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Theresa May’s Conservative Party wins UK election but loses majority, leaving Brexit plan in question
Sunday, June 11, 2017
While Theresa May remains Prime Minister of Britain, her party, the Conservative Party, won Thursday’s general election but lost its majority in Parliament.
The next scheduled general election was not until 2020. May requested this general election, called a snap election, in April, when polls indicated it would strengthen the then-slight majority the Conservatives held in Parliament. Talks to establish the specifics of Britain’s departure from the European Union are set to begin June 19. Last year, British voters decided to leave the EU, but many of the specifics of the United Kingdom’s new relationship with the rest of Europe have yet to be established. May and the other Conservatives favor a “hard Brexit”, in which Britain would lose its current level of access to Europe’s single market and have to deal with higher tariffs and more complicated customs processes but it would regain full control of its borders with respect to trade and immigration. An increase in the number of Conservative Parliamentary seats would have supported this plan.
“Officially Theresa May is still the partner in Brexit negotiations,” said senior German MP Stephan Meyer, “but the political reality is different after this disastrous defeat. I can’t imagine that May will be able to remain prime minister.”
Jean-Claude Juncker of the European Commission said, “As far as the Commission is concerned we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half past nine […] First we have to agree on the divorce and exit modalities, and then we have to envisage the architecture of our future relations. I do hope that the result of the elections will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for.”
A Parliamentary majority requires 326 of the organisation’s 650 seats. The Conservative Party holds 318 outright, including May’s own seat in Maidenhead, and the Labour Party holds 262, having gained about 30 in this election. In Britain, the leader of whichever political party has the most seats becomes Prime Minister, though they are also formally appointed by the monarch. Theresa May became leader of the Conservative Party on July 11 of last year and was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II two days later. Cases in which no political party wins outright are called a hung Parliament, and then two or more parties rule together in coalition. Britain had a coalition government from 2010 to 2015. Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party has pledged an unofficial alliance with the Conservatives, which would bring them up to 328.
This would make May the second Prime Minister in a row to call an election with unexpected results. David Cameron called for a referendum on Britain’s EU membership, not expecting the voters would reject it.
May’s current ministry said most of her senior officials, including Treasurer Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, and Home Secretary Amber Rudd, will remain in the Cabinet.
May met with Queen Elizabeth II yesterday to request her permission to form a government in her name, a traditional formality.
Trends, Challenges, And Opportunities In The Food Packaging Machinery Industry
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Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities in the Food Packaging Machinery Industry
by
Brandon Vincent
Food is one of the most ubiquitous products packaged and, paradoxically, among the most challenging to manage. In the packaging machinery sector, the lion s share (60%) of all such equipment is purchased by the food and beverage sector. In terms of global food processing and packaging machinery, 45% is acquired by members of the European Union (EU). In a recent survey of C-level executives in the sphere, challenges to the food and beverage packaging industry were consistently identified as:
Pressurized margins
Customer sensitivity, and,
The volatility and increase of input costs
The key drivers underlying these challenges tend to be consistent with those of other industries: tighter regulations, environmental issues, increased demand for recyclable materials, spiking raw material costs, stricter government regulations, and greater competition. In the survey, solutions offered by respondents included creating partnerships that optimize working capital, reducing costs, product innovation, and price reduction.
In a recent article, Vera Fritsche, Consultant for Packaging Machinery at VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, the German Engineering Federation) discussed industry challenges in more detail, along with innovations and trends on the horizon. Consumer demand for ever more convenient packaging and for bio (or organic) foodstuffs, continues. Likewise, consumer demand for smaller units of food products (individual portions), grows. Consequently, food producers/packagers are challenged by unprecedented demand for a broader variety of food packaging (size/type) and greater turnover of food product. Currently, in the EU 100,000 new products are introduced each year and that number is growing. Managing the twin strains of smaller batch sizes and increased product and format changes, are top of mind throughout the industry.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnfhCvD_8-U[/youtube]
As the bio (or organic) food market grows, so will the necessity of mechanisms to ensure the optimal shelf-life of these products from food processing/packaging facility to table. Other concerns include greater hygiene measures, energy consumption reduction, and optimization of resources.
