View time: 2 min 55
Level : Advanced
Author: natixis-ezine
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
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
ZSL London Zoo begins annual stocktake
View time : 1 min 38
Level : Intermediate
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
64% Of Americans Believe Social Media Is Bad for Democracy
Read time : 4 mins
Level : Intermediate
By Robyn Goldfarb
Social media has become an epicenter for news and politics. More than 4.74 billion people across the world use social media to stay up to date on current events and express their opinions on political and social issues. Ans it’s not going away. Experts are forecasting nearly 6 billion users on the major platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok by the end of 2027.
Some analysts have argued that social media is one of the most significant contributors to the decline of democracy around the world. The Pew Research Center surveyed 19 economies to discover how the citizens of these countries view social media and if they see it as a constructive or destructive aspect of political life.
A Force for Good and Bad
Pew Research posed the overarching question of whether people believe social media is good or bad for democracy. Across the 19 advanced economies polled, 57% say that social media has been more of a good thing, while 35% say it has been bad. Continue reading
COVID-19 tools used to expand global surveillance
View time : 3 min 16
Level : Intermediate
The Year of the Slap: Pop culture moments in 2022
Read time : 6 mins
Level : Advanced
By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer
Taylor Swift was up. Elon Musk was in, out, in and maybe out again. Tom Cruise was back. BTS stepped aside, and so did Serena Williams, and Tom Brady too — oops, scratch that.
But the slap? The slap was everywhere.
Ok, so maybe it wasn’t on the level of a moon landing, or selection of a pope. But henceforth all you need say is “the slap” and people will know what you mean — that moment Will Smith smacked Chris Rock at the Oscars and a global audience said, “Wait, did that happen?” Even in the room itself — maybe especially in the room itself — there was a sense everyone had imagined it, which helps explain why things went on as normal, for a bit.
The pandemic was over, phew! Well, of course it wasn’t. But live entertainment pushed forward in 2022, with mask mandates dropping and people rushing to buy things like, oh, Taylor Swift tickets! Continue reading
New tech, new organ supply?
View time: 3 min 26
Level : Advanced