-based, supply chain financial services platform for pharmaceutical procurement. The Yijian Blockchain Technology Application System is a permissioned blockchain platform that uses Hyperledger Fabric. IBM informed that it is in production with Hejia and one pharmaceutical retailer, a hospital and a bank running business transactions. In July, Hejia plans to expand the platform to include multiple pharmaceutical retailers, hospitals and banks. The system is designed to help eliminate some of the financing challenges in the pharmaceutical industry. Working with IBM, Hejia has established a blockchain-based business network among its supply chain participants. By tracking drugs through the supply chain and encrypting trading records, the transparency of the blockchain can help establish the authenticity of the transaction. In turn, this may help lower the credit risk profiled by financing institutions, which should allow the payment period to be shortened, possibly to the first or next trading day. Overall, the platform is designed to help to reduce the turnover time of funds on both sides of the supply chain and allow banks to be more informed and grant access to funding for small and medium pharmaceutical retailers. IBM has worked with more than 400 clients across financial services, supply chains, IoT, risk management, digital rights management and healthcare to implement blockchain applications. Hyperledger Fabric is an open source blockchain framework and one of the five Hyperledger projects hosted by The Linux Foundation.

Engie commits to two 25-year PV solar energy projects in Senegal

French electric utility company Engie has committed to a 25-year power purchase agreement for two solar PV projects in Senegal. With a combined installed capacity of 60 MW, the Kahone and Kael projects will be constructed and operated by Engie as part of the firm's push to develop Africa's economic and social needs in the future while helping reduce carbon emissions and lowering energy costs. The initiative is a partnership between the Senegalese government, the International Finance Corporation and the national electricity company Senelec.

https://www.power-technology.com/news/engie-solar-pv-projects/

Local authorities visiting the site where one of the two solar projects will be built. Credit: Engie Group. Global energy and services company Engie has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Senegalese off-taker Senelec for two solar PV projects in Senegal, Africa. In addition to Engie, its investment partner Meridiam consortium and Fonsis, as well as the Senegalese Sovereign Fund, are part of the deal. The two solar PV projects have a combined installed capacity of 60MW, and are located in Kahone within the Kaolack region, and Kaël in the Touba region, Senegal, Africa. Developed by the Senegalese Government and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), construction and operation of the two projects will be managed and executed by Engie. Engie Africa CEO Yoven Moorooven said: “Engie has been committed to developing and implementing solutions that meet Africa’s economic and social needs for decades. “The signing of the PPA demonstrates that our commitment to the region is ongoing. Our focus is now on the future and on finalising the projects in Kahone and Kaël, ensuring that Senegal has access to sustainable energy for the foreseeable future.” "We have been able to capitalise on our experience of developing and operating renewable energy projects in Africa, in particular in Senegal." In addition, the projects are part of the wider Scaling Solar initiative in Senegal to provide energy across the region. The Scaling Solar project is expected to support the government to rapidly mobilise privately funded projects to improve access to electricity. The two power projects will not only support the country’s pledge to reduce carbon emissions and lower electricity costs but also strengthen Engie’s commitment to providing clean and competitive power within Senegal for the next 25 years. Engie Western and Central Africa head Philippe Miquel said: “This long-term public-private partnership with Senegalese Authorities and Senelec is the first IPP project of Engie in the country. “We have been able to capitalise on our experience of developing and operating renewable energy projects in Africa, in particular in Senegal.”

Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs incubator now open

A high-tech, co-working lab and entrepreneurial space designed for science-based innovation has been formally opened in New Jersey. The Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs will be available to start-ups and ventures from Princeton University faculty, students and alumni, as well as the wider local community. The 31,000 sq ft space aims to encourage collaboration between scientists and entrepreneurs, and offers multidisciplinary facilities including biology, chemistry and engineering workspaces, lab benches, private offices and shared desks.

https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/05/18/dynamic-incubator-space-science-based-innovation-formally-opens

With a ribbon-cutting, speeches and tour of its extensive laboratory space, the formal opening of the new high-tech Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs incubator was celebrated Thursday, May 17. A crowd of more than 100 representatives from Princeton University, the town of Plainsboro, local industries and the center's first tenant companies attended the event at the Forrestal Center in Plainsboro. Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs offers co-working lab and office space for high-tech startup companies formed by Princeton University faculty, students and alumni as well as members of the wider New Jersey community. Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber addresses an enthusiastic crowd of entrepreneurs, researchers, and University and local officials. “This dynamic incubator space for high-potential startups and new ventures pursues a vision shared by members of our campus community and others in the surrounding municipalities,” said Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber. Johannes Fruehauf, president and CEO of BioLabs, speaks of the opportunities for collaboration and community that are “built into the architecture” of the 31,000-square-foot facility. “Increasingly, our students, faculty and researchers seek to make a difference in the world through innovative entrepreneurial ventures that address societal needs," Eisgruber said. “And our best scholars are finding that collaborations with partners outside academia can assist both applied and basic research by helping them to identify interesting questions that matter to our society. “Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs is one of several initiatives designed to strengthen the innovation ecosystem in central New Jersey and thereby expand the impact of Princeton’s teaching and research,” he said. “We hope that continued partnerships will foster an innovation community that has the potential to catalyze pathbreaking discoveries, contribute to the regional economy, and make central New Jersey an increasingly vibrant and attractive place for all who live and work here.” The facility is designed to encourage collaboration, with shared work areas and many types of meeting spaces where scientists and entrepreneurs can share techniques and spark new ideas. “The concept of these [BioLabs] facilities is built around openness, transparency and shared resources,” said University Provost Deborah Prentice. “Those of you who have taken a tour can see that these ideas are manifest in this facility.” This Princeton facility is the first of its kind, said Johannes Fruehauf, president and CEO of BioLabs. Other BioLabs facilities in the country are exclusively biomedical spaces, but Princeton faculty had different needs, he said, resulting in a “much more multidisciplinary space.” Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu offers a “warm Plainsboro welcome” to the new entrepreneurial hub. The 31,000-square-foot entrepreneurial hub includes fully equipped work spaces for biology, chemistry and engineering companies, with 68 lab benches, private offices and shared desks for more than 200 scientists and entrepreneurs. When full, Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs will house 25 or more small companies, most with only a handful of employees. “We hope to nurture a lot of local, Princeton and New Jersey startups into becoming ‘grown-up,’ successful companies that ultimately graduate from here,” Fruehauf said. “Our success is not to fill this space. Our success is to graduate … five, 10, 12 companies per year.” Those companies would join a thriving business community in central New Jersey, said Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu, who has served as mayor for 36 years and as a member of the Plainsboro Township Committee for 43 years. “We are particularly proud of what has become a significant center for health care, wellness and pharmaceutical companies associated with research and development,” Cantu said. “Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs represents a great, important contribution to that community.” Located 3 miles from the Princeton campus, the new center is designed to support a wide range of research and entrepreneurial activities. In addition to its labs, the facility includes a videoconference room, a café, a freezer room for samples and cultures, as well as machines for running polymerase chain reactions and liquid chromatography. It also provides smaller items like centrifuges, microscopes, scales — and multiple coffee machines. Play video: Play Video: President Eisgruber leads the ribbon-cutting at the Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs opening ceremony Video by Wright Señeres, Princeton Entrepreneurship Council Two businesses have already started working there, and two more will start June 1, said Nishta Rao, director of Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs. Five more companies have had their applications accepted. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Eisgruber was joined by Cantu, Fruehauf, Prentice, Rao and several others who have played key roles in supporting Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs: Susan Chase, vice president of business development for BioLabs; Paul LaMarche, vice provost for space programming and planning at Princeton and chairman of Princeton Innovation Center; Anne-Marie Maman, executive director of the Princeton Entrepreneurship Council; and Sam Rozycki, senior project manager with Princeton’s Office of Design and Construction.

Globally-sourced cCivilian components used in sourced globally for ISIS’s military hardware

A new report reveals that ISIS is manufacturing increasingly- sophisticated suicide bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) using civilian components sourced globally. Much of its equipment arrives via Turkey. The Conflict Armament Research (CAR)’s report highlights that ISIS acquires most of its components by exploiting the agricultural and mining sectors where the chemicals and parts that it needs are readily accessible. A total of 51 companies in 20 countries were found to be part of ISIS’s supply chain. Components were traced back to companies either in or headquartered in Turkey, India, Japan, the US, UAE, Iraq and Switzerland.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-deadly-suicide-bombs-ieds-legal-civilian-components-from-world-islamic-state-daesh-a6893856.html

