Danielle Rochette APTN National NewsIt’s a first for Quebec.In the small Abénakis community of Wôlinak, there’s a food truck that offers Aboriginal specialties — with an Italian chef.

A coalition of civil-liberties and immigrant-rights groups is demanding that the federal agency tasked with reuniting asylum-seeking children with relatives immediately stop sharing information with immigration authorities.The groups say the information the agency gets from the children is being used to deport relatives and other potential sponsors.The groups made a complaint in a letter Wednesday to the Health and Human Services and Homeland Security chiefs. The complaint is about the little-heralded role the refugee resettlement office assumed this year in an agreement between the departments.Under the info-sharing pact, fingerprints and biographical data from would-be sponsors are fed into a Homeland Security database revamped to aid immigration verification.Immigration officials say the pact is justified because it facilitated the arrest of 41 people for deportation over the summer.Frank Bajak, The Associated Press read more

Panaji: The BJP on Sunday announced the candidature of former MLA Siddharth Kunkolienkar for the Panaji Assembly bypoll scheduled for May 19.The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting MLA and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar on March 17. While there was speculation that Parrikar’s elder son Utpal would be given a ticket, a statement on the BJP’s website about Kunkolienkar’s candidature put an end to it. The BJP’s Central Election Committee secretary Jagat Prakash Nadda announced the candidature of Kunkolienkar on Sunday afternoon. Incidentally, Kunkolienkar had won the seat in the 2017 Assembly polls before vacating it on May 10 that year to allow Parrikar to contest and enter the 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly. Parrikar, who was then Union defence minister, was brought back to helm the state government after the BJP fell short of a simple majority and had to ally with other parties like Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, as well as Independents. read more

Rabat – Nine companies from the Spanish region of Murcia, operating in various sectors, will visit Morocco May 7 to 14 in order to strengthen their presence in the Moroccan market, Murcia’s first exports destination in North Africa.This economic mission, organized by the Murcia Chambe Nine companies from the Spanish region of Murcia, operating in various sectors, will visit Morocco May 7 to 14 in order to strengthen their presence in the Moroccan market, Murcia’s first exports destination in North Africa.r of Commerce and the Murcia Region Development Institute (INFO), aims to consolidate and increase exports from the region to Morocco, which amounted to EUR 341.36 million in 2016, stated INFO in a communique.Different sectors will be represented in the Murcian delegation, including agri-food, building and construction materials, chemical industry, water technology, and logistics transport, the statement said, pointing out that in 2016, 724 companies from the region have exported to Morocco. On this occasion, Javier Celdran, the Director of INFO, stressed the importance of this economic mission to strengthen trade partnerships with Morocco, a “strategic market” for Murcian companies.Morocco is the main export destination of the region of Murcia in North Africa, ahead of Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia. Exports from this region to North Africa have grown steadily since 2011 and amounted to 722.94 million euros last year, stated the Institute.The main products exported to Morocco are fuel, worth EUR 159.16 million in 2016, followed by containers and packaging with EUR 45.24 million, and iron and steel products at EUR 31.42 million.These results make Murcia the 7th largest Moroccan-exporting autonomous region of Spain, as well as the 7th region in terms of imports from Morocco.This economic mission is part of the “Africa Plan”, one of the strategic axes of the Outreach Plan coordinated by INFO. It also receives funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). read more

Rabat – The Grammy-winning dance-pop band Black Eyed Peas will join the line-up of stars at Rabat’s 18th Mawazine Festival Rhythms of the World. Organizers of the event announced on Tuesday, April 23, that the band will be performing at the OLM Souissi stage on June 25. The group has sold over 35 million albums and 21 million singles in less than 15 years, garnering international fame. With tracks like the major hit “Where Is the Love?” from their 2003 Elephunk album  topping worldwide charts, the Black Eyed Peas have produced dazzling musical melodies crafted from sounds of rock, pop, funk, and even salsa.Read also: Hip-Hop Music at the Heart of Mawazine 2019The band was born out of three Californians, will.i.am, Taboo, and apl.de.ap. In 2009, the Black Eyed Peas were one band out of only 11 artists to have held both number one and two simultaneously on America’s “Billboard Hot 100” record chart. The Black Eyed Peas’ unique style with hip-hop and boundary-crossing vibes address a wide range of critical societal issues like war, hate crimes, terrorism, and discrimination.Under the patronage of King Mohammed VI, the annual  Mawazine Festival will bring music to six venues across Rabat June 21-29, coinciding with International Music Day. The festival’s four largest stages offer free concerts, but two smaller stages require tickets.Read also: Mawazine 2019: Which African Artists will Dominate the Bouregreg Stage?Rosalia, American DJ Marshmello, and Colombian-born reggaeton star J Balvin will open the festival on June 21.Mawazine Festival serves as a platform to highlight Morocco’s multifaceted cultural diversity and is a meeting point for people from all around the world. read more

