Casablanca – Moroccan employers’ association CGEM and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) signed, Tuesday in Casablanca, a partnership agreement to reinforce the Moroccan-Japanese cooperation.The agreement, signed during talks at CGEM’s headquarters between Faiçal Mekouar, CGEM deputy CEO, and Yasushi Akahoshi, President of JETRO, will give new momentum to investment and trade between Morocco and Japan.Under this agreement, CGEM and JETRO commit to sharing information and experiences, discussing common interests and representing them at relevant bodies and bilateral summits. The agreement is aimed at developing economic, business and partnership relations between Moroccan and Japanese economic stakeholders. It will also set up an adequate framework for cooperation to join efforts and establish a profitable synergy for economic operators from both countries.With MAP
Some of the most active companies traded Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:Toronto Stock Exchange (16,480.53, up 81.06 points).Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA). Energy. Up 51 cents, or 5.33 per cent, to $10.08 on 11.5 million shares.Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSX:CPG). Energy. Up 28 cents, or 5.22 per cent, to $5.64 on 10.7 million shares.Baytex Energy Corp. (TSX:BTE). Energy. Up six cents, or 2.11 per cent, to $2.90 on 9.2 million shares.Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB). Health care. Down two cents, or 0.17 per cent, to $11.83 on 5.2 million shares.Toronto-Dominion Bank. (TSX:TD). Financials. Up 79 cents, or 1.07 per cent, to $74.47 on 4.9 million shares.Power Corp. (TSX:POW). Financials. Down 30 cents, or 0.95 per cent, to $31.32 on 4.3 million shares.Companies reporting:Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B). Up 48 cents to $33.05. Lawyers for Bell Canada and rival Quebecor Inc. were in court Friday, battling over three French-language sports channels that Bell TV subscribers haven’t received since the NHL playoffs began this week. Bell lawyer Francis Rouleau told Quebec Superior Court judge Claude Champagne that Quebecor planned well in advance to cut the signal on Wednesday as the National Hockey League playoffs began. Rouleau said Quebecor’s action breached their contract and flouted Canada’s Broadcasting Act. Quebecor’s lawyer responded that the company believes the CRTC rules are invalid.Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX:WEED). Up $2.86 or 5.3 per cent to $56.31. Canopy Growth will soon join the S&P/TSX 60, making it the first cannabis company to be added to the index of Canada’s large-cap stocks. S&P Dow Jones Indices says Canopy’s stock will replace Goldcorp Inc. and the change will take effect before trading on April 18. Goldcorp is set to be delisted once its merger with Newmont Mining Corp. is complete, and the combined company will apply for a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Canopy Growth was first went public on the TSX Venture exchange in 2014, and graduated to the main TSX board in 2016.Air Canada (TSX:AC). Down 26 cents to $32.53. Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu enjoyed a leap in total compensation to $11.5 million last year, up 28 per cent from $9 million in 2017. Total compensation for the carrier’s top six executives reached $24.9 million in 2018, a 24 per cent jump from $20.1 million the year before, according to the proxy circular ahead of Air Canada’s May 6 annual meeting. Rovinescu’s direct compensation amounted to $8.9 million, with a raise to $10.4 million planned for 2019. The pay bump came amidst record revenues of $18.07 billion in 2018, despite a plunge in net income to $167 million from $2.03 billion a year earlier.The Canadian Press
According to media reports, some 10,000 protestors have massed in the capital, Chisinau.“The Secretary-General strongly believes that any disagreements regarding election results should be resolved by peaceful means and calls on all parties to refrain from violence and maintain calm,” according to a statement issued by his spokesperson. 7 April 2009Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern over violent protests that broke out today in Moldova, following the European nation’s Parliamentary polls on 5 April.
Hervé Ladsous, who took up the post of Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations last month, met with President Salva Kiir in Akon, a town in Warrap state in the recently established country of South Sudan.The UN has a large peacekeeping mission (UNMISS) in South Sudan to help the nascent country’s authorities consolidate peace, develop State institutions, protect civilians, establish the rule of law and boost economic development.Speaking after his meeting with Mr. Kiir, Mr. Ladsous described their talks as friendly and constructive.“I wanted to have an exchange with the President about the general situation to confirm to him that the United Nations are ready, always in all circumstances, to help in building the State, in developing human rights and democracy, and also to help in the relationship between the south and the north,” he said.South Sudan became independent on 9 July after voters overwhelmingly backed secession from Sudan in a referendum held as part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan.Mr. Ladsous has spent two days in South Sudan on this visit, his first to the field since taking office. He has already travelled to Darfur, Abyei and the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to meet with senior Government and UN officials.The Under-Secretary-General said he was keen to obtain a first-hand assessment of the situation facing UNMISS and the other two UN missions in the area – Darfur (UNAMID) and Abyei (UNISFA).“We have to make progress on the protection of the civilians who find themselves in regions of conflict and violence. We have to push the peace process in Darfur. We have to watch very carefully and encourage Khartoum and Juba to further work on the relationship between the two countries.” 4 November 2011Protecting human rights, enshrining democracy and improving inter-Sudanese relations topped the agenda today during talks today between the new chief of United Nations peacekeeping chief and South Sudan’s President.