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Isis is manufacturing ever more sophisticated and devastating suicide bombs and improvised explosives using civilian components from countries around the world, an investigation has revealed. Most of the equipment, including chemicals, fertilisers, wire and electronics, is being funnelled through Turkey to the group’s territories, according to a report by Conflict Armament Research (CAR). The EU-funded group analysed improvised explosive devices (IED) collected over 20 months on Iraqi and Syrian frontlines to reveal how the so-called Islamic State has been able to amass its arsenal at an unprecedented speed. Syrian cities reel from deadly bombings James Bevan, executive director of CAR, told the Independent militants are using explosives in terror attacks, military offensives and to defend territory. He said the group was continually experimenting, refining and creating new types of IEDs ranging from suicide and car bombs to landmines, booby traps and improvised mortars. The inventions have taken a heavy toll on the Peshmerga, Shia militias, Kurdish YPG, opposition rebels and other forces attempting to take back Isis territory. “Whenever they try to liberate an area, that area is absolutely littered with IEDs and they are causing the greatest amount of casualties,” Mr Bevan said. “It’s on a larger scale than we’ve seen in recent conflicts.” Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 / 40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qa’eda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawi’s successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a “real war” with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assad’s regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a “conspiracy”. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Laden’s successor) concerned about Isis’ expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis’ along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloff’s murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America “will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country” EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis’ media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist group’s al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis’ stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis’s deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic city’s ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyra’s residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamist’s positions. AFP The report found that most of the components are gained by exploiting legal agricultural and mining sectors where the necessary chemicals and parts are freely available. It identified 51 companies in 20 countries involved in the deadly supply chain, including Nokia, which is now owned by Microsoft, and firms headquartered in Europe and the US. Although CAR concluded that issues stretched far beyond the nations surrounding Iraq and Syria, Turkey was found to be the main “choke point” in the enterprise. Mr Bevan said: “There is a lot of farming and a lot of demand for chemicals, some of which are precursors in the manufacture of explosives. “There’s certainly a requirement to tighten up regulations and government oversight, and if the companies themselves didn’t know their products were being used, they should be aware now.” White petroleum drums manufactured in Iran found near the Mosul Dam in Iraq, February 2015 (Conflict Armament Research) He claimed that CAR investigators had seen cars, lorries, food, oil and people crossing parts of the border between Turkey and northern Syria in recent months. “If you are in YPG-controlled territory, the border is virtually hermetically sealed, whereas if the border is with Isis-controlled areas it was and still is virtually open,” Mr Bevan added. The Turkish government failed to respond to CAR’s requests for information but other mentioned parties, including Nokia, aided the non-governmental organisation with documents and invoices. All companies and countries named have been informed of the findings as investigations continue in Ramadi and other territory recently retaken from Isis. The Independent had not received a response from Nokia or Microsoft at the time of going to press. A white petroleum drum manufactured in Iran found in Makhmour, Iraq, in January 2015 (Conflict Armament Research) The report’s key findings:

Blackstone Minerals uncovers high-grade nickel and copper veins

Blackstone Minerals has reported finding “significant” high-grade nickel and copper veins, as well as cobalt and platinum group elements, at its Ban Chang prospect in Vietnam. The area was surveyed in a bid to supplement the Ban Phuc and King Cobra developments. Blackstone Managing Director Scott Williamson said the Ban Chang sulphides were of a higher grade than those from Ban Phuc. A second drilling rig will now join Blackstone’s geophysics team in the same area as Ban Chang to check other prospects.

https://smallcaps.com.au/blackstone-minerals-hits-high-grade-nickel-copper-ban-chang/

Blackstone Minerals (ASX: BSX) has revealed the first assays from three maiden drill holes at the Ban Chang prospect within the Ta Khoa nickel sulphide district in Vietnam, confirming significant high-grade results. The best result came from drill hole BC20-01, which intersected 1.5m at 2.2% nickel, 2.12% copper, 0.13% cobalt and 2.66 grams per tonne of platinum group elements (PGE), including 1.05m at 2.98% nickel, 1.22% copper, 0.18% cobalt and 3.43g/t PGE. The maiden drill holes were part of Blackstone’s testing of high-priority electromagnetic targets generated from 25 massive sulphide vein prospects throughout the Ta Khoa district to supplement the potential bulk open pit mining scenario at the Ban Phuc prospect and the King Cobra discovery zone, where drilling continues at depth. The company started drilling at Ban Chang in late May with today’s news following announcements made earlier in June that massive sulphide nickel was identified over 1km of strike, including intersecting a 9.15m thick zone of sulphide vein mineralisation. Ban Chang’s high-grade feed potential According to Blackstone managing director Scott Williamson, Ban Chang is a key prospect that has potential to add high-grade feed to a bulk open pit mining scenario at Ban Phuc. “Our first assays from Ban Chang confirm a high-grade magmatic nickel sulphide vein with significant by-products including copper, cobalt, platinum and palladium,” he said. “When the by-products are included, the overall grades of the massive sulphides from Ban Chang are substantially higher than those successfully mined from the Ban Phuc massive sulphide mine during lower nickel prices,” Mr Williamson added. Further drilling Drilling is part of Blackstone’s aim to build its resource inventory at Ta Khoa to supplement the Ban Phuc maiden resource, which is on track for completion in the third quarter of 2020. The company said a second drill rig will continue to follow the in-house geophysics team throughout the Ta Khoa district, testing other prospects including King Snake, Ban Khoa, Ban Khang and further targets at Ban Chang. Scoping study Also due in the third quarter is Blackstone’s scoping study on downstream processing to produce nickel sulphate for the lithium-ion battery industry. This study is expected to provide details for joint venture partners to formalise the next stage of investment. The Ta Khoa project in northern Vietnam including an existing modern nickel mine and a 450,000 tonne-per-annum processing plant. The operation has been under care and maintenance since 2016 due to falling nickel prices.

Octopus acquires 120 MW across 14 FiT-linked French solar farms

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) has acquired 14 French solar farms with a combined capacity of 119.5 MW for €58.9m ($70m). The assets all receive the French feed-in tariff, with 12.7 years, on average, left to run. ORIT said the purchase resulted in 75% of the £350m ($77m) raised during its December 2019 IPO being allocated.

https://www.power-technology.com/news/octopus-energy-solar-farm-france-purchase-acquisition/

Octopus has made the second solar acquisition in as many weeks. Credit: Zbynek Burival on Unsplash. Energy supply company Octopus Renewables Infrastructure has acquired 14 solar photovoltaic (PV) farms in France. The company paid $69.7m (€58.9m) for 14 assets with total generating capacity of 119.5MW. These have nameplate capacities between 4.6MW and 12GW, and began working between 2013 and 2015. Octopus said in a statement that they have an average of 27.3 years of lifespan remaining. All the solar farms receive the French feed-in tariff, with an average of 12.7 years of it remaining Hamburg Commercial Bank financed the portfolio with $117m (€99m). Executives explain Octopus Renewable’s recent solar expansion Chairman of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Phil Austin said: “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of this portfolio of subsidised French solar farms, expected to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 48,000 French homes annually. “With this acquisition we have now committed around 75% of the funds raised at our initial public share offering, and have opened up a third market for the company, marking a further step towards building a diversified portfolio of renewable energy assets. “It is particularly pleasing that the Octopus Renewables team have been able to continue originating and transacting on high quality deal flow throughout the Covid crisis.” The company sold its first public shares in December last year. Since then, its share price has dipped and risen, currently sitting 7% above its opening price. Within the last two weeks the company also announced a deal to purchase 9.1MW of residential solar assets. The company’s investment director Chris Gaydon said: “As one of the UK and Europe’s leading investors in renewables, Octopus Renewables has long considered the French market as having favourable conditions for growth and investment. “Octopus Renewables already has a strong presence in France and so we’re delighted to be able to secure this acquisition for the company. It builds on our ambition to accelerate the clean energy transition and create a legacy for the next generation to mitigate the effects of climate change.”

India, UK could collaborate on digital solutions for power sector

The UK India Business Council has highlighted the potential for digital innovation and data-services partnerships between the UK and India. The Energy Data Taskforce launched by the UK energy regulator Ofgem, Innovate UK, and the UK government has recommended strategies that could aid the country in digitalising its energy system. Meanwhile, India has also taken steps to digitalise its system. A majority of energy leaders in attendance at last year’s European Utility Week reportedly agreed that large-scale collaborations were necessary for energy transition. 

https://www.pv-magazine-india.com/2020/03/25/prospects-of-india-uk-partnerships-in-creating-digitalized-energy-systems/