Addressing an open meeting of the Security Council, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Michael Williams also said that renewed violence has threatened the stability of Lebanon and that Israel has faced fresh rocket attacks on its northern front.“The region as a whole is highly volatile and unstable, overshadowing efforts to make political progress,” Mr. Williams said during his briefing on the Middle East’s latest developments.Describing Hamas’ takeover of control in the Gaza Strip as “well planned and executed,” he condemned “the brutal violence… and the attacks on the legitimate institutions of President Abbas and the PA [Palestinian Authority] government” as totally unacceptable and said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon regretted the failure of the National Unity Government.“Despite what has happened, Gaza and the West Bank remain one Palestinian territory, legally administered by one Palestinian Authority headed by President Abbas, who has appointed an emergency government led by Prime Minister [Salam] Fayyad.”Mr. Williams said it was now vital that Israel and the international community immediately deliver political and financial support to Mr. Abbas and the Palestinian government, including by releasing all previously withheld Palestinian customs and tax revenue.“What is also needed is action on previous Israeli commitments, including the evacuation of settlement outposts, removal of roadblocks and checkpoints and release of prisoners. Equally, Fatah and the PA should act on previous commitments, not only to end violence, but to thoroughly reform its institutions.”The UN’s most immediate humanitarian concern is to re-open the crossings between Israel and Gaza for commercial and humanitarian imports, the envoy told the Council, especially as the situation in Gaza has stabilized and food and medical shortages there have mounted.In response later to a question from journalists, Mr. Williams welcomed Israel’s move this morning to allow a number of people seeking urgent medical care to cross from Gaza.The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that crossing points into and out of Gaza remain largely closed, and increasing food shortages are expected in the coming weeks.Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes called on Israel and the Palestinian authorities to regularize access for essential goods to prevent a further deterioration of the situation.The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that seven of its trucks successfully crossed into Gaza yesterday, and another nine trucks crossed today, carrying basic commodities. A separate truck brought medical supplies yesterday as well.The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is aiming to send vaccines and medical and emergency kits, as well as fuel for urgent sanitation and water needs, to Gaza.Turning to Lebanon in his briefing, Mr. Williams expressed concern about last week’s assassination of the lawmaker Walid Eido and nine others in a Beirut bombing, and the continuing violence between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Fatah el-Islam gunmen at a Palestinian refugee camp in the north of the country.He also noted that two Katyusha rockets were fired on Sunday from southern Lebanon at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, causing minor damage but no casualties, and called it “a most serious violation” of the Security Council resolution ending last year’s war between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hizbollah. 20 June 2007Hamas’ violent seizure of de facto political authority in Gaza, the demise of the Palestinian National Unity Government and the declaration of a state of emergency by President Mahmoud Abbas have created new political realities and worrying conditions across the occupied Palestinian territory, the United Nations Middle East envoy warned today. read more

“I urge flexibility in continuing to define a modus operandi with regard to Kosovo’s participation in regional and international mechanisms and forums that are essential to the economic and democratic development and the long-term stability of the region,” he says in his latest report to the Security Council on the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).He reports an improvement in UNMIK’s relations with the Kosovo authorities after they had maintained very limited contacts with his Special Representative Lamberto Zannier during previous months and terms the overall security situation “relatively calm, but potentially fragile.”UNMIK administered Kosovo from 1999 when North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid bloody ethnic fighting between Serbs and Albanians, but it gave up its administrative role following the declaration of independence, which Serbia rejects while expecting a robust role on the part of the Mission. “UNMIK remains committed to facilitating the engagement of all sides in order to find practical solutions to issues of mutual concern,” Mr. Ban stresses. “Despite the cooperation with all sides, agreement has proved difficult in such areas as justice, customs and cultural heritage.”The Mission has continued its efforts to find durable solutions for protecting Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo, but without success, although the issue “is in the interest of all parties and has been discussed extensively for many months,” he says. During the 1999 fighting and outbreaks of violence since, Serbian Orthodox churches and Albanian mosques have been destroyed or damaged.While pleased that tensions between Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs have significantly decreased in the northern Kosovo community of Kroi i Vitakut/Brdjani, he notes that the situation in northern Kosovo remains fragile. “In particular, inter-ethnic incidents continued to occur in northern Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, which is a cause for concern,” he says.“UNMIK has continued to support minority communities, to encourage reconciliation and to facilitate dialogue and regional cooperation,” he adds, stressing that the Mission’s strategic goal “remains the promotion of security, stability and respect for human rights in Kosovo and in the region through engagement with all communities in Kosovo, as well as with Pristina and Belgrade [the capitals of Kosovo and Serbia] and with regional and international actors.” 15 January 2010United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Serbia and Kosovo, which unilaterally declared its independence two years ago, to find ways to put aside status considerations in the interest of pursuing regional cooperation. read more