Using Technology to Measure Up
EU food packagers and processors have to contend not only with increased competition from their western counterparts, but balance that against escalating demand for their products within emerging markets. To manage this, technology and the innovative application of it to address industry concerns is of prime concern and interest. One solution that is value-additive for overall operational efficiency (OOE) is computerized maintenance management software (CMMS).
As health and safety standards become more rigorous and the load demand for food packaging equipment increases, that equipment must be properly cleaned and maintained more frequently. Shorter cleaning cycles are linked to increased efficiency, reduced/eliminated cross-contamination, and increased productivity. Without adequately maintaining packaging equipment (preventive maintenance PM), undesirable microorganisms can enter the food supply chain. Through the kind of proper preventive maintenance which CMMS supports, food packagers can continue to ramp up production while maintaining compliance with applicable government health and safety standards.
Advantages of Using CMMS for Food Processors/Packagers:
Supports Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) , Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and ISO 22000 Audit preparation and compliance
Root cause(s) analysis
360 degree view of a facility s machines, systems and buildings in an intuitive hierarchy
Schedules PM on the most appropriate assets (e.g., high-volume and high-risk machinery), first
Inventory tracking ensures the facility always has spare parts
One last consideration that EU food and beverage providers are building into their operations is the optimization of their energy consumption. As noted by insiders, concentrating on energy efficient drives and procedures is not enough. Resource efficiency is an important keyword . Toward improved energy and resource efficiency, food and beverage packagers and processors can utilize CMMS to accurately track energy consumption, identify under- or poorly performing assets, isolate energy vampires, and assess which assets are more profitable replaced or repaired. Underperforming assets tend to be key contributors to poor energy/resource conservation, by using EAM/CMMS systems that provide real-time, historical and current data analysis about a facility s assets, food packagers/processors can minimize energy/resource waste and improve the bottom-line.
Sources: http://www.packagingeurope.com/Packaging-Europe-News/50796/Trends-and-challenges-in-the-food-packaging-machinery-industry.html
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/7/prweb10890966.htm
Brandon Vincent is the author of this article discussing the difficulties and opportunities that are helped within the food packing industry. Using tools such as
advanced CMMS software
and
Facilities maintenance software
the industry is becoming more efficient and safe as it advances technologically.
Article Source:
ArticleRich.com
Toronto to have socialized city-wide wi-fi access
Thursday, March 9, 2006
Toronto’s public utility, Toronto Hydro Telecom, will make Canada’s largest city into a huge wireless hotspot.
“This is both an exciting and very important initiative for the city of Toronto”, said Toronto’s mayor, David Miller. “It puts us on the leading edge of the telecommunications industry nationwide and globally.”
Toronto Hydro Telecom will offer customers free access for the first six months. After that, it will begin to charge for services.
“Wi-Fi technology is the new benchmark for urban living”, stated Toronto Hydro president David Dobbin. “It’s standard equipment in many electronic devices, from laptops to portable entertainment units.”
Private telephone companies are questioning why a public utility needs to compete with the private sector.
Mike Lee of Rogers Communications Inc. questioned why the city of Toronto wanted to enter the internet access business.
“It will not be an easy business”, Lee told the National Post. “In this day and age, the focus should be on core operations more than anything. I was surprised to see they are looking to get into this business.”
Brian Sharwood, a telecom analyst in Toronto, said the municipality will likely install the wireless transmitters and receivers on its lamp posts as a way to blanket the city, a process known as “wireless mesh networking”.
Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Australia for 15th visit
Monday, March 13, 2006
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip arrived in Australia yesterday for a five-day tour which includes the opening of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, the Queen’s 15th visit of her reign and her first since 2002.
Their tour began when they landed at Fairburn Air Force Base in Canberra where they received a state welcome, attended by Prime Minister John Howard, Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery and several hundred well-wishers. The couple accepted flowers and chatted with the crowd for a few minutes before being driven off in a black Rolls Royce.
The Queen and Prince Philip spent last night at Government House before beginning official duties in Sydney today. In Sydney, they will officially open the new colonnade of Sydney Opera House and receive a 21 gun salute.
Republican campaigners have used the occasion as an opportunity to reopen the republican debate.
“While the queen is held in great affection by the Australian people, many Australians recognize that it is no longer sensible for us to have a citizen of another country, who visits Australia only occasionally, as our head of state,” said Allison Henry, national director of the Australian Republican Movement.
Muslim hair stylist sues hairdresser over alleged discrimination
Friday