Using artificial intelligence for reducing aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and making consumers active participants of energy generation and consumption are big collaboration areas. Artificial intelligence and data economy, future of mobility, clean growth and ageing society are the four grand challenges to put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future—according to the ‘Industrial Strategy White Paper’ released by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. The findings prompted Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, UK), Innovate UK and UK Government to launch Energy Data Taskforce with the aim of investigating into the use of data for transforming the age-old energy systems. The Taskforce’s recent Report titled ‘A Strategy for a Modern Digitalized Energy System’ states that data is an important resource that needs to be cultivated and developed for it to deliver the full suite of benefits the future energy system needs. The report provides a comprehensive set of recommendations and principles which the Government, Ofgem and industry can use to develop data sophistication in the energy sector. The first recommendation is ‘digitalization of the energy system’ from archaic, incomplete and inaccessible formats to uniform and visible formats which can operate optimally in increasingly complex situations. It emphasizes on the inevitable role of organizations alongside government’s legislative and regulatory measures in creating long-term digitalization strategies and their implementation in consumer interest. The case for India Benefits of digitalization are not unknown to India. Among others, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL)’s Smart Meter National Programme has brought standardization of electricity meters across the country leading to easy integration, reduced cost and increased efficiency in billing and collection. Real-time data on electricity usage encourages demand side management. One smart meter initiative led to multiple advantages. The scope of more such digitalization initiatives is humungous and India being at the cusp of leading the world in decarbonization, has the potential to create big impacts. Presently, India captures, creates and publishes large amount of data in relation to energy systems. However, most of it is stored in non-digital, paper or image format and is also fragmented. There is an immediate need to identify uniform ways of creating and storing data in easily accessible digital formats and tools which would equip the government and organizations in improving operations. Digitalization helps in increasing the output from resources and reduces the cost of supply while equipping the consumers with the power to make informed choices. Given the size of India and the huge number of consumers, it’s only practical that a uniform digitalization process kicks off soon. Collaboration is the key In order to bring about a shift from centralized commands to dynamic interactive structures, the current energy system would require a thorough plan and flawless execution. With the UK already spearheading digitalization of its energy systems, there is immense potential in the idea of India-UK partnership in collaborating efforts for digitalizing their respective energy systems. At the European Utility Week (Paris) 2019 which saw a representation from 100 countries, almost every energy leader reaffirmed that energy transition is possible only with large-scale collaborations. New partnerships would not only solve old problems and but also create new business opportunities for partnering entities. Interestingly, UK India Business Council’s (UKIBC) 5th Annual Doing Business in India Report: The UK Perspective (2019) which released early November revealed that UK companies are more interested in doing business in India than before. India is increasingly seen as an attractive country for partnerships with its performance on World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Rankings continuously improving. Possible partnership opportunities UKIBC’s Report also sheds light on the possible partnership opportunities between India and UK and identifies ‘digital innovation and data services’ as a potential partnership area. The Indian government has been pushing hard to scale up decentralized renewable energy generation in the country. Integration of these decentralized energy systems using digital innovation, analytical tools and likewise is a potential investment and research area for global innovation-centric companies. With 100% electrification and the target of becoming a ‘5 trillion dollar economy’ by 2024, India’s per capita consumption of electricity and overall energy demand is bound to grow. Digitalization would help in efficiently catering to this increased power demand from new segments. Undeniably, energy consumption patterns depend heavily on geographic, economic, social and cultural factors which become initial determinants of service deliveries. Customization of energy needs by interpreting data derived from consumption patterns is another important area of partnership. Development of an effective ‘demand response’ mechanism which accounts for increased consumer participation in managing peak loads is another partnership area which would help in efficient allocation of available energy. Despite being perceived as a global renewable energy leader, India’s southern states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) have seen incidents of curtailment in wind energy offtake, largely attributable to improper integration of renewables. Wastage of renewable energy is the last thing the government would want when even the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in its Annual Load Generation Balance Report 2019-20 (LGBR Report) recorded the nationwide energy deficit of 0.6% and peak deficit of 0.8% for the year 2018-19. The deficit has been attributed to factors other than non-availability of power and recommends bilateral tie-ups. Reliable, readily available and real-time data in inter-operable formats would not only facilitate these tie-ups but also set the ground for informed government decisions. Using artificial intelligence for reducing aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and making consumers active participants of energy generation and consumption are big collaboration areas. Identifying how to capture and store this huge data seamlessly is also a giant business area in itself. Set the ball rolling Without losing further time, there is an immediate need to set up a dedicated team for identifying potential opportunities and potential cross-border partners for digitalization of India’s energy systems. More so, there is also an immediate need for developing a comprehensive regulation which encourages digitalization with adequate safeguards addressing nondiscriminatory access to data, privacy and cyber-security concerns. Digitalization is not the end, it’s the means of achieving what we foresee today and what we still haven’t. Meghna Chandra is an energy sector lawyer based in Delhi. She is an IBA Scholar for Section for Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law and specialized in Energy and Natural Resources Law from Queen Mary University of London, UK. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.

Choosy announces $5.4m seed round led by New Enterprise Associates

Six-month-old company Choosy has secured $5.4m to develop its on-demand social shopping platform. The fashion firm creates looks according to outfits that are trending on social media – customers can tag a look #GetChoosy, and the 10 most-tagged fashions each week will be produced and sold directly to users. As the company owns its entire supply chain, it cuts out the costs associated with middle men, and because it makes products on demand rather than mass producing them, there is minimal wastage.

http://vator.tv/news/2018-05-15-choosy-raises-54m-to-build-out-its-on-demand-social-shopping-platform

The company owns its entire supply chain, allowing it to manufacture and deliver cheaper and faster Social and e-commerce have always seemed like they'd be a match made in heaven. After, that's where people spend so much of their time so what better way to get people to buy stuff than by going where they already are? Of all the major social networks, Pinterest is the most obvious example of having made e-commerce a major part of its platform but plenty of other networks, including Facebook and Twitter, have installed buy buttons to allow their users to make online purchases without ever having to leave. Then you have a site like Poshmark, which is a peer-to-peer social network that allows people to buy from each other. While these companies act as a facilitator for the transaction, basically selling third party goods through their site, what none of them have been able to do is actually figure out a way to have their own vertically integrated supply chain, as well as relationships with manufacturing factories. That's what separates Choosy from the pack: it's an on-demand social shopping platform where collections are inspired by what's trending on social media. Choosy is then able to create looks on-demand and deliver the items to its users in less than two weeks. The company is only around six months old but it has already attracted attention from VCs. On Tuesday, it announced a $5.4 million seed round led by New Enterprise Associates, with participation from Forerunner Ventures, Innovation Global Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, XFactor Ventures, Supernode Ventures and angel investor Bryan Rosenblatt. Choosy was founded in late 2017 as "the first social commerce platform for users to shop their favorite collections as they trend in real time," Jessie Zeng, co-founder and CEO of Choosy, told me in an interview. "The reason we started this is that I am a huge social media user, especially Instagram. Whenever a celebrity posted an outfit and it started to trend, I'd see a few hundred thousand users asking, 'Where is that item from?' but they'd never get answers from celebrities. Even they did get an answer, you'd go onto the site and it would either few thousand dollars or sold out," she said. "Clearly this is a new generation that is shopping in a different way and we wanted to make a new platform that would be able to have a supply chain that holds zero inventory." Here's now Choosy works: as users browse Instagram, if they see they a look that they like, those users tag it with #GetChoosy. Based on those hashtags, Choosy then identifies the top 10 trending fashions each week, and will design and sell the items directly to those users. The company began running a test run earlier this year, where it identified street looks inspired by fashion models Bella and Gigi Hadid. That test collection completely sold out within hours. The typical user is someone who is "very social media savvy, very obsessed with what is being worn by celebrities, reality TV stars, influencers, and is wanting to have that lifestyle," she said. "Someone who wants to shop and live like social media personalities, that's our Choosy customer." In addition to seeing what's trending, the company also uses artificial intelligence for personalization and recommendation. That means that if a user buys good from a certain influencer, the company is then able to then suggest similar items to other users that like that same influencer. Choosy is set to launch to the public in July of this year. Owning the supply chain While Choosy creates its styles, it doesn't mass produce them, instead making them after it receives an order, yet Zeng says it can still get the item the user's front door in as little as two weeks. The company is able do that because it owns its entire supply chain, including design and fabric sourcing, as well as production and shipping, which means they only work for Choosy, not for any other businesses. Having an in-house team, rather than doing what many other companies do by going through a series of middle men, i.e. brokers, allows the company to also keep the cost of the items down. All of the goods sold by Choosy are under $100, with the majority in the $50 range. The fact that Choosy only makes what customers demand also keeps the cost down, as it allows them to maintain a zero-balance inventory as well as minimizes wasteful production of excess clothing. Many of the advantages that Choosy has in running its business this way stem from Zeng's family, which has deep relationships in the textile manufacturing business in China and who work with employees who came from some of the largest retail businesses in China. She has been able to leverage those connections into the current business. "Manufacturing is extremely relationship driven. Our fabric supplier has 10 years of experience trading fabrics. That comes through my family’s past connections, and me spending years in manufacturing and venture capital in China," said Zeng. The greater control over the manufacturing process produces another additional benefits: it allows Choosy to offer a larger variety of sizing to its users, who can buy up to size 20 in their favorite designs. That kind of size inclusivity, so often not found in the fashion world, is important to Choosy's goal of making styles available to people who don't often have access to them, Zeng told me. "For us, we want to be on the forefront of the next generation of commerce for the ideal world wish we could live in."

Virtual Reality and Fan Engagement

Virtual Reality (VR) can bring fans closer to the live action, connect them and even enhance the live experience. The adoption of technologies such as VR by young hyperdigitalized fans continues to rise at a rapid rate. Jaunt VR showcased The VR 360 experience with Manchester City Football Club, giving exclusive access to the players’ changing room and had over 1 million views in the first few days after release. According to Statista.com, the overall market for VR and AR in the US alone grew from $6.1 billion in 2016 to $27 billion in 2018. By 2022, it is predicted to be worth an incredible $209.2 billion.