Despite it being treated as a missing person case, hundreds of police officers have been involved in investigations, combing the East Yorkshire city to search for the 21-year-old. In a grim twist, investigators were not immediately able to establish the gender of the body due to decomposition. An initial examination by the coroner’s office in nearby Cleethorpes concluded the remains were likely female … Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily  Front Page newsletter and new  audio briefings. Forty-nine days after Hull student Libby Squires went missing, pieces of the tragic puzzle finally started to emerge.  Seven weeks of uncertainty about her fate began coming to an end on March 20, when, at around 2.30pm, the coastguard spotted what appeared to be human remains in the Humber Estuary.  read more

FACEBOOK HAS BECOME part of our everyday discourse. As a friend said to me recently, imagine if you had said to someone 11 years ago ‘I poked your girlfriend last night’ – it would have had a very different outcome than what it does today. So, on Facebook’s 10th birthday, let’s have a reflection on its childhood so far.Facebook usage has been on the rise since its inception in 2004. Currently, the number of Facebook users exceeds 1.26 billion people worldwide. Facebook was the brainchild of Mark Zuckerburg and was initially created as a social networking platform for university students. However now, 66 per cent of its current users are between the ages of 15-34 years. The popularity of Facebook in recent years can be highlighted in the fact that there were 100 million users in 2008 and 1.26 billion in 2013. In light of the pace of this evolution there has been little time to explore the psychological development and impact of this phenomenon.Given the magnitude of this phenomenon, it is interesting to see whether the rise in social media has altered the way in which we communicate with each other. I feel that this form of communication has presented changes to previously held concepts such as privacy, intimacy, interpersonal relationships and emotional expression and this can be evidenced by the increased observation of how Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is now a regular feature of psychotherapeutic discussions. There is some literature that backs this up when it indicates that people of all ages describe ‘strong emotional experiences’ of engaging with social networking sites (Williams 2000, Locatelli 2012, Choi 2000).A new and incredibly popular form of communicationAs a psychotherapist I am particularly interested in status updates as I feel they represent a new and incredibly popular form of communication. I feel that there is a revealing potential of the status update feature which might suggest that this new form of communication that is ‘more about connection than conversation’. I am a Facebook user and am in no way an anti-social media revolutionary, merely it is my concern that the rise of CMC in recent years has affected our capacity to reflect and be alone – as previous concepts of public, private, intimacy, friendship and emotional support have all undergone considerable revisions.As of 2011, Facebook had 800 million active users, more than 50 per cent of those logged into the site on any given day (Facebook.com 2011). In psychotherapy practise, many clients share their emotional experiences of their online/social media experiences in the clinical space (Kolmes 2013). This evolution has led to terms such as ‘cyber bullying’, ‘social media addiction’, ‘problematic internet use’, ‘excessive online gaming’ and ‘Facebook Depression’ to become commonplace in the clinical area (Langois 2011). Some young people report a degree of emotional fallout which can result from their engagement with the Facebook activity known as ‘status updating’ but in the field of psychotherapy this is a concept that is largely unexplored (Pujazon-Zazik & Park 2010).So let’s look at how this seems to have come about…The early yearsWhen Facebook was born, much like the promise of a newborn child, it held much hope and expectation. However in the beginning, again like a newborn, it did very little.In the early days we spoke of how ‘handy’ Facebook might be to keep in touch with our friends and relatives in Australia and other far off places (which is a delusional explanation that still remains today). We spoke of well-intentioned usages for this new social platform, which were akin to the naive image of the new mother who pictures herself basking on a rocking chair with their beautifully cute and quiet child.However, much like the new mother quickly finds out, the child is never quite as compliant or easy as the brochure would suggest. Facebook started to grow up. It introduced us to status updates, picture posting and gave us an opportunity to publicly display our skills and our flaws. As we engaged with this new connectivity over the coming years we saw Facebook as a place to brag, boast, garner attention, sympathy and to share with others what we chose to.I liken this to the new parent who can mange others impression of themselves through their children as they don their new baby in the best Ralph Lauren babygrows in order to display their wares, or alternatively plead for sympathy or empathy as they tell everyone of their struggle with sleeplessness, colic and other challenges.We embraced this new ‘baby Facebook’ in our lives in many different and unique ways that were in line with our desires or our insecurities.ToddlerhoodAs Facebook entered toddlerhood it began to show its capacity for mischief and disobedience. As users became aware of its capability, issues such as fraping, cyber bullying and social media abuse began to sneak in. We also saw how we had the capacity to ‘creep’ on the profiles of others, pass judgements and create significant levels of envy.Anxieties were on the rise as the toddler became more and more interactive and the Facebook software did likewise. Much like the inquisitive 6-year-old, Facebook began asking more and more questions of us: what we liked, what we were feeling, what we were doing at every given moment – and much like the developing independent pre-teen, we were requested to give regular ‘check ins’.Our relationship with this complicated ‘Facebook child’ has waxed and waned over these years as we oscillate between loving, adoring and depending on it, to needing to self-impose several ‘breaks’ from it as it drives us crazy. We have, despite our many different views of the Facebook software, developed many complex relationships with this phenomenon.Sibling rivalryOf course, the arrival of the sibling of Twitter caused some bit of a stir and many departed and became split between the rival children, yet Facebook has remained present for many despite the challenges of other contenders. Akin to many 8- and 9-year-olds, the playground became more competitive for Facebook as the likes of Instagram, Askfm and Snapchat arrived on the scene. Consequently, Facebook has had to become a bit more aggressive and ‘cool’ to maintain its status as the most popular kid in town. This has not been helped by the increase in parents coming onto Facebook which has had the effect similar to the 9-year-old’s mother kissing them goodbye in front of their pals…This Facebook childhood has had its fair share of dramas and with cyber-bullies, sexual predators, frapings and now neknominations. It has been a far cry from an idyllic child initially imagined. Yet we remain truly committed to it despite our many threats to leave.So it has been an interesting first 10 years for this ‘Facebook child’ and, we must remember, it is still a child. We can sometimes forget that Facebook is still relatively new, and like any other interested onlooker I am intrigued to see what adolescence has in store….Colman Noctor is a Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytical Psychotherapist at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services.Read: Twitter could soon let you buy goods directly from tweetsRead: Facebook plans to take over mobile by launching standalone apps read more