The West Indies were awarded five penalty runs and Sri Lanka eventually agreed to take to the pitch with the ball being changed.The Sri Lanka Cricket board later said in a statement that the team protested the decision taken by the umpires citing ‘’Changing the Condition of the Ball’’ and had refused to take to the field.SLC had however advised the team to take the field to ensure the continuity of the match and the cricket board commended the decision taken by the team to continue with the game ‘under protest’ to ensure the upholding of the spirit of the game. Sri Lanka on Saturday night said that it will defend the National cricket team over ball tampering allegations which surfaced in the West Indies.The Sri Lanka Cricket board said that the team management had informed them that Sri Lankan players have not engaged in any wrong doing during the ongoing second Test match played between Sri Lanka and the West Indies. The Sri Lanka cricket team refused to take the field on the third day of the second Test in the West Indies on Saturday after the ball-tampering row. Umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould had raised concerns about the condition of the ball towards the end of day two. Play started two hours later in St Lucia, following lengthy discussions between match referee Javagal Srinath and Sri Lanka’s coaching staff.The Sri Lankans were told on Saturday that play could not continue with the existing ball. Minister of Sports Faiszer Musthapa, and the Competent Authority of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Kamal Pathmasiri in collaboration with the SLC CEO Ashley De Silva and Chandima Mapatuna, Head of International Cricket of SLC conveyed to the team management that SLC will take all necessary steps to defend any player, in the event any unwarranted allegation is brought against a member of the team. SLC reiterated its commitment to adhering to the laws of the game and upholding the spirit of the game. SLC said it also stands firm in its commitment to protect the dignity of the National cricketers at all times. (Colombo Gazette)
Companies in this story: (TSX:NTR)The Canadian Press SASKATOON — Nutrien Ltd. has lowered its estimate for 2019 adjusted earnings to reflect the impact of wet weather on U.S. planting and other factors that will reduce demand for potash in North America, China and India.The Saskatoon-based company created by the merger of Potash Corp. and Agrium Inc. says it now estimates this year’s adjusted net earnings will be between US$2.70 and US$3 per share.That’s down about five per cent from between $2.80 and $3.20 per share adjusted earnings in Nutrien’s previous guidance for 2019.For the second quarter ended June 30, Nutrien had US$1.58 per share of adjusted net earnings — two cents below analyst estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.Net income from continuing operations, reported in U.S. currency, was $858 million or $1.47 per share with $8.66 billion of sales.In the second quarter of 2018, net income from continuing operations was $741 million. Including discontinued operations, last year’s second-quarter net income totalled $1.4 billion.
Norfolk’s interim CAO Harry Schlange is moving on.Friday, Mayor Kristal Chopp confirmed reports that Schlange has accepted the senior management position in the Town of Grimsby.The implications of this for Norfolk County remain to be seen. Chopp says a response is being formulated.“Further details will be coming next week,” she said.Schlange was unavailable for comment Friday and Monday. His voice mail message both days said Schlange was away from his office at Governor Simcoe Square.Schlange, 61, served as the top bureaucrat in Niagara Region and the City of Brampton before he offered his services to Norfolk this spring on an interim basis.Former Norfolk CAO David Cribbs resigned in January. Prior to Schlange’s arrival, the new Norfolk council was testing an arrangement where senior managers of the county’s assorted divisions took turns discharging the CAO function.Norfolk council took Schlange up on his offer after senior staff reported problems with the management experiment. Some division managers said they were spreading themselves too thin. Staff also said a proper CAO has general knowledge of the county’s operations that division managers lack.March 26, staff told council important items and issues were suffering from neglect and multiplying in number due to the increased workload. During an in-camera session at the same meeting, council opted to hire a qualified individual on an interim basis.Schlange has had a bumpy ride in recent years. Media in St. Catharines reported three years ago that he survived an in-camera confidence vote at Niagara Region shortly before he accepted the CAO position in Brampton.Shortly after the new Brampton city council was sworn in last December, Patrick Brown – former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives – announced that Brampton and Schlange had parted company. His stint with Norfolk began four months later.Grimsby – population 27,300 — is a lower-tier municipality within Niagara Region.MSonnenberg@postmedia.com