http://alexfenton.co.uk/virtual-reality-and-fan-engagement-part-2-of-5/

Digital technology is developing at an incredible rate and its impact on sports fans over the last decade has been nothing short of spectacular. In part 2 of this blog post series of digital sport & fan engagement, we turn our attentions to Virtual Reality (VR). VR relies upon immersing people into a simulated world. There are other related technologies such as AR (Augmented reality) which uses devices such as smartphone and tablets to overlay graphics into the real world creating an interactive ‘augmented reality’ experience. This article focusses primarily on the use of VR in sport for fan engagement. The growth of digital technologies has created a massive new wave of interest. According to Statista.com, the overall market for VR and AR in the US alone grew from $6.1 billion in 2016 to $27 billion in 2018. By 2022, it is predicted to be worth an incredible $209.2 billion as these technologies increasingly move from a niche audience of gamers to the mainstream. During the Covid 19 lockdown, Facebook’s continued development of the Oculus platform led to much increased sales of VR headsets. VR for fan engagement Sports clubs and broadcasters have latched onto this trend, broadcasting matches and creating virtual experiences for fans. The adoption of technologies such as VR by young hyperdigitalized fans continues to rise at a rapid rate and clubs need to keep up with this pace. This is why clubs show an increasing interest in using digital technology to create engaging and impressive experiences in order to form connections with older and young fans of all genders and cultures from around the world. VR offers a digital platform which can bring fans closer to the live action, connect them and even enhance the live experience. Those experimenting with VR now can reach new fans and start to understand more about which types of content work best on the medium to ensure that they are relevant on the platform as it grows in popularity. How has VR previously been used for fan engagement In Sport, VR has been used to enhance training, but our primary concern here is fan engagement. Jaunt VR showcased The VR 360 experience with Manchester City Football Club. It included exclusive access to the players’ changing room and a first-hand look at the players arriving on the blue Carpet and had over 1 million views in the first few days after release. “There’s nothing that compares with attending a match at the Etihad Stadium, but the emergence of 360 video and virtual reality has allowed us to capture some of that atmosphere and excitement in ways that weren’t possible in the past.” – Diego Gigliani, City Football Group In boxing, Floyd Mayweather released a “Boxing + Fitness” VR extension to his gym franchise, allowing users to train with the former World Champion and even step into the ring with him in VR. In the US, Baseball have had great success with VR by bringing the players closer to the fans. For example, the San Francisco Giants were able to produce a series of VR videos allowing fans to experience the game from the players perspective. “This is the price of admission right here. Watching Buster Posey catching in the back, a foul ball. You feel like you’re in the game.” – 74-year-old Giants fan Mike McKay FIFA and their broadcasting partners were encouraged by the use of VR in the Winter Olympics. VR was therefore used in the World Cup in Russia. The BBC produced a VR World Cup smartphone app which was downloaded 325,000 times. This allowed fans to experience the action from 3 different angles. The app received a mixed reception, but was considered to be a good way to start the journey for virtual fandom in order to keep improving towards the next World Cup (Qatar 2022). Fancy watching this England game in VR? Follow the link below and find out how you can! ➡ https://t.co/mHJVEgHcsH#bbcworldcup #worldcup #ENG #SWE #SWEENG pic.twitter.com/ADycT2WLFX — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) Why is VR not fully adopted in sports already? Although it is relatively early days for VR and fan engagement, one of the main issues is the fact that it can reduce the social experience of the sports experience. VR on a smartphone only is not a particularly engaging or immersive experience. There are cheap headsets such as Google Cardboard and others, but the most immersive experiences seem to come from the more advanced headsets such as Playstation or Oculus. Although headsets are improving and dropping in price, they can be relatively expensive, bulky, disorientating and can make fans feel isolated from other fans from a social perspective with extended use. In a blog post about the Fox VR app, Jeff Grubb described it as “a miserable experience..it was hard to keep the headset steady to prevent the image from shaking” and “switching between the five cameras also required a few seconds of loading — every second is precious when you are watching something live and fast paced like football”. There are also technical limitations with headsets and sheer size of the data and processing power to create an accurate virtual re-creation of the speed and buzz of sports, especially live. If the VR experience is slightly off, it can cause the end user to feel disoriented, sick or disillusioned, but technology is improving all of the time. The latest VR headsets have improved their resolution, clarity and comfort, reducing some of the previous negative effects. A Social Virtual Fan Experience One alternative to VR headsets is the use of immersive video. This does not require a headset and could retain the social element of sports. Fans would be able to enjoy the social aspect of experiencing sports by interacting with the people around and still getting the feeling that they are at their teams’ stadium. At the University of Salford, we have experimented with immersive video working with our Octave (virtual cave) team to develop a virtual fan experience using immersive video at our MediaCityUK campus as part of our VR in Sport event. We set up a prototype virtual fan experience installation using a round room and projection. VR and Sport – the next steps Whilst sophistication and quality of VR increases, the prices of headsets continue to fall. It is notable that Facebook spent billions of dollars to acquire VR system Oculus Rift and sales have increased during lockdown. This gives an indication as to the potential direction of social media becoming more immersive in the future. Social media platforms have also maintained great interest in sports content and video because of the sheer volume of fans and engagement it generates globally. We are just starting to see successful VR applications in sport, but the technology and the appetite for immersive and social experiences continues to grow. Marrying the two will be crucial in the developing relationship between VR and sports. It will be fascinating to see how VR and other immersive technologies develops over the coming years. The global pandemic caused sport to cease and clubs were forced to think about technologies such as video streaming, esports and VR as potential alternatives to live sport. VR has continued to sell well and in this post, I cover VR and sports fans in lockdown. Conclusion VR is not new, but it has grown and improved in recent times to show some exciting new applications to engage sports fans worldwide. We have looked at some examples of applications which bring sports fans closer to the action. With new platforms and applications emerging, the social and technological barriers for VR adoption are beginning to break down. This opens up incredible opportunities for sports clubs to engage with fans around the world and even to create social VR experiences across the globe. VR will continue to improve and recreate the atmosphere and excitement of sports and will open new markets and ideas in the future. I would love to hear your thoughts on this article, or read part 3 of this series on esports and fan engagement.

Piaggio follows the Vespa with a personal cargo robot

The Piaggio Group, creators of the Vespa, is exploring robotic technology with its new company, Piaggio Fast Forward. Its first product is Gita, a personal cargo robot able to carry 40 pounds worth of supplies. It can travel up to 22 mph automonously or under human instruction, and is capable of following a pedestrian or cyclist.

https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/30/vespa-creators-unveil-cargo-robot/

The Vespa brand's owner, the Piaggio Group, doesn't have a reputation for cutting edge tech (it only just started making an electric scooter). However, it's making up for that in style. It's establishing a robot-focused company, Piaggio Fast Forward, and has unveiled that company's first product: meet Gita, a personal cargo robot. The machine can haul up to 40 pounds of supplies either autonomously (if there are maps) or by following a human operator. It's fast enough to keep up with you on a bike (22MPH), and its zero turning radius promises the "human agility" needed to navigate sidewalks. If you don't like the idea of driving a car or pushing a dolly just to get your groceries home, this might be just what you were looking for. Gita will first show up in business-to-business test programs, but Piaggio intends to release something you can buy for individual use. A grander announcement is expected on February 2nd, and it might address some lingering questions about Gita. Will it be inexpensive enough that you can realistically buy the eventual consumer version? And is the range good enough that the robot can accompany you across town, or will it be limited to neighborhood jaunts? Those kinds of questions are important -- while Gita looks good at first blush, it has to be both affordable and practical to be more than a novelty.

IWG WeWork India predicts FY revenues +25%

WeWork India is forecasting a 25% rise in revenues this year due to strong demand, despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to CEO Karan Virwani. The company has changed its strategy and will now secure clients first before leasing office space. Virwani said “Work Near Home” and decentralised working practices are emerging trends. WeWork India lost 15% of its customers amid the coronavirus pandemic, but has since gained new clients, who are paying more fees, Virwani said. The company is due to open a new location in Bengaluru in November – its first since April.

https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/wework-india-expects-25-growth-in-revenue-for-2020-despite-covid-19-11599230064169.html

Co-working major WeWork India expects its revenue to grow by 25% this calendar year as demand for flexible workspace remains strong despite COVID-19 pandemic, its CEO Karan Virwani said on Friday. WeWork India, which is owned by Bengaluru-based realty firm Embassy Group, has 34 centres comprising 60,000 desks across six major cities. WeWork Global had in 2017 partnered with Embassy Group to enter Indian market. In an interview with PTI, he said the company will acquire clients first and then take on lease Grade-A office space as against the earlier practice of setting up centres first and then reaching out to potential customers. 'Work Near Home' and decentralized workforce model are some of the new trend emerging in the office segment, Virwani said. WeWork India has recently leased a large space to a law firm in Bengaluru and is now targeting educational institutions that are exploring to set up their base in coworking centres during this pandemic. Virwani expressed confidence that WeWork India would become profitable next year and said the company was adequately funded with the infusion of ₹750 crore by WeWork Global in June. "Business is doing good. Customers want more flexible workspace. Not only the new age but traditional businesses are also looking for coworking space to reduce their capex," he told PTI. Virwani said the company lost 15% clients after the outbreak of coronavirus disease and subsequent lockdown, but the company has gained new clients who are paying more. "We expect our revenue to grow 25% during this calendar year," he said, but declined to share the topline it achieved in 2019. Asked about expansion plan, he said the company has not opened any centre since April but plans to open one in November in Bengaluru comprising over 2 lakh sq ft space. "We will expand based on demand. We will find new clients and then sign up real estate space," Virwani said, indicating a shift in the company's growth strategy. Asked about the structure of the funding from WeWork Global, he said the company raised USD 100 million (about ₹750 crore) in the form of compulsory convertible debentures (CCDs). Post converison of these debentures which is due next year, Virwani said WeWork Global will have 20% stake in WeWork India. "The fund was raised at a valuation of USD 500 million," he said. Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of WeWork Global, has joined the board of WeWork India. Virwani said the company has adequate capital and there is no immediate plan to raise funds. Being bullish on the coworking segment, he said coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the shift to flexible workspaces. As the COVID-19 pandemic poses unprecedented challenges for educational institutions around the world, Virwani said WeWork India will offer students flexible space options that are tailor-made for productivity. The company can help educational institutions de-densify their spaces, create decentralized campus hubs in new cities, and bring classrooms to where students are, he added. Corporate clients contribute around 65-70% of the business and it will remain so going forward, he said. Embassy Group is a major player in the Indian real estate market. It has also launched the country's first real estate investment trust (REIT). This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Topics

NewCold to open new facility in UK

Netherlands-based NewCold, are opening a second deepfreeze facility in the UK in Corby; the 23-acre site is positioned to help reduce food miles for customers in the region. This comes 5 years after opening their first facility in Wakefield. Newcold have found success in their unique approach to cold storage which uses heavy automation and allows for 50% less energy usage than the industry standards as well reducing food-miles with higher capacity trailers which combine to notably decrease their carbon footprint. NewCold are in discussions with a number of high-volume customers in the region including Nomad Foods.

https://foodanddrinknetwork-uk.co.uk/newcold-grows-again-as-demand-for-cold-storage-outstrips-supply/

Valorising through disruptive technology that’s faster than the speed of sound to create new income streams for manufacturers Green Cell Technologies® (GCT®) and RWH Holdings® (RWH®) have worked with several global brewers over a period of 8 years to understand the challenges around what to do with their leftovers – Brewers Spent Grain (BSG) and Brewers Spent Yeast (BSY) – and the answer, as it would happen, is Disrupt it.