The Graphics Interchange Format (or GIF for short) has been an Interent staple since the beginning, like CompuServe beginning. These bitmap images gave life to an otherwise moving image-less web before Youtube and Hulu were ever a possibility. Today, this media format floods our Tumblr, Reddit, and Google+ feeds, providing laughter and annoyance to all–either way, none can escape the GIF. For the first episode of its second season, PBS’s Off Book web series is exploring how one of the the oldest image formats on the web has evolved over the past 25 years from roaring 8-bit fires and waving American flags, to a new art form that stands apart from the grainy moving pictures you typically find on gif.tv. The video even goes as deep as explaining how GIF should properly be pronounced. Apparently, the original CompuServe developer once said, “Choosy developers choose Jiff.” The video predominately focuses on how artists are taking, what looks like high-resolution videos, isolating an object within that video, and looping the movements it makes to create what seems like a still image with a repeating element. Microsoft Research recently released a piece of freeware called Cliplets, which helps users create these “classier GIFs”–similar to the ones shown later on in the video (you know, the ones with the fashion models). What these artists are creating is no doubt beautiful, but GIFs always felt, to me, like something that was accessible to everyone, which is what makes it so great. The video grazes over the geekier, underground GIF world filled with memes and video game references that keep the format alive. Websites like YTMND. However, since the rise of video sites like Youtube, YTMND and similar destinations have fallen out of popular favor. But GIF-based websites still continue to crop up, like Procatinator, which combines the Internet community’s two favorite things: cats and animated GIFs (set to music). Off Book is a bi-weekly web series that has investigated everything from steampunk to F.A.T. Lab. Check out the Off Book webpage for more geeky exclusives. read more

REMY GABALDA/AFP/Getty ImagesThe female cabin crew of a Delhi-bound Saudi Airlines flight were subjected to an appalling incident when a 24-year-old man from Kerala unzipped his trousers after he was not allowed to light a cigarette. He went on to make obscene gestures.The incident happened on a flight from Jeddah to Delhi when Abdul Shahid Shamsudeen from Kerala’s Kottayam district was not allowed to light his cigarette but refused to comply, reports IANS.He had first verbally abused a female crew member and when she called others to help her, he unzipped his pants and made lewd comments and gestures.”The man created a ruckus. When the female cabin staff called her colleagues for assistance, the man allegedly unzipped his pants and made obscene gestures,” a source was quoted as saying.The crew members then filed a complaint with the Central Industrial Security Force in Delhi after the flight landed. Shamsudeen was detained after the complaint was filed. He has been booked under sections 354 (molestation) and 509 (using word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. read more