by The Canadian Press Posted Feb 15, 2013 11:07 am MDT Industrial Alliance caps record year by swinging to $73.8 million Q4 profit QUEBEC CITY, – Industrial Alliance capped a record year in 2012 by swinging to a profit available to common shareholders of $73.8-million in the fourth quarter, the first period since it sold its U.S. annuities business.The Quebec City-based insurance giant earned 78 cents per share for the period ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of 90 cents per share the previous year when net losses reached $81.2 million. Revenues decreased 24 per cent to $1.76 billion, including $1.2 billion for net premiums.Adjusting for a number of one-time items, including a nearly $20-million strengthening of reserves and the sale of the U.S. business, diluted earnings were $1.03 per share, compared with 78 cents a year ago.For the full year, Industrial Alliance (TSX:IAG) said its net income attributable to common shareholders tripled to reach a record $311.9 million, or $3.31 per share, up from $103.3 million or $1.18 per share in 2011.Excluding the gain on the sale of its U.S. annuity business in the third quarter and year-end assumption changes, net income from continuing operations grew nearly 16 per cent to $295.7 million or $3.26 per share. That compared with $255.6 million or $2.95 per share a year ago.Total annual revenues fell to $7.5 billion. Net premiums were flat at nearly $5 billion, but investment income decreased more than 31 per cent to $1.5 billion, partially offset by an increase in other revenues to $934 million.Industrial Alliance CEO Yvon Charest described 2012 as “extremely gratifying” as net income grew on improvements in its retail insurance business in Canada and the United States, along with the wealth management operations.“In terms of business growth, strong momentum continues across the organization,” he said in a news release, noting that retail insurance sales grew 16 per cent despite two price increases last year in Canada.The U.S. operations accounted for 18 per cent of total company life sales, up from 15 per cent in 2011.Charest said a series of actions taken last year aimed at securing core earnings power had strengthened the company’s capital position“With a solvency ratio of 230 per cent, we have the room to absorb significant macroeconomic shocks, as well as the flexibility to consider growth opportunities.”Industrial Alliance said it gained $3.6 million from the improvement in the stock market, while the individual insurance segment added $5.3 million.Group insurance lost $3.5 million, primarily related to unfavourable group life and health experience, while long-term disability was in line with expectations.Total pre-tax income on capital grew to $31.3 million in the fourth quarter, primarily due to gains on the sale of a block of mortgages, offset by lower gains on assets available for sale and a weaker contribution from IA Auto and Home.Assets under management and administration grew 14 per cent from last year to $83.3 billion at year-end.Premiums and deposits were stable at $1.8 billion in the fourth quarter, while individual insurance sales grew eight per cent to $69.2 million.Individual Wealth Management gross sales increased to $762.1 million, driven by a more than doubling of mutual fund sales to $173.4 million.Group insurance sales increased 20 per cent to $108.2 million, while employee plans increase to $7.9 million.Founded in 1892, Industrial Alliance is the fourth-largest life and health insurance company in Canada, with more than three million customers and 4,300 employees. It manages and administers more than $83 billion in assets.Founded in 1892, Industrial Alliance is the fourth-largest life and health insurance company in Canada, with more than three million customers and 4,300 employees. It manages and administers more than $83 billion in assets.On the Toronto Stock Exchange, its shares were up 49 cents at $36.80 in morning trading Friday. AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to RedditRedditShare to 電子郵件Email
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) UK car output falls -5.3% in August to 103,232 units, the fourth month of decline this year.Production for domestic and overseas markets down -4.4% and -5.6% in the month.Year-to-date performance down with production so far declining -1.9%.British car manufacturing fell in August as domestic and overseas demand for production declined. According to figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 103,232 vehicles left UK factories last month – a fall of -5.3%.Production for the domestic market dropped -4.4% to 26,594 units, while output for overseas customers was down -5.6% to 76,638. 1,106,285 vehicles have been produced in the first eight months of the year, an overall decline of -1.9%, and the domestic market for production has been down in seven out of eight months.Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said,It’s common to see fluctuations during the summer months, as output varies according to the timing and duration of holiday factory shutdowns. However, the continuation of the longer term downward trend in domestic demand is a concern for production across the UK so it is vital for the future health of this sector that the current uncertainty around Brexit is removed and consumer and business confidence restored.