IWG WorkChew launches restaurant-based co-working

WorkChew has launched an app that enables users to reserve a dedicated place to work at one of 14 restaurants in Washington DC. Most participating eateries set WeChew hours during downtime, but guarantee a power outlet and high-speed broadband. They also offer discounts on food, happy-hour prices or other deals. WorkChew calculates such a feature will create a competitive environment as its network grows. Users can buy a day pass or monthly membership plan. The company, which launched in Washington DC in June, has since opened in Chicago and plans to expand further.

https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/young-hungry/article/21066742/workchew-turns-dc-restaurants-into-coworking-spaces-during-offpeak-hours

Credit: Darrow Montgomery What if you could whip out your laptop at a restaurant and fire off some emails without fielding dirty looks that make you feel like you’re breaking with decorum? An innovative new startup whose app launches today is transforming D.C. restaurants into coworking spaces during their off-peak hours. WorkChew offers an alternative to coffee shops, libraries, and places like WeWork and Cove. Here’s how it works. Washingtonians can choose between a day pass or two monthly membership plans. One allows you to WorkChew in restaurants concentrated in one neighborhood while the other, an all-access pass, lets you WorkChew at all participating locations. WorkChew is a noun and a verb, like Uber. Fourteen D.C. restaurants have signed on so far: HalfSmoke, RedRocks on H Street NE, Bareburger, Homestead, The Ministry, Osteria Morini, MXDC, Pitango Gelato on Columbia Road NW, Kaliwa, Casolare, Cork Wine Bar and Market, Matchbox on 14th Street NW, Shaw’s Tavern, and Fare Well. Across the river in Northern Virginia, Cheesetique in the Mosaic District, Colada Shop in Sterling, and Red’s Table in Reston are also WorkChew locations. Members open the app and reserve a dedicated space at a WorkChew restaurant, which guarantees them an outlet and access to high-speed internet. Most restaurants keep WorkChew hours between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the workweek, though there are some exceptions, like Casolare. Because the Italian eatery is inside a hotel that offers breakfast, its WorkChew hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each participating restaurant offers WorkChew members a deal. At Kaliwa it’s 15 percent off all food; Casolare takes 10 percent off the whole check; and Cork Wine Bar offers happy hour pricing. “We let the restaurant decide what they want to offer members, understanding that as we get more locations, it’s going to become more competitive as far as where people decide to go,” explains WorkChew CEO Maisha Burt. Burt’s background is in big data, corporate strategy, finance, and investment banking. She has worked at commercial and investment banks as well as for the federal government as a contractor. She teamed up with co-founders Paul Dahm and Allyson McDougal to launch the startup. Dahm, the chief relationship officer, was previously the executive director of Brainfood. The nonprofit, which no longer operates, engaged teens by teaching them cooking and life skills and helped them find employment in kitchens. Local chefs often served as guest instructors and fundraiser participants, which helped Dahm develop a close network of contacts in the D.C. restaurant scene. He leveraged these connections to help WorkChew with its initial outreach. McDougal, the COO, was the third to sign on. She was building a company that would aid startups when she saw an ad for WorkChew on Instagram and joined. She had already made a habit out of working out of Junction Bakery & Bistro in Alexandria. “I reached out and said, ‘I’d love to come on board and help you guys scale,’” she says. “Over time it transformed into me coming fully onto the team.” After a quiet roll out in D.C. that began in June 2018, WorkChew was accepted into the Chicago-based startup accelerator The Food Foundry. Through the program, the team profiled potential customers and tested the market to find the sweet spot for pricing. Dahm says the Windy City is responding well to WorkChew, giving them forward momentum. The trio is aiming to expand beyond these two cities. “There’s almost no place this wouldn’t work,” Dahm says, explaining that all WorkChew requires is a city with a decent dining scene and a diverse economy with a varied workforce. “It’s super scalable, especially because it’s capital-light. We’re not building buildings.” They’re optimistic about securing investment and going national because they believe WorkChew solves two problems simultaneously. First, it provides the ballooning sector of teleworkers, self-employed entrepreneurs, and other professionals who work remotely with a fresh option that’s dependable and competitively priced. “The future of work is changing,” Burt says. “More companies are comfortable with the telework aspect.” According to Gallup’s 2017 “State of the American Workplace” report, 43 percent of American employees work remotely in some capacity. That’s up from 39 percent in 2012. These figures do not include self-employed professionals. In the D.C. area, 32 percent of non self-employed workers worked from home or coworking spaces in 2016 “at least occasionally,” according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ most recent “State of the Commute” survey. Those working remotely aren’t just stereotyped millennials carving paths in emerging industries. According to several reports, the federal government is still the single largest telework employer. “Those people want to get out of the house,” Burt continues. “They’re sick of working from home where there are distractions. The only place they know to go right now are coffee shops. They’re packed all of the time. We want to fill that gap and also say that you have an alternative to a full-blown coworking space where you’re paying $300 a month.” WeWork’s “hot desk” prices in D.C. start at $350 per month. A “hot desk” means you choose a new spot every visit in a shared common area. Over at Cove, an unlimited access plan for a hot desk set-up costs $229 per month; AdvantEdge Workspaces charges $229; MakeOffices asks for $400; Spaces NoMa will run you $350; and Locale comes in at $159. Comparatively, WorkChew’s neighborhood pass is $24.99 per month and its all access pass costs $49.99. You can also buy a day pass for $14.99. “We think all people should have access to a workspace that’s predictable and flexible without a hefty price tag,” McDougal says. While some coworking spaces are high on aesthetic and come with amenities like printing and private phone booths, WorkChew argues its members get to work out of restaurants, which already aim to be inviting and attractive. WorkChew seeks a symbiotic relationship with its restaurant partners. The second problem the company hopes to address is slow daytime business that can contribute to the financial strain restaurants face in increasingly oversaturated, hyper-competitive markets like D.C. “It really is a partnership,” Dahm says. “Nobody is taking advantage of anybody. We’re solving a problem on both ends. There are not enough places to work and restaurants are getting squeezed. Real estate costs are crazy, margins are crazy. If we can boost their revenues by a little bit each month, we give them a little more runway.” More butts in seats creates the appearance of a popular restaurant, which often begets more business. “A lot of our restaurant folks, the first thing they’ve said is, ‘Can I put your people in the front window?’” Dahm continues. “They understand that people are followers. If a place looks busy, it’ll get busier.” WorkChew also tries to nurture a community among its members with message boards and networking events. “When you’re that mobile worker and you don’t have the profession that keeps you in your office from 9 to 5, you miss the catered lunches, snacks, and camaraderie with colleagues,” McDougal explains. The founders say they’re going to plan happy hours and other evening events at WorkChew restaurants, further driving diners in their direction. “While I’ve never been an at-home worker, I think being able to have a network of places with delicious food that are welcoming to you coming in to do some work and use their internet sounds much more appealing to me than the alternative where the TV beckons,” says Kaliwa General Manager Nikki Gulick. WorkChew is a good fit for Kaliwa because business at The Wharf is often dictated by concerts and the weather. The Asian restaurant has plenty of availability during its WorkChew hours of 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. “We guide guests to the bar and chef’s counter because there’s an outlet at every seat,” Gulick says. “It’s easier to serve those guests without being intrusive, too. If you’re at a table, someone will come every 15 minutes asking, ‘Are You OK?’” “There’s a time in the middle part of the day where guests need somewhere to go and we have the space,” says Casolare General Manager Christopher Van Jura. “It’s a no-brainer.” He expects to see a bump in revenue but not necessarily from WorkChew members during the hours they’re clacking away on keyboards. “In all likelihood, they’re going to come back to whatever restaurant they’re utilizing and they’re going to have dinner or happy hour. It’s not about the ‘now’ money.” Cork Wine Bar and Market Co-owner Diane Gross is banking on the same thing. “It’s always great if you can explore other ways of bringing people in that don’t know about your place,” she says. WorkChew members might peruse the dinner menu or spot the new patio and come back with friends or family in the evening. Mostly, though, she’s interested in spreading the word that Cork is open for lunch. “This is at a minimal cost, if any really, and probably more of a benefit,” Gross says. “It seems advantageous all around.” There is of course the concern that WorkChew members won’t spend money because they’re not obligated to. “But that hasn’t been the experience so far,” Gross says. “By and large, people are respectful of these situations.” “We’re trying to build that culture,” Burt says. “In our messaging, when people become members, we reach back out and say we’ve built WorkChew to not only help you guys, but the restaurants as well. Although you’re not required to buy anything, please do spend because you’re helping local restaurants stay open, which helps the local economy.” WorkChew offers spending reward points to further coax members into ordering. “There’s a reason why ‘chew’ is in the name,” Dahm points out. “We want to appeal to people who like restaurants. If all you care about is coffee and a danish, maybe you’re not the ideal member. We want people who want to come to cool places and eat good food.” Recommended Stories