Rest of India0.500.4896.00 Ceded3.305.57168.78 Nizam7.2014.23197.63 Overseas0.850.88103.52 Andhra6.5012.90198.46 iSmart ShankarTwitterRam Pothineni’s iSmart Shankar remained undeterred by Vijay Devarakonda’s Dear Comrade, as it made crossed Rs 50 crore gross mark in 15 days.The Puri Jagannadh directorial opened to superb response and collected Rs 46.10 crore at the worldwide box office in the eight-day-extended first week. The movie earned Rs 29.10 crore for its distributors, who shelled Rs 20 crore on its global theatrical rights.In its second week, iSmart Shankar faced a roadblock in the form of Dear Comrade, which was the most talked-about film for various reason. After seeing the hype surrounding it, trade analysts predicted that iSmart Shankar’s collection would be halted by the Vijay Devarakonda and Rashmika Mandanna starrer.iSmart Shankar did witness a steep decline in its collection on the day Dear Comrade hit the screens, but the movie showed decent growth over the weekend after the new release received mixed responses. In fact, the Ram Pothineni starrer fared better than Vijay Deverakonda’s film on the weekdays.According to reports, iSmart Shankar has collected approximately Rs 7.30 crore gross at the worldwide box office in the second week, taking its 15-day total collections to Rs 53.40 crore. The movie has earned Rs 33.70 crore for its global distributors.Here are the area-wise earnings and distribution rights’ prices of iSmart Shankar. These numbers are based on various sources and may not match with actual figures released by the makers or distributors. All the figures are in INR crore.AreaAreaRightsRightsEarningsEarningsRecovery (%)Recovery (%)AreaNizamRights7.20Earnings14.23Recovery (%)197.63AreaCededRights3.30Earnings5.57Recovery (%)168.78AreaAndhraRights6.50Earnings12.90Recovery (%)198.46AreaAP/TS totalRights17.00Earnings32.70Recovery (%)192.35AreaKarnatakaRights1.50Earnings1.45Recovery (%)96.66AreaRest of IndiaRights0.50Earnings0.48Recovery (%)96.00AreaOverseasRights0.85Earnings0.88Recovery (%)103.52AreaGlobal TotalRights20.00Earnings35.51Recovery (%)177.54 Karnataka1.501.4596.66 AP/TS total17.0032.70192.35 AreaRightsEarningsRecovery (%) Global Total20.0035.51177.54 read more

The remnants of post-tropical cyclone Ophelia slammed parts of Ireland with wind gusts of more than 90 miles per hour, reportedly causing the deaths of at least three people and bringing strange red skies to the U.K.“A woman died in Waterford County [Ireland] after a tree fell on the car she was in, according to local officials,” NPR’s Frank Langfitt reports from London. According to the BBC, a man “died near Dundalk, [County] Louth, after his car was struck by a tree” and another man was killed “in a chainsaw accident in [County] Tipperary while attempting to remove a tree downed by the storm.”Met Éireann, the Irish meteorological service, warns of “violent and destructive wind” and said “some flooding expected also, due to heavy thundery downpours and storm surges in coastal areas.”As of Monday afternoon, Ophelia had knocked out power to about 360,000 customers in Ireland, according to ESB Networks, which operates the country’s power system. The utility said that “fallen trees on overhead lines are responsible for most of the damage to the network.”Irish authorities have “ordered schools, courts and government buildings to remain closed before the storm’s arrival,” according to The Associated Press.Schools in Northern Ireland are closed Monday and Tuesday owing to “the prolonged nature and potential severity of the storm,” according to the Department of Education.When your software isn’t written for tropical storm force winds North of 60 degrees.https://t.co/2LHdzqtC96 pic.twitter.com/RR8KsGdI8R— ᎬᎡᎥᏦ (@erikcorry) October 14, 2017Flood warnings have also been issued in Cornwall, which lies on the southern coast of England.Ophelia’s location is already historic. As The Two-Way reported, Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach noted that when the storm reached Category 3 status on Saturday, that made it “the farthest east (26.6W) an Atlantic major hurricane has existed on record.” Ophelia weakened Sunday night and lost hurricane status, according to the U.K.’s Met Office.The uniqueness of Ophelia’s position was clear in a wind-speed-probability map issued by the National Weather Service. As Twitter user Erik Corry pointed out, at a certain position north and east of the British Isles, the map simply cuts off — suggesting it is not programmed to show tropical-storm-force winds in those areas.Dominic Lipinski/APA plane flies past the Shard in central London on Monday amid skies that took on an unusual orange color caused by storm Ophelia.The storm’s winds brought warm air up through the U.K., causing unseasonably high temperatures. Those winds, according to the Met Office, “have also drawn dust from the Sahara to our latitudes and the dust scatters the blue light from the sun letting more red light through much as at sunrise or sunset.”The U.K.’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution is warning people to stay out of the sea. “Stormy conditions may be tempting to watch but big waves can easily knock you off your feet,” RNLI’s Matt Crofts said in a statement. “The sea is far more powerful than you think and your chances of survival are slim if you are dragged into the swell.”Ophelia is expected to track northeast into Northern Ireland and Scotland. Southeast England will very likely stay mostly dry, according to the Met Office. Share read more