Not long after 14th-seeded UAB defeated 3rd-seeded Iowa State in the South Regional, another No. 14 seed toppled another No. 3 seed — this time, Georgia State over Baylor in the West Regional. It’s the first time that two No. 14 seeds have won in the same NCAA tournament since 1995.As far as 14-over-3 upsets go, Georgia State’s victory wasn’t anywhere near as unlikely as UAB’s. While the Blazers had a mere 9.2 percent pre-game probability of advancing to the round of 32, the Panthers’ chances of pulling the upset were a more reasonable 24.2 percent. But in many ways, the manner in which Georgia State won makes its upset even more remarkable.According to FiveThirtyEight contributor Stephen Pettigrew’s research about the likelihood of an upset at any given stage of an NCAA tournament game, only 2 percent of major underdogs1A difference of at least five seeds between the two teams. that trailed by any margin with 2:39 left went on to win the game, and when those teams were down by more than 6 points with that much time on the clock, they only won 0.4 percent of the time.And Georgia State was down by even more than that — it trailed by 12 points with 2:39 remaining. Of the 262 NCAA tournament games since 2004 in which an underdog trailed by 10 or more points with 2:39 to go, only one (0.38 percent) went on to win the game. … Until Thursday, that is. And that one upset was a No. 4 seed over a No. 1 seed — so this is unprecedented in the past 11 years.As for the ripple effect of the Panthers’ victory, Xavier’s Sweet 16 probability jumped 11.5 percentage points with Baylor out of the picture, while Ole Miss saw its chances of a spot in the Sweet 16 improve by 8.8 percentage points. And Arizona’s path to the Final Four is now clearer; its odds of an Elite Eight berth increased by 5.2 percentage points, and its odds of making the Final Four improved by 3.2 percentage points.Stephen Pettigrew contributed to this post in a major way.CORRECTION (March 19, 4:55 p.m.): An earlier version of this post misstated the last year two No. 14 seeds won in the same NCAA tournament. It was 1995, not 1997. It also misstated the percentage of underdogs that trailed by 10 or more with 2:39 to go and still won. It was 0.38 percent, not 0.0038 percent. Check out FiveThirtyEight’s March Madness predictions.
“I’m not going to cry this time,” Breen said. “Awesome, I’m absolutely on top of the world. It was a really big stepping stone this weekend, we’re really started to put the whole package together.I have to thank every single person that’s around me — not only this man [Scott Martin], all the engineers, my family, my friends… everybody. They’ve stuck with me this past year when it’s been difficult. The boys have made this thing work, so it’s a pure pleasure right now.He added: “Finally, we did. I’m over the moon. We had a really nice day, we held off the fight from Andreas [ ] and we had some really good times in the morning. That allowed us to have cruise to finish up in second.“Thanks for all the messages for support during the weekend.”It is amazing to finish on the podium here at Rally Sweden, but it is also brilliant to show the pace we always knew we had! Massive thank you to the team, my engineer Thomas and all the fans for your incredible support! pic.twitter.com/09RLio9jOs— Craig Breen (@Craig_Breen) February 18, 2018 Breen and Martin celebrating their achievement. Share121 Tweet Email Image: Twitter/Craig_Breen Breen and Martin celebrating their achievement. Image: Twitter/Craig_Breen ‘I’m absolutely on top of the world’ – Ireland’s Craig Breen claims runner-up spot in Rally Sweden The Slieverue native was greeted by his mother at the finish line after a career-best this afternoon. http://the42.ie/3858623 By Ben Blake Feb 18th 2018, 2:42 PM Follow us: the42.ie
Short URL CRAIG BREEN HAS produced the best-ever result by a driver from the Republic of Ireland on a WRC (World Rally Championship) event — finishing second overall at Rally Sweden.Along with co-driver Scott Martin, the Citroen C3 man went into the final three stages in the runner-up spot, and they did enough on Sunday to remain there just behind winner Thierry Neuville, who won by 19.8 seconds.It’s the finest achievement of 28-year-old Breen’s career, bettering his third at Rally Finland in 2016.There were emotional scenes at the finish line as the Sliverue native was met by his mother..@Craig_Breen secures 2nd overall on Rally Sweden, the best result for a driver from the Republic of Ireland on a WRC rally pic.twitter.com/9m69J9TQcu— Motorsport Ireland (@MotorsportIRL) February 18, 2018 14,009 Views 15 Comments ‘He’s the best’ – Hirscher becomes most successful skier at 2018 Winter OlympicsMcDowell in the hunt for first win since 2015 in final round in California The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us! Sunday 18 Feb 2018, 5:00 PM Tweet thisShare on FacebookEmail this article