Reekoh aims to expand IoT coverage into South-East Asia

Australian start-up Reekoh has teamed up with Kyocera Communications Systems to expand adoption of the company's IoT integration platform across Asia. Reekoh integrates device data with enterprise Software-as-a-Service, with firms such as Microsoft, Cisco and Salesforce. Reekoh CEO Dale Rankine said the integrations are delivered via the IoT markeplace Plugin Store, which contains plugin options for Amazon Web Service, Microsoft, Cisco and Sigfox.

http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/610450/aussie-start-up-expands-internet-things-offering-into-asia/

Australian startup, Reekoh, has struck a deal with Kyocera Communications Systems in a move designed to drive greater adoption of the company’s Internet of Things integration platform across Asia. In a bid to reach a global audience, Kyocera has signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) to offer Reekoh’s technology to customers in Singapore and the South East Asia region through system integration and customer teams. Based in Sydney, Reekoh integrates device data with enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and systems, partnering with key vendors such as Microsoft, Cisco and Salesforce. According to Reekoh CEO and co-founder, Dale Rankine, these integrations are delivered to the market and customers through the Plugin Store, a marketplace for the IoT ecosystem. The store contains plugin options for vendors such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Cisco and Sigfox, alongside targeted offerings from companies in the areas of analytics, machine learning, data visualisation and cloud storage. “IoT is arguably one of the hottest areas of interest and growth in the technology sector, and will become a major driving force of change as we realise the benefits of having a highly connected and data-driven environment,” Rankine said. “Much of the IoT space is actually less about the ‘thing’ and more about the contextual decision making that can happen with data derived from a connected ecosystem, so this is where we see the most opportunity. “With Reekoh, we’ve taken a different path within the IoT Platform space to most other competitors.” Rankine said Reekoh recently achieved 100 plugins available through the marketplace, and is delivering more through partners who are adopting the open plugin framework and building own integrations. “The endless possibilities offered by Reekoh via numerous plugins ensures compelling features for new and existing IoT initiatives for KCSG,” Kyocera Communications Systems managing director, Shigeo Oshima, added. “The disruption in technology allows for very exciting projects to come. We believe a collaboration with a vibrant firm such as Reekoh will trigger innovative ideas in our business area and will add a lot of value to the entire IoT marketplace.” Rankine said Reekoh has secured a number of early charter customers and partners, following increased demand from a wide range of industries and global regions. “The immediate plans for Reekoh are focused on customer acquisition and traction before opening a potential investment round in early 2017,” Rankine added.

Germany to help Australia assess green hydrogen export potential

The German and Australian governments have agreed to study the potential for a hydrogen supply chain between the countries. The study will compare the countries’ technology, experience, regulations and demand for hydrogen, along with assessing Australia’s potential to produce hydrogen and hydrogen energy carriers. A hydrogen supply chain with Germany could be worth billions of dollars in export earnings for Australia while helping Germany meet clean energy targets, said the Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham.

https://renews.biz/63073/germany-australia-ink-green-hydrogen-alliance/

Two countries to carry out a feasibility study into the potential for closer collaboration on producing the gas Germany and Australia have signed an agreement to carry out a feasibility study into the potential for closer collaboration and the future development of a hydrogen supply chain between the two countries. The agreement is between the departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry, Science, Energy and Resources of Australia and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany. The study will focus on the comparison of the current technology and research readiness levels along the whole supply chain. It will also look at the exchange of technologies, knowledge and experiences between the partners on both sides, as well as assess Australia's potential to produce hydrogen and hydrogen-based energy carriers from renewables for export to Germany and associated markets. Other areas that will be looked at include identification of economic, technological and regulatory requirements for the transport of and trade in hydrogen from renewables, and determination of demand and end use for the gas. Economic, scientific, technological, regulatory and logistical barriers will examined and business models for green hydrogen identified. Australian minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said partnerships with countries such as Germany would be key to the development of a strong and world-leading hydrogen industry in Australia. He said: “These kinds of partnerships will be critical to further developing our emerging hydrogen industry and Australia’s future as a powerhouse in clean energy exports. “Exploring opportunities for future collaboration on commercial scale operations and investments in hydrogen production is vital if Australia is to realise the significant economic benefits and job creation opportunities hydrogen brings. “This study gets the ball rolling on the development of future hydrogen supply chain with Germany which could lead to billions of dollars in export earnings for Australia and help them meet their future clean energy ambitions. “With Australia well positioned to be a major supplier of low emissions hydrogen, and global demand for hydrogen continuing to grow, we need to continue to develop links with future importers around the world.” Minister for Resources Keith Pitt said the study will look to underpin the future of hydrogen supply and help to inform two-way trade and investment between Australia and Germany. He said: “This kind of cooperation is another step in helping to secure Australia’s clean-energy trading future which is backed by our abundant natural resources and strong history of being a reliable supplier. “This agreement will open up another new market for our resources and potentially create thousands of new job opportunities for Australians well into the future. “Clean hydrogen is a transformational fuel that can be used to power vehicles, generate heat and electricity, and as a chemical feedstock in major industrial applications. “Australia has what it takes to be a world leader in hydrogen production and exports that will help our trading partners lower their emissions.” Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said collaborating with key partners such as Germany will help to drive down the cost of new hydrogen technologies. He said: “Australia has the natural competitive advantage to be a world leader in exporting hydrogen. The expertise and infrastructure from our gas industry will assist us to use hydrogen as an energy source at home,” Minister Taylor said. “Australia’s future hydrogen industry has the potential to generate 7,600 new jobs by 2050, many in regional Australia, with exports estimated to be worth around $11 billion a year in additional GDP. “This is why the Australian Government has committed more than A$500m to back this industry’s development.”

Black Hat reveals cloud-based tools for regulatory compliance

Regtech is set to become a mainstream sector in Europe, with the likes of Google, Amazon and Microsoft preparing to move in, as increased compliance regulation forces businesses to use cloud computing to cope with the collection, analysis and storage of data, according to a report by Deloitte. Cloud-based regtech can not only free up capital for banks to use elsewhere, but also offer end-to-end encryption, the ability to remove or add features, remote storage of data and daily monitoring and back-up of information.

http://www.darkreading.com/black-hat-europe-2016---introducing-regtech-cloud-based-tools-for-regulatory-compliance/d/d-id/1327275?_mc=RSS_DR_EDT

Black Hat Europe 2016: Introducing ‘RegTech:’ Cloud-based Tools For Regulatory Compliance As regulatory requirements grow in volume and complexity in Europe and globally, cloud computing is emerging as a key tool to help companies manage compliance processes. For many years, the security of the cloud was viewed with distrust and apprehension. Today acceptance of cloud computing among enterprises has been growing steadily; as executives have grown more comfortable with its risks they have also learned to value its considerable benefits. Probably the best known benefit of cloud computing has historically been cost savings. Now we have one more: organizations are turning to the cloud to help them with the ever-growing demands of regulatory compliance. How Cloud Can Automate Compliance Regulations increasingly demand that organizations collect, store and analyze enormous amounts of data related to their business. In 2015 alone, more than 20,000 new regulatory requirements were created, while there will be an expected 300+ million pages of regulations by 2020, according to IBM. And let’s not forget the less frequent but seismic shifts like Brexit, which, when they happen, send tremors throughout the regulatory landscape, increasing uncertainty, complexity, and confusion. Keeping up with regulatory compliance requires an ever bigger chunk of enterprises’ operational budgets, as well as significant staff resources. From an IT perspective, this means continuous upgrades of software, hardware computing power and storage capacity. Naturally, organizations who have opted to host their regulatory compliance systems in house are struggling with the rising IT complexity and cost. As a result, many are turning towards SaaS, IaaS and PaaS providers that can offer computing environments with these levels of scalability, flexibility, sophistication and availability. This is especially true of companies in highly-regulated industries like finance and healthcare, whose compliance burdens are particularly heavy. What are these companies finding in cloud computing providers catering to regulatory compliance automation that they can’t replicate in house? Robust big data analysis engines State-of-the-art security for stored and in-transit data Massive storage capacity Specialized and continually updated compliance software that uses the latest machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithmic advances. Say Hello to ‘RegTech’ Cloud computing is the anchor for a set of technologies and products collectively known as ‘RegTech' because they’re used to automate regulatory compliance processes. According to a recent Deloitte report, a “defining feature” of RegTech is that most products are cloud-based, with benefits including: Remote storage Management and backup of data Pay per usage Strong end-to-end encryption Flexibility to add or remove software features RegTech products are designed to automate regulatory compliance processes, and in recent months, they’ve started going from niche to mainstream. In late September, IBM acquired Promontory Financial Group, a regulatory compliance consulting firm, to transfer its expertise to the Watson cognitive system and give it RegTech capabilities. Financial technology newswire Finextra called this deal “the biggest example yet of the coming age of RegTech, in which technology is applied to the unravelling of regulatory red tape.” Meanwhile, American Banker declared that “RegTech is Real” in a September article, and wrote: “IBM's deal to buy Promontory Financial Group portends a dramatic change in the roles computers and humans play in regulatory compliance.” According to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), compliance process areas RegTech can significantly impact include risk data aggregation, modeling and real-time transactions monitoring, and it can free up capital that banks could use in other parts of their operations. Long term, RegTech “will empower compliance functions to make informed risk choices based on data provided insight about the compliance risks it faces and how it mitigates and manages those risks,” Sean Smith, a Deloitte partner, is quoted as saying in the report, titled “RegTech Is The New FinTech.” Meanwhile, a Business Insider report published in August states that RegTech products will help in many areas of compliance beyond automating legacy processes, such as interpreting legislation, designing new compliance processes, and managing and processing data. Europe is seeing its share of emerging RegTech vendors including Vizor in Ireland and FundApps in London. In October, U.K. RegTech firm ComplyAdvantage closed a funding round in which it raised $8.2 million. Regulation Trends The trend towards increasing the volume and complexity of regulations is intensifying in Europe and elsewhere. For example, the EU’s wide ranging and severe General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), adopted this year, will take effect in 2018. If your organization is attempting to deal with this manually, and with on premises systems, it will place a big financial, technological and operational burden on its shoulders, and risk failure. All major cloud computing platform providers -- Google, Amazon and Microsoft -- have boosted their efforts in Europe in the past year, expanding their data center footprints in the continent and tailoring their offerings for the region and for key individual markets and industries. With cloud computing and related technologies like machine learning and RegTech software, organizations can shrink this gargantuan effort to at least a manageable scope.