Festivities marked the launch of Kalyan Jewellers flagship showroom in the upmarket South-extension neighbourhood of New Delhi. The flagship showroom is the largest showroom of Kalyan Jewellers in North India. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, the brand ambassador for Kalyan Jewellers along with Jaya Bachchan and his daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda were present for the inauguration and they held the excited crowd in thrall with their presence as they thanked the fans for their love and support. Also Read – Add new books to your shelfT S Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director of Kalyan Jewellers along with the Executive Directors Rajesh Kalyanaraman and Ramesh Kalyanaraman were present at the inauguration. After addressing the huge gathering outside the showroom, they cut the ceremonial ribbon at the foyer of the showroom before taking a tour of the showroom. With the launch of this flagship showroom, Kalyan Jewellers presently has eight showrooms in the NCR region, and a grand total of 132 showrooms globally. The showroom is spread over two dedicated floors with ample parking and will offer customers a curated jewellery shopping experience with a wide variety of contemporary and traditional designs for every day as well as bridal wear and festive occasions. Also Read – Over 2 hours screen time daily will make your kids impulsiveT S Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers Ltd. said, “Our flagship showroom will give our customers a superior value proposition with the assurance of the best of quality and the highest service standards. With an investment of around Rs125 crore, this showroom reiterates our commitment to grow our presence in the country. The launch is the beginning of the second phase of expansion for which a budget of Rs.1000 cr. has been earmarked for 20 showrooms during this fiscal. The expansion is being met through internal accruals, without any bank borrowings or capital dilution” Customers can avail the Dhanteras 2018 rate protection offer at the launch of the flagship showroom by pre-booking their jewellery. Lucky ones stand a chance to win up to 500 gold coins, through a scratch and win offer valid on all purchase above Rs 20,000. Apart from this, Kalyan is also offering all its patrons an assured and free gold coin, on purchases of diamond, solitaire, polki and precious stone based jewellery above Rs 25,000. read more

Luxury Furniture Market Luxury Furniture Market Report, published by Allied Market Research, forecasts that the global market is expected to garner $27.01 billion by 2020, registering a CAGR of 4.1% during the period 2015-2020. Asia Pacific would witness the fastest growth, owing to the rise in disposable incomes. Wooden luxury furniture has gained substantial demand worldwide, followed by metal. The high acceptance of wooden furniture is primarily due to durability and the modern yet antique look, which makes it a good fit for both household as well as the commercial usage.View Detail Summary of this report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/luxury-furniture-marketThe luxury furniture market is highly fragmented with a large presence of family run domestic companies. However, this does not limit the market reach of the companies as online portals are extensively used as a platform for sales. The strategic tie ups between the market participants and the interior designers have broadened the scope of this market and help in creating product awareness among the end users. Luxury furniture also reflects the social status of individuals; a trend that also boosts the growth of the luxury furniture market.The demand for wood furniture is highest in the global market due to high aesthetics value associated with it. The glass furniture segment is expected to witness the fastest growth through 2020, catalyzed by its growing demand in the corporate and hospitality sector. The plastic furniture segment would grow at the slowest pace during the forecast period due to the environmental concerns associated with plastic degradation and its lack of aesthetic value, as compared to other materials. The leather furniture segment would grow at a considerable pace; however, the growth of this segment would be restricted due to its limited use in sofas and ottomans. Additionally, stringent government regulations on the import of leather largely restrain the market growth of this segment. Eco-friendly furniture and multifunctional furniture have gradually gained popularity. Growing environmental awareness and space constraints in urban regions, are key factors that drive the adoption of this furniture in the global market.The domestic sector contributed nearly two-third of the global luxury furniture market revenue in 2014. The furniture used in living rooms and bedrooms, hold the highest demand in the domestic sector. The commercial sector is a comparatively smaller market, which is primarily governed by the hospitality sector. A large presence of upscale hotels, commercial infrastructures and a booming hospitality industry, arising from an increasing pace of foreign investments in the Middle East, account for the dynamic growth of the luxury furniture market in the commercial sector. Additionally, growth in the hospitality and tourism sector, especially, in cities such as Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat and Riyadh, exhibits a dynamic market for the commercial luxury furniture.Key findings of the Luxury Furniture Market :The wood luxury furniture segment leads the market with about 24% market share in 2014 and is estimated to dominate the market throughout the forecast period. However, the metal luxury furniture segment would witness a comparatively higher growth rateThe domestic end user segment would continue to dominate the global market over the forecast periodThe market for luxury furniture in the lighting segment would grow at a CAGR of 8.3% during 2015 – 2020The hospitality sector within the commercial user segment would exhibit a steady demand for luxury furniture, registering a CAGR of 3.4% during 2015 – 2020Domestic manufacturers in the luxury furniture market such as Laura Ashley, Scavolini, Giovanni Visentin and Muebles Pico largely focus on manufacturing stylish luxury furniture products with high quality raw materials. Thus, the companies in the luxury furniture market largely compete on the aspect of aesthetic value. New product launch complimented with innovative design is the key strategy adopted by companies. In addition, the prospects in e-commerce platforms would also help the market players in expanding their geographic presence, which, in turn, would boost the overall market growth.Request Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/645About Us:Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of “Market Research Reports” and “Business Intelligence Solutions.” AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact:Dhananjay Potle5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1-800-792-5285UK: + 44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: + 852-301-84916India (Pune): +91 20 66346060Fax: +1⟨855⟩550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.comWeb: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com read more

