View time : 1 min 32
Level : Intermediate
Month: January 2023
Ukrainian startups bring tech innovation to CES 2023
Read time : 5 mins
Level : Intermediate
By JAMES BROOKS Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The past year has been difficult for startups everywhere, but running a company in Ukraine during the Russian invasion comes with a whole different set of challenges.
Clinical psychologist Ivan Osadchyy brought his medical device, called Knopka, to this year’s CES show in Las Vegas in hopes of getting it into U.S. hospitals.
His is one of a dozen Ukrainian startups backed by a government fund that are at CES this year to show their technology to the world.
“Two of our hospitals we operated before are ruined already and one is still occupied. So this is the biggest challenge,” Osadchyy said.
“The second challenge is for production and our team because they are shelling our electricity system and people are hard to work without lights, without heating in their flats,” he said. Continue reading
CES startups face cautious investors amid economic woes
Read time : 4 mins
Level : Advanced
By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — More than a thousand startups are showcasing their products at the annual CES tech show in Las Vegas, hoping to create some buzz around their gadgets and capture the eyes of investors who can help their businesses grow.
But amid the slew of layoffs in the tech industry and an economic landscape battered with high inflation and interest rates, many may be met with cautious investors looking for products that can deliver quick returns instead of hype.
Analysts say the event this year has somewhat of a muted tone compared to prior shows, when many companies routinely unveiled pie-in-the-sky projects that never saw the light of day. Carolina Milanesi, president and principal analyst at the consumer tech research firm Creative Strategies, said this time around, many of the tech items displayed during the show’s media preview days, which occurred Tuesday and Wednesday, have been less “flamboyant” compared to prior years, which showcased things like talking microwaves and smart jeans that vibrate to direct users.
“The economy — and I think the mood in general — is a little bit negative around tech,” Milanesi said. “It’s really getting companies to focus on real value for customers.” Continue reading
Dutch startup showcases stress relief in a box at CES
View time: 2 min 55
Level : Advanced
ZSL London Zoo begins annual stocktake
View time : 1 min 38
Level : Intermediate
South Asian eateries try ‘going local’ as recovery strategy
Read time : 5 mins
Level : Intermediate
By VINEETA DEEPAK Associated Press
NEW DELHI (AP) — Hotels and restaurants across South Asia have had to adapt and reimagine dining out since the pandemic ripped through the region, forcing many out of business.
Those that have survived are tapping local sources and going online.
In India, from hole-in-the-wall casual eateries to fine dining, restaurants were devastated by lockdowns and virus outbreaks, with millions losing their jobs since COVID-19 hit in early 2020.
In neighboring Sri Lanka, where the tourism-driven economy also has been hammered by political upheavals and shortages, the situation remains dire.
Saman Nayanananda, a food and beverage manager at a hotel chain in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, says going local for food sourcing and menu offerings is vital.
Nayanananda, who was in New Delhi recently for the South Asian Food for Thought festival, survived a devastating tsunami in 2004 that killed 230,000. He lived through a prolonged civil war that ended in 2009 and witnessed the aftermath of deadly 2019 Easter terrorist attacks. After every calamity, the economy managed to get back on its feet. Continue reading
Time zone by time zone, another new year sweeps into view
Read time : 6 mins
Level : Advanced
By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — New Year’s celebrations swept across the globe, ushering in 2023 with countdowns and fireworks — and marking an end to a year that brought war in Europe, a new chapter in the British monarchy and global worries over inflation.
The new year began in the tiny atoll nation of Kiribati in the central Pacific, then moved across Russia and New Zealand before heading deeper, time zone by time zone, through Asia and Europe and into the Americas.
The ball dropped on New York City’s iconic Times Square as huge crowds counted down the seconds into 2023, culminating in raucous cheers and a deluge of confetti glittering amid jumbo screens, neon, pulsing lights and soggy streets. Continue reading
Could trawler cameras save world’s dwindling fish stocks?
View time: 3 min 37
Level : Advanced