DWP plans major overhaul of Nest

The UK government could open up pension program the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest), to individuals, and allow the scheme to offer its own in-house products. In a call for evidence, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wants to know of any "potential opportunities and risks" of amending legislation related to Nest, which has more than 3 million members, as it tries to keep up with the fast-changing pensions environment. The consultation period ends on 28 September.

http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/nest-eyes-drawdown-product-launch/?cmpid=pmalert_2430193&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=mm_daily_news

The Government is planning to allow national pension scheme Nest to offer its own in-house retirement products and remove restrictions on who can join. In a call for evidence published today, the Department for Work and Pensions outlines potentially radical changes to the scheme. It says: “The Government wants to understand the potential opportunities and the risks of amending legislation to give Nest – like other pension schemes – the ability to offer more flexible decumulation services. “Without change, as other pension schemes develop and adapt their offerings, Nest members will not have the same opportunity as others to benefit from the pension reformrs, without making the active choice to cahnge scheme.” It notes Which? research that warns people with smaller pots may struggle to access some products, including drawdown, that are designed for wealthier people. The DWP is also considering changing rules to allow more people to join the scheme. Currently individuals cannot save into Nest without being employed by a firm that has picked Nest, having self-employed status or via a pension sharing order. The DWP says: “There may therefore be a case, as we come to end of the roll-out of automatic enrolment, to open up access to Nest for individuals, helping to maximise consumer choice.” It adds opening up access “may also better support the deliver of the freedom and choice reforms”. Restrictions on annual contributions and bulk transfers in are already due to be lifted in April 2017. Nest is the largest auto-enrolment provider in the UK with over 3 million members. The consultation closes to responses on 28 September 2016. Nest chair Otto Thoresen says: “We welcome today’s call for evidence, and its focus on enabling NEST members to achieve good retirement outcomes in the new freedom and choice world. As Trustee of a pension scheme with over 3 million members, we believe we have a duty to ensure our members can access their money in ways that work for them. “Nest was set up in a world where most of our members were compelled to annuitise. Nest now needs the flexibility to develop and deliver different approaches, to give our members real choice within the new freedoms and to recognise that working patterns are changing fundamentally. “Allowing savers to continue contributing and drawing from their pension pots within a trust-based framework, providing guidance and support for accessing retirement products within schemes and from the open market will be key to promoting confidence in saving and promoting confidence in retirement.”

Nicaragua unrest continues with 10-year-old girl killed

Government-backed paramilitary forces launched an operation on 15 July to clear protesters’ barricades in the opposition stronghold of Masaya; Six civilians including a 10-year-old girl were killed. The conflict marks Nicaragua’s third month of political unrest with protesters demanding the resignation of the current president and vice president. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has stated it was aware of “violent repression” in Masaya and currently counts the death toll at 264 with at least 19 people killed since 12 July.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/nicaragua-unrest-10-year-killed-death-toll-tops-280-180716055913496.html

Rights group says young girl was among the 10 killed after pro-government forces launched operation in country’s south. At least 10 people, including a young girl, were killed in Nicaragua after pro-government forces launched an operation in the country’s south, a rights group has said. The Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights (ANPDH) said that six civilians and four riot police officers died on Sunday in the city of Masaya, as well as in the nearby Niquinohomo and Catarina communities and the Monimbo neighbourhood. Among the dead was a 10-year-old girl who was shot in the stomach and died due to a lack of medical attention, ANPDH head Alvaro Leiva said. “There are sharpshooters located in different parts of the city,” Leiva added as he urged citizens to take shelter in their homes. Government-backed paramilitary forces started the operation in and around the opposition stronghold of Masaya to clear protesters’ barricades. Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa reported that hooded men arrived in Toyota Hiluxes with mechanical shovels and started firing shots. “We are being attacked by the National Police and paramilitaries armed with AK-47s and machine guns in our indigenous neighbourhood of Monimbo,” Masaya resident Alvaro Gomez told AFP news agency. “We are resisting with homemade bombs and stones.” In a statement on Sunday, Nicaraguan police said that one police officer was kidnapped, tortured and killed by “terrorist groups, who stay in trenches in the city of Masaya”. They did not comment on the other deaths reported by ANPDH. Antonia Urrejola, the Nicaragua rapporteur for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), said in a tweet that she was aware of “violent repression” in and around Masaya. “The state seems to ignore the dialogue. Nicaragua must guarantee people’s lives and respect the due legal process,” she said. @CIDH toma conocimiento de represión violenta a las poblaciones de Masaya, Niquinohomo, Catarina, Diriomo y Diria, con heridos y detenidos. El Estado parece ignorar el diálogo. #Nicaragua debe garantizar la vida de las personas y respetar el debido proceso legal. — Antonia Urrejola (@totonia68) July 15, 2018 Besieged church The violence came a day after 200 university students were freed from a besieged church in the capital Managua. The students of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) had been trapped inside the church by gunfire coming from pro-government groups. Two students were killed and dozens more wounded in the violence. Nicaragua has entered its third month of political unrest. Protests broke out in April over now-scrapped pension reforms and have since expanded into general opposition to President Daniel Ortega and his government. Protesters are demanding the resignation of Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, whom they accuse of establishing a dictatorship characterised by nepotism and brutal repression. Rights groups have accused security forces and groups loyal to the government of using “lethal force” to crack down on the protests. More than 280 people, the vast majority of them civilians, have been killed in the violence, according to rights groups. On Wednesday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said the death toll stood at 264. Since Thursday, at least 19 people have been killed, according to local rights groups. Last week, Ortega rejected calls for his resignation, telling thousands of supporters that protesters demanding he leave office should “seek the vote of the people” if they want to govern.

US Ggovernment enlists private sector to fightghelp counter ISIS

On 24 February, White House officials met with representatives from the technology, advertising and entertainment industries to discuss strategies to combat groups such as ISIS online. At least 49 companies were invited to participate, alongside officials from the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the UN, and the British Embassy. A panel featured ISIS’ media strategy and ways to “scale counter-narratives and optimistic messaging”. Participants also reportedly grouped into teams to discuss in which areas their companies could impact most. A have the greatest effect. Additionally, a plan was also devised for the next 100 days.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-tech-hollywood-white-house-20160224-story.html

Supporters of Apple’s stance against the FBI hold a rally Tuesday outside an Apple Store in Los Angeles. White House officials met with representatives from the tech, advertising and entertainment industries Wednesday to discuss how to combat activities of terrorist groups online. Representatives from at least 49 companies — including Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, Google, Mediacom and Edelman — were invited to meet with officials from the Justice Department, the United Nations, the British Embassy and the Department of Homeland Security. The meeting was called the Madison Valleywood Project, in reference to the participation of industries on Madison Avenue, in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, according to documents from the meeting reviewed by The Times. Advertisement See more of our top stories on Facebook >> The agenda included talks by the assistant attorney general for national security, John P. Carlin, and a panel discussion about the militant group Islamic State’s media strategy and ways to “scale counter-narratives and optimistic messaging.” The agenda also detailed activities such as “Storyboarding the Opportunity,” in which teams of eight people of interdisciplinary skills determined where their companies could have the greatest effect. They then prepared their ideas for a presentation. In “Huddle to Roadmap Next 100 Days,” teams came up with a plan for things they could do for the next 100 days. The meeting comes at a time when the technology industry’s cooperation with the government is under heavy scrutiny. Apple in particular is facing increasing pressure from the FBI to provide assistance in hacking an iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. Apple has steadfastly refused to cooperate, citing customer privacy concerns. Marc Raimondi, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said the goal is to take “every action possible to confront and interdict terrorist activities wherever they may occur, including in cyberspace.” “We are using this engagement and others to enlist the help of industry leaders and experts in our effort to ensure we bring the most innovative private and public sector thinking to all aspects of combating terrorism,” the DOJ official said. Meanwhile, Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch told a House Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday that companies must comply with court orders to search devices. Without mentioning Apple, Lynch repeated the government’s position that companies should take extra steps to help law enforcement execute warrants. “If the government needs the assistance of third parties to ensure that the search is actually conducted, judges all over the country and on the Supreme Court have said that those parties must assist if it is reasonably within their power to do so,” she said. “And that is what we have been asking, and we owe it to the victims and to the public whose safety we must protect to ensure that we have done everything under the law to fully investigate terrorist attacks on American soil.” Twitter: @traceylien ALSO How the iPhone’s security measures work Chinese tech execs side with Apple -- or maybe just against the FBI Apple’s Tim Cook disappointed with Justice Department’s handling of San Bernardino case