Last month, the Guardian reported that Apple contractors regularly listen to confidential medical information, drug deals, and personal recordings of couples, as part of their job via Siri’s recordings. The contractors are responsible for grading Siri’s responses on a variety of factors such as checking if the activation of the voice assistant was deliberate or accidental,  if the query was something Siri was expected to help with and whether Siri’s response was appropriate. As per the report by the Guardian, one of the Apple contractors explained the grading process. In the grading process, the audio snippets are taken which are not connected to names or IDs of individuals and contractors are made to listen to them in order to check whether Siri is accurately hearing them or Siri may have been invoked by mistake. In a statement to the Guardian, Apple said, “A small portion of Siri requests are analysed to improve Siri and dictation. User requests are not associated with the user’s Apple ID. Siri responses are analysed in secure facilities and all reviewers are under the obligation to adhere to Apple’s strict confidentiality requirements.” Additionally, Apple said that the data “is used to help Siri and dictation … understand you better and recognise what you say.” Siri can also accidentally get activated when it by mistakenly hears the word ‘wake’ or the phrase “Hey Siri”. The Apple contractor explained, “The sound of a zip, Siri often hears as a trigger.” This month, Apple has planned to suspend Siri’s response grading and review the process, this might be the company’s counter move against this report by the Guardian. Apple will also be issuing a software update in the future that will give Siri users a choice to choose whether they participate in the grading process or not. In a statement to TechCrunch, Apple said, “We are committed to delivering a great Siri experience while protecting user privacy.” The company further added, “While we conduct a thorough review, we are suspending Siri grading globally. Additionally, as part of a future software update, users will have the ability to choose to participate in grading.” Companies like Amazon and Google have also come into the radar because of involving humans for monitoring their automatic voice assistants. There were reports that stated that Amazon’s staff was listening to some of Alexa’s recordings. And there was a similar incident that happened with Google Assistant. This month, Amazon came up with an option to disable the human review of Alexa recordings. It seems users might appreciate if they are asked for their consent before their personal recordings get monitored. Also, these recordings get stored on the server and if any incident of data breach takes place or if a malicious attacker targets the server or datacenter, there is a high possibility of such data getting into the wrong hands. And this might make us think if our personal data is really secure? In a recent Threatpost Podcast on voice assistant privacy issues, Tim Mackey, principal security strategist at cybersecurity research center at Synopsys said, “The biggest concern that I have is actually around data retention policies and disclosure.” Mackey further added, “So we have an expectation that these are connected devices, and that perhaps short of the Alexa-then-perform-action activity, that the communication, the actual processing of our request is going to occur on an Amazon server, Google server or so forth…. And what we’re learning is that the providers tend to keep this data for an indeterminate amount of time. And that’s a significant risk, because the volume of data itself means that it’s potentially very interesting to a malicious actor someplace who wishes to say, target an individual.” Read Next Apple acquires Pullstring to possibly help Apple improve Siri and other IoT-enabled gadgets Apple joins the Thread Group, signaling its Smart Home ambitions with HomeKit, Siri and other IoT products Apple previews macOS Catalina 10.15 beta, featuring Apple music, TV apps, security, zsh shell, driveKit, and much more! read more