Let us know what you like about Geek by taking our survey. Stay on target Even without Pluto, our solar system always held the record for most planets orbiting a single star. Until now.Using Google machine learning, NASA discovered an eighth planet circling Kepler-90, a sun-like star 2,545 light-years from Earth.Which puts us in joint first place (for those keeping score).AdChoices广告A “sizzling hot, rocky planet,” as described by NASA, Kepler-90i was spotted by a neural network trained to recognize exoplanets in the light readings recorded by the Kepler space observatory.The Kepler-90 planets have a similar configuration to our solar system, with small planets found orbiting close to their star, and the larger planets found farther away. (via NASA/Ames Research Center/Wendy Stenzel)“Just as we expected, there are exciting discoveries lurking in our archived Kepler data, waiting for the right tool or technology to unearth them,” Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division, said in a statement.Researchers Christopher Shallue and Andrew Vanderburg taught a computer to identify worlds beyond our solar system—based on the minuscule change in brightness captured when a planet passes in front of a star.Machine learning has previously been used in searches of the Kepler database, but never to such a promising degree.“This finding shows that our data will be a treasure trove available to innovative researchers for years to come,” Hertz said.Kepler-90i is what’s called a “super-Earth” exoplanet. And while it was the eighth planet discovered in the system, it is actually third in line from the sun—just like Earth.But about 30 percent larger and with an average surface temperature of more than 800℉ (on par with Mercury).“The Kepler-90 star system is like a mini version of our solar system,” according to Vanderburg, a NASA Sagan Postdoctoral Fellow and astronomer at the University of Texas at Austin. “You have small planets inside and big planets outside, but everything is scrunched in much closer.”The outermost planet, Kepler-90h, orbits at a similar distance to its star as Earth does to the sun.Outermost planet Kepler-90h orbits at a similar distance to its star as Earth does to the sun (via NASA)Shallue, a senior software engineer with the Google AI team, came up with the idea of applying a neural network to Kepler data.“In my spare time, I started Googling for ‘finding exoplanets with large data sets’ and found out about the Kepler mission and the huge data set available,” he said. “Machine learning really shines in situations where there is so much data that humans can’t search it for themselves.”Based on four years of input—35,000 possible planetary signals—the pair trained their neural network to detect the pattern of a transiting exoplanet. The result: many false positives, as well as some real potentials.“It’s like sifting through rocks to find jewels,” Vanderburg said of the results, which presented a number of false positives, as well as “potentially more real planets.”“If you have a finer sieve then you will catch more rocks, but you might catch more jewels, as well,” he added.Our solar system is now tied for most number of planets around a single star (via NASA)Case in point: Kepler-90i wasn’t the only jewel the AI found. It also discovered a sixth, Earth-sized planet in the Kepler-80 system.Dive into the details of Shallue and Vanderburg’s research paper, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal.“These results demonstrate the enduring value of Kepler’s mission,” Jessie Dotson, project scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, said in a statement. “New ways of looking at the data—such as this early-stage research to apply machine learning algorithms—promises to continue to yield significant advances in our understanding of planetary systems around other stars.”NASA and Google also held a Reddit Ask Me Anything session on Thursday to answer public questions.
Watch: Dolphin Leaps Feet Away From Unsuspecting SurferNASA Says 2 Asteroids Will Safely Fly By Earth This Weekend 
The number of rapes reported in Vancouver has risen in recent years, and police say they fear that the actual number of sexual assaults in the city could be much higher if unreported rapes were included.“Our data shows that this crime is increasing in the city of Vancouver, and coupled with the nationwide reports of underreporting … we feel like there’s a gap here and that we can enhance our service delivery,” said Chris Sutter, an assistant chief for the Vancouver Police Department.To help address the problem, the department applied for and recently received a grant for $74,398 from the Washington State Office of Crime Victims Advocacy. The department is one of 10 agencies statewide to participate in the new grant program, and the only police department to be selected.Last year, 117 instances of rape were reported in Vancouver. Sutter said officials fear the actual number could be as much as three times higher when unreported rapes are factored into the count.That underreporting could be for any number of reasons, including a fear of retaliation, victims worried that the police won’t believe them or that they won’t be supported if they report the crime.
Constantino: Video can be both a standalone and complement to traditional TV and print ads to increase reach and frequency, but also to influence engagement beyond an impression. Video executions allow consumers to interact with a brand and have more control over their experiences. These interactions can be tracked and measured, therefore they are more directly attributable to an ROI. We can identify specific KPIs to measure and optimize these campaigns, regardless of channel or format to drive the highest business impact for our clients. Late last November, there were major changes happening at Razorfish. Parent company Publicis merged it with another digital agency —SapitentNitro. And Constantino was promoted from media director of Razorfish to senior media director. Folio: caught up with Constantino to learn more about how she focuses on driving business outcomes and how communication goals sway her decisions. How does producing video content on behalf of clients you compare to traditional print and digital advertising? For Carly Constantino, senior media director at Razorfish, one thing is for sure: video gives consumers more control over how they interact with a brand. Folio: How are you able to tell a client’s story without sounding overly promotional? Folio: What kind of ROI is typically expected from video ads compared to traditional television and print ads? The communication goals we are trying to address become the basis for what ad formats we recommend for our clients. Video really allows us to tap into different aspects of the funnel to achieve different goals, therefore we are very aggressive in developing learning agendas for our clients to ensure we are continually learning and optimizing towards the right ad formats and placements that drive the biggest business impact. Folio: What are some of the deliverables video offers your clients? How can different formats (preroll, integration, mid roll, etc.) yield those results? Folio: How do you measure ROI? What KPIs do you watch closely? Constantino: Video opportunities are growing rapidly from a content perspective, as well as, in a variety of formats that better meet consumer preferences. Because of the vast options, there are appropriate buying models and formats to reach specific audiences, as well as, deliver against various KPIs. Depending on how you want to engage your audience will determine the success of your video buys (i.e.: high reach driving awareness, increasing engagement through rich media, direct call to actions to drive leads). At our core, we base everything on the consumer insights and a full funnel approach to our media strategy, planning, and optimization. Constantino: Our job as the media agency is to drive business impact. We work hard to develop KPI’s that we can measure and optimize against. While we might report out on standard metrics like video views, reach to target, or viewability, our primary focus is on driving a business outcome like leads or revenue. We work at the beginning of our engagements with a full funnel view and robust data science for each of our campaigns to understand the specific business goal. Then we build in a measurement plan that gives us the ability to understand the impact and optimize against it. Messaging and delivery can be highly promotional, more informative and educational, or simply for entertainment. We let our communications strategy drive the story we are trying to tell and rely on our media and creative strategy to deliver on that story. Carly Constantino: Every consumer faces challenges when it comes to fulfilling specific needs, whether personal or professional. Ultimately when it comes down to sharing a client’s story through creative, we really need to understand both the marketing goals of our clients, but also what resonates with consumer needs and expectations. With that, our focus is to build a communication plan that leverages the data we have about our consumers, understand the proper touchpoints, and deliver the right experience based on where they fall in the journey. We work closely with our clients to understand the consumer journey, outline communication goals that align with that journey, and then work with our creative teams to develop content experiences that deliver on those goals. Folio: How do you strike a balance between quality and scale with your clients’ budget? Constantino: Again, at the end of the day, our goal is to drive the business, so we need to be strategic about allocating media dollars and maximizing opportunity. We are in the mindset of constantly testing and improving, so part of our iterative process is to determine the right mix of partners, creative formats, and technology to deliver on both quality and scale. We are constantly looking at the trade-offs of higher quality, higher cost media with scale and efficiency, therefore our focus is on making sure we have high viewability, transparency of site lists, and control over all of our buys.
[Representational Image]Reuters fileShares of aviation companies SpiceJet, Jet Airways and IndiGo-owner Interglobe Aviation were trading with gains on the stock exchanges on Wednesday (March 1) after the negligible hike in jet fuel (ATF) prices by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). In a related news, the government denied plans to sell stake in state-run carrier Air India.Read: SpiceJet, Jet Airways, Interglobe shares rock on BSEAt around 12.55 pm, SpiceJet was up 2.39 per cent to Rs 77, Jet Airways was gaining marginally at Rs 448 and Interglobe Aviation was trading three per cent higher at Rs 882 on the BSE.State-run IOC raised ATF prices by Rs 214, or less than half-a-percent, to Rs 54,293 per kilo litre with effect from the intervening night of February 28 and March 1, 2017, in Delhi. The hike is similar across other metros such as Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.Fuel expenses account for about 35 per cent of the total operating costs for aviation companies in India and influence profit margins significantly.Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey denied media reports that the government was planning to sell 51 per cent stake in Air India to a strategic partner, according to the CNBC-TV18.Air India had reported operating profit of Rs 105 crore for FY2016. In January 2017, Air India had a market share of 14.1 per cent in India’s burgeoning domestic passenger market. Low-cost IndiGo is the leader with a market share of about 40 per cent, while other players include budget carrier SpiceJet (market share 12.8 per cent), Jet Airways (market share 15.5 per cent) and Go Air (market share 8.2 per cent).IOC shares were down 1.66 per cent to Rs 378 apiece, HPCL was trading 1.13 per cent lower at Rs 509. BPCL was in the red at Rs 654. The BSE Sensex was up 181 points at 28,924 at around 1.11 pm. Top gainers were Dr Reddy’s Labs, Sun Pharma, HDFC and Axis Bank. [Representational Image]Reuters file
Gov. Greg Abbott announced a plan to stop gangs in Harris County, but did not notify local law enforcement about his plans.“You know, I have to confess I saw it on the news like everybody else,” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.Abbott made an appearance in Houston on Monday. He spoke about cracking down on violent crime in Harris County.But neither the judge nor, the Houston Police Department or sheriff’s office was alerted about this event.“Courtesy would have been to talk to me, but clearly if you’re going to be talking about some ramped up law enforcement efforts in Harris County and the City of Houston, that’s got to involve the Harris county sheriff and Houston Police Department,” Emmett said.The governor’s office reports that there are over 20,000 gang members in the Houston area.But Emmett argues the problem is not as alarming as the governor is making it out to be. “You know, frankly, I guess there has been an uptick in these types of crimes, but they haven’t caused in glaring headlines or anything, so I’m not sure where that came from,” Emmett said. We reached out to Abbott’s office for a response, but did not hear back before deadline. X Share Listen 00:00 /01:00 To embed this piece of audio in your site, please use this code:
Almost a millennium ago (in internet time), Double Fine kickstarted the Kickstarter craze for the video game industry with what is now known as Broken Age. Since then, it seems nearly every game developer — indie or otherwise — has attempted to gain funding for a project through the crowdfunding platform. Now, even though Broken Age has yet to release, Double Fine is throwing another plea into the please-give-us-money engine in the form of Massive Chalice, a strategy RPG.The game’s description wastes no time garnering the favor of every single SRPG fan, citing Fire Emblem, XCOM, and Final Fantasy Tactics as inspiration. If that weren’t enough, it then mentions the “array of noble families” found in Game of Thrones as another source of inspiration, going after the favor of the rest of the internet.Aside from the sweet feeling you get from positioning a unit to the side or back of an enemy before an attack in order to gain a damage bonus, the main hook of Massive Chalice appears to be a multi-generational campaign in which you have to take care of your soliders so they can survive the war, retire as a soldier, then mate and generate offspring that can grow up to fight in the war. Permadeath, as the Kickstarter description says, is inevitable. If your character doesn’t die on the field, it will eventually die of old age, which is why you’d want to get your soldiers married off and mating before they can’t leave you with kids to thrust into the grim reality of war.The multi-generational aspect isn’t just a gameplay gimmick, but woven into the story: The world is faced with a demonic invasion that’s said to last hundreds of years, and since people don’t last that long, they’ll need to make more people to continue the fight. The game employs some of the randomization found in roguelikes, as you start each game with a random set of units, and some events in the game happen randomly.Since Double Fine, a Tim Schafer company, is hosting the Kickstarter, the video is actually pretty amusing — it’s a sketch rather than a bunch of people telling you how their Kickstarter project makes them feel instead of what it actually is. It involves beard-shaving and brain surgery.The entry pledge runs $20, and will get you a copy of the game upon its release for Windows, Mac, or Linux, which will be free of DRM and available on Steam. A $50 pledge will net you early access, a soundtrack, behind-the-scenes videos, and a high-res art package. If you really love Tim Schafer (like the rest of us) and are rolling in dough (unlike the rest of us), you can pony up $10,000 to be invited to a board game night at Double Fine HQ in San Francisco.Head on over to the Kickstarter campaign page and give Double Fine some money for what already sounds like will be good game.Now read: Notch backs out of funding Psychonauts 2, says asking price is too high
‘The tiger skin shone brilliantly in the pre-lunch Jabalpur sun. Of the two men who spread it in front of the chai-shop, Ramchandra Prasad—the older one with a shaved head and gentle, hesitating hands, had a natural poise establishing his higher position in life. That he had come from the United States was evident from his elegant, though creased, Hilfiger jacket and the airline-tag on the Hartmann bag by his side… The gleaming skin on the bench also cast its spell on the chaiwallah, who begged to feel it. He turned down the radio and quickly jumped off his shop on stilts before Ram could say a word. ‘Tiger is truly king of the jungle.’ ‘ Also Read – ‘Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting’ Scent of a Game is set against the backdrop of wildlife conservation and draws together several themes extending from tiger poaching, big game hunting and illegal trade of endangered species. These themes are woven into place, in a fast paced and gripping story line that draws the reader’s attention to pressing environmental issues whilst contributing to a transformation in their understanding of not just the tiger and it’s environment, but lends new perspective on their take on life itself. Also Read – Leslie doing new comedy special with Netflix Speaking on the launch of the book, Chief Guest, Dr. SY Quraishi said, ‘Environment and Tigers are deeply interrelated topics. Protection of one is necessary for the other. Books like Scent of a game contributes greatly in garnering interest in the people and raising awareness’ Following an enthusiastic reception from the audience, Chandra, who is not only passionate about the subject but has considerable primary experience in handling issues related to Tiger conservation, narrated his experience of writing a book. The fictional book, with its fast-paced and engaging plot, interweaves a fascinating story about a lost tiger skin. It draws the reader’s attention to various different but related issues like tiger poaching, illegal trade, big game hunting, criminal tribes and touches upon the need for environmental management. Read it to know more! Book: Scent of a Game (394 Pages) Publisher: Rupa Publications India Price: Rs 395
Excessive internet use is likely to contribute to the development of school burnout, which may, in turn, increase digital addiction in adolescents, new research reveals.Burnout is a condition of exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation as a result of prolonged stress or frustration. The findings showed that as a result of school burnout, adolescents’ excessive internet use could ultimately lead them to depression.Exposure to digital addiction is most likely to happen if the adolescent loses interest in school and feels cynicism towards school, the researchers said. Also Read – ‘Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting’Also, depressive symptoms and school burnout in late adolescence were found to be more common among girls than boys. Boys suffer more from excessive internet use than girls.The most critical stage for tackling the problem of digital addiction and school burnout is age 13-15.Promoting more activity in school, building up students’ motivation to learn can prevent school burnout as well as support adolescents’ mental health and avert excessive internet use, the researchers suggested in the paper published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Also Read – Leslie doing new comedy special with NetflixThe study — Mind the Gap —is a longitudinal research project funded by the Academy of Finland, explored the reciprocal associations between excessive Internet use, school engagement, school burnout and depression among adolescents. The former group of early adolescents consisted of lower-school 6th graders born in 2000. The late adolescents were first-year upper secondary school students born in 1997.
Darjeeling: A step by step approach has been adopted for the conservation of red pandas. Reintroducing zoo bred pandas in the wild is the main objective of this. As a step in this direction a workshop titled “Red Panda Global Species Management Plan was flagged off in Darjeeling.”We are working towards releasing four captive-bred red pandas in the Singhalila National Park in September or October this year,” said Vinod Kumar Yadav, member secretary, West Bengal Zoo Authority and Additional Principal Conservator of Forests, Government of West Bengal. Also Read – Rs 13,000 crore investment to provide 2 lakh jobs: MamataPreparations are on for this. “We have already submitted plans for this to the Government of India. Genetic studies; DNA finger printing, habitat evaluation, including satellite mapping, drone images are being combined for this project,” said Yadav. The red pandas will first be released in a special enclosure in Gairibas following which they will be released in the wild. “The conservation programme is a step by step approach. Last year we had a national level workshop involving the Central Zoo Authority and the states like West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand. The national workshop paved way to this four-day long global programme which is now being held in Darjeeling. After we successfully introduce red pandas in the Singhalila National Park our next goal will be to introduce them in Neora Valley. This is how we plan to augment the panda population in the wild,” added Yadav. Also Read – Lightning kills 8, injures 16 in stateA 17 crore programme for 10 years named Special Survival Plan is underway. The expansion of the special breeding facility at Tobgaydanra, Darjeeling is also covered under this programme. In order to introduce fresh blood lines in the captive breeding programme in the Darjeeling zoo, red pandas will be brought in from foreign countries including Australia. The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) popular as the Darjeeling Zoo, is the coordinating zoo for the red panda breeding programme (Project Red Panda) in India. The project was initiated in 1990. At present there are 13 female and 8 male red pandas. In 1999, a pair of zoo bred red pandas — Minnie and Sweetie — were released in the forests of Gairibans below Sandakphu. Again in September 2004 another pair Neelam and Dolma were released in the wild in September 2004. Later Sweetie was found to have given birth to a cub in the hollow of an oak tree, thereby bringing the Project Red Panda to a full circle. A red panda census had been launched in 2018. “The census is being conducted in two parts. We have physically identified the red pandas individually, found their nests. In the other part genetic analysis is being done from the scat of red pandas. In this way we will come out with the red panda population” stated Ravi kant Sinha, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife.) Representatives including experts from USA, Holland, Australia, Hungary, Singapore and Nepal are attending the 4 day long conference in Darjeeling.