Mercury forced to pause onshore wind project due to Covid-19

Power producer Mercury NZ has confirmed that it will cease all building work at its NZD464m ($275m) Turitea wind farm until further notice, in advance of a national lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The firm's 119 MW northern complex had been scheduled to go live in the summer, while the turbines at its 103 MW southern zone were slated to become operational in late 2021.     

https://renewablesnow.com/news/covid-19-forces-mercury-to-halt-work-on-222-mw-wind-project-692282/

Mercury NZ Ltd (NZE:MCY) will halt construction activities at its 222-MW Turitea onshore wind complex following the coronavirus breakout. The New Zealand power producer said on Wednesday it will cease work at the site in the Manawatu-Wanganui region for an unspecified period of time as the country prepares for lockdown in order to stop the spread of the novel infectious disease. According to the government’s regulations, all non-essential construction work must be halted. The NZD-464-million (USD 271.6m/EUR 251.2m) Turitea wind farm was initially slated to begin operations late in 2021 when turbines in its 103-MW southern zone were planned to be switched on. The 33 machines at the complex’s 119-MW northern zone (phase one) were expected to go live this summer. The overall commissioning timeframe of the project will now change, the developer said but added efforts will be made to accelerate work. Mercury said it will monitor the COVID-19 response levels and work with contractors Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS), Electrix and Transpower to restart the construction at an “appropriate time.” (NZD 1.0 = USD 0.585/EUR 0.541) Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!

Digital marketing strategy is most sought after skill in Singapore

Expertise in digital marketing strategy is the most valued skill by professionals working in digital, marketing and communications in Singapore, according to new research. The survey by QED Consulting found 92.7% of those asked considered digital marketing strategy to be part of the critical skillsets in their sector. Other skills rated highly included social media marketing at 85.4% and digital analytics and performance, at 84.2%. Amongst the least important skills identified were pricing strategy, chosen by just 22% of respondents, and go-to-market strategy, chosen by just over a third.

http://www.marketing-interactive.com/infographic-top-digital-skills-in-demand-in-singapore/

With digital becoming a mainstay in many local companies, its unsurprising to find that the talent hunt for digital functions is ever competitive. However, a new report by QED Consulting has found digital marketing strategy to be the top most coveted skill set for digital, marketing and communications professionals.The top five critical skill sets for a digital, marketing and communications professional include digital marketing strategy (92.7%), followed by social media marketing (85.4%), digital analytics and performance (84.2%), digital storytelling and content creation (76.8%) and brand management (74.4%).According to the study, this indicates that a combination of strategy and creativity are traits are highly sought after. This was also observed for both government and commercial organisations which prioritised these technical skills. However for the case of commercial organisations, skills in digital analytics and performance skills were favoured – likely due to a focus on transactional outcomes.Government agencies preferred individuals with customer experience management skills due to their priority of public outreach and community engagement. This is to provide service and build trust and confidence among citizens.Meanwhile, the least required skill sets by digital, marketing and communications professionals include mobile marketing (47.6%), digital crisis management (45.1%), online reputation management (40.2%), online lead generation (36.6%), go-to marketing strategy (34.2%) and pricing strategy (22.0%).According got the report; this result might due to be the lack of internal expertise and know-how by organisations in these areas – which may then be outsourced to agency partners when required.The study also found that most organisations in Singapore view training as an important part of professional development, setting annual training quotas on employees. However, 42% believe that the responsibility and initiative to learn and grow rests on the individual rather than the organisation.In terms of time investments, employers are willing to allow employees two to five days away in a year for learning and development. Short courses with specific skills transfers are also preferred to academic-type programs which usually last months. In-house training is prioritised (87%) over other types of training such as public trainings (76%) and customised trainings (73%), to help reduce long run costs.The Digital Marketing Talent Development Survey was conducted with organisational decision makers between March and April 2018, which encompasses 93 client-side respondents and enterprise-sized organisations with over 200 employees. These decision makers came from marketing and communications backgrounds, as well as management and human resources/learning and development.Respondents were from a mix of commercial entities, non-profit organisations and government agencies, with a majority representing six key industries such as education, government, consumer goods, hospitality and travel, real estate and media and entertainment, based in Singapore.The objective of the study was to understand the career progression tracks and role of a digital marketer or communicator and also the required technical skill sets for a digital marketer or communicator in the workplace. It also looked to understand the training investments that organisations were willing to make for their digital marketing and communications staff.(Photo courtesy: 123rf)

Ergon Solair to build a 40 MW solar in Kenya with FiT

Ergon Solair Africa has secured consent from the Energy Regulatory Commission of Kenya for a 40 MW Kenyan solar farm. The Kisumu Solar One project is backed by a feed-in-tariff of $0.075/kWh and set to go live in December 2023, with a predicted first-year generation capacity of 105.3 MWh. A power purchase agreement with state-owned Kenya Power has yet to be finalised.

https://renewablesnow.com/news/ergon-solair-gets-nod-for-40-mw-fit-backed-solar-project-in-kenya-694687/

Solar developer Ergon Solair Africa Ltd has won regulatory consent to build a 40-MW photovoltaic (PV) park in Kenya that will be backed with a USD 0.075 (EUR 0.064) per kWh feed-in tariff (FiT). The approval was awarded by the Energy Regulatory Commission of Kenya (EPRA), the affiliate of US-based Ergon Solair PBC said last week. It covers the so-called Kisumu Solar One project that will be installed in western Kenya’s Kisumu County and is planned to go live in December 2023. While the FiT for the scheme was granted in 2019, a power purchase agreement (PPA) is yet to be negotiated. According to a news service Afrik21, state-owned Kenya Power (KPLC) will be the power off-taker. Ergon Solair Africa started developing the project in 2013 and received EOI approval a year later. It expects its Kisumu Solar One park to be capable of producing 105.3 MWh of electricity in the first year of operation. “It is very important for Kenya to have many such “solar hotspots”, it creates a solid foundation of prosperity and freedom for our country,” said Alberto Soprani, Ergon’s senior vice president for Africa. (USD 1.0 = EUR 0.914) Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!

France bans smart devices and smartphones in schools from September

Children in France will no longer be able to bring smartphones and smart devices into schools starting from September 2018. Lawmakers decided the ban will apply to schoolchildren aged between 3 and 15 while high schools will be given the choice to assume the ban. The law aims to protect children from phone addiction following on from a 2010 law banning phone use in classrooms.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/31/europe/france-smartphones-school-ban-intl/index.html

CNN — French children will have to leave their smartphones and smart devices at home or switched off when they are at school starting in September. The ban on smartphones as well as other kinds of internet-connected devices, such as tablets, applies to schoolchildren between 3 and 15 years of age, and was passed by lawmakers on Monday. French high schools, or lycées, with students 15 and older, will get to choose whether to adopt the phone ban for their pupils. “We know today that there is a phenomenon of screen addiction, the phenomenon of bad mobile phone use… Our main role is to protect children and adolescents. It is a fundamental role of education, and this law allows it,” said Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer on French news channel BFMTV. The law fulfills one of President Emmanuel Macron’s campaign promises. It passed 62 votes to one, supported by members of Macron’s centrist La République en Marche! party. Some lawmakers from the right and the left abstained, claiming the law would change little. “This isn’t a 21st century law in our eyes, but a law from the era of news channels and binary debate,” said Alexis Corbière, a deputy from the left-wing Unbowed France party and a former teacher. “In reality, the ban has already been made,” he added, referring to a 2010 law. “I don’t know a single teacher in this country that allows the use of phones in class.” High school students with their smartphones and tablet computers at the vocational school in Bischwiller, eastern France. PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP/Getty Images A law approved in 2010 banned the use of smartphones “during all teaching activity.” The new law makes exceptions for disabled students, during extracurricular activities and for “pedagogical use.” This is your brain on a smartphone Our increasing dependence on smartphones has given rise to the term “nomophobia,” or “NO MObile PHOne phoBIA” – the fear of not being able to use your cell phone or other smart device. One survey from the UK showed that 66% of respondents have some form of nomophobia and 41% of those respondents said they had two or more phones in order to stay connected. And as rates of smartphone and internet addiction rise, so too do the adverse effects of these activities on our brains. A study from South Korea conducted on teenagers with internet and smartphone addiction demonstrated that their brains had higher levels of a neurotramsmitter that slows down neurons, resulting in reduced levels of control and attention and rendering people more susceptible to distractions. Another study by the London School of Economics and Political Science showed that banning smartphones in schools caused a clear improvement in students’ test scores. More that 90% of French children between the ages of 12 and 17 had mobile phones in 2016, up from 72% in 2005, according to French telecoms regulator ARCEP.