The 2014 AIME Awards have been announced.The Industry Person of the Year Award was awarded to Joyce DiMascio, Chief Executive of the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA).“Joyce’s determination to see the business events industry evolve, and the way in which she works closely with events such as AIME to highlight the vital contribution exhibitions and events make to our sector, means she is a fitting recipient of this year’s prize,” Reed Travel exhibitions director for AIME, Jacqui Timms said.The Best Environmental Stand went to Townsville Convention Bureau, due to their attention to energy efficiency, maintaining a low carbon footprint and use of environmentally friendly products.In addition, EXPOnet took out the Best Innovative Stand Award while American Express receieved the AFTA Best Business Travel Award Stand.Source = ETB News: L.B. read more

VOMO Island Fiji resort GM Mark Leslie will move on in March after six years at the luxury resort.His achievements include the complete refurbishment of the villas in 2015, the opening of the five-star PADI Dive Centre and Kui Spa, followed closely by the significant rebuild after Cyclone Winston in 2016.During Leslie’s tenure he also opened the two luxury Palms and BeacHouse multi bedroom residences, with a further two residences in progress, due for completion in early 2020.VOMO’s new general manager, Justin King, starts in April. He has previously managed an island resort in the Yasawa region and was also instrumental in the creation and management of Saffire Freycinet Lodge in Tasmania.King has also held senior roles in London, Doha and Sydney.The post Change of general manager at VOMO appeared first on Discover the South Pacific.Source: Blog read more

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Late last week, Les Miles kicked the hornet’s nest when he appeared on a Houston radio show and took an apparent shot at Ed Orgeron for asking for patience from LSU fans. Here were Miles’s exact words:“I guess what I’m saying is that I never accepted the feeling of ‘Hey, we need to have patience.’ When you say that you need to have patience, aren’t you really just saying to your team that you’re not good enough? Because I want you to know something…I never took the field with the Tigers where I didn’t think that I was absolutely going to kick somebody’s tail, and that we were the best team. Period.”“It took me time during the week to get myself in a position where I was like, ‘Yeah. Okay. We got ’em. We got the plan. The plan is in. We’re ready to play.’ Now that took some time, but I never asked to ‘give me break here.’”Miles hopped on the ESPN Radio affiliate in Baton Rouge Monday and was given the floor to clarify his apparent criticism of his successor and instead, in that Les Miles way of his, left the waters muddier than they were before. AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Sponsored By Connatix Here’s the relevant transcript:ESPN guest host – Doucet: “You got a little fiery on a few subjects, I think you referenced patience when it came to coaching the current LSU team, certain people needing a safety net, so I’m just going to dive right into this because this is what people want me to bring up first with you. Can you just kind of serve it up for us and–“Miles: “Well, here’s the whole thing. You want your team to be confident. You want your team to step onto the field with the idea that they’re going to kick the living hell out of whoever they play, and you do that by saying, ‘The opponent’s in trouble. This is our base. This is all about us. This is not about them.’ You look towards those strengths that you have and you promote those, and when you walk onto the field you know that you’re going to kick the living hell out of somebody. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know who the person is that spoke in a way that said that the Tigers need patience. I’ve got to tell you, I think the Tigers really are going to be a capable and quality football team, and I think they’ll look forward to getting onto the field, period. Doucet: “Were you making a direct reference to a quote?”Miles: “I don’t know… Just heard it around the barbershop a little bit, ‘Give them a little patience.’ Holy whey-oo. Let’s win the first one and see if we can get the second one. If you get a chance to win the third one — oh my goodness, we’re on a run. I think that patience is… I never responded to patience very well.”Does Les come out and say “Yes, I was ripping Ed Orgeron because I think he was wrong to say that” here? No, he does not. But here’s something else he doesn’t say: “I know some people took my comments to be a criticism of Coach O and I want to clarify that isn’t what I meant.”Instead, Miles claims he wasn’t sure of the true source because he heard the chatter at the barbershop.And to reiterate one more time: the source of Orgeron’s plea for patience was limited to… the spring game.“We don’t have the whole offense in. This thing is going to go throughout the summer, throughout camp,” Orgeron said. “We want to look good next Saturday. I want the quarterbacks to look good. We want to throw the ball. Want all that to happen. I believe some of that is going to happen, but we’re not there yet. I ask the fans to be patient. We’re not where we need to be, but we’re going to get there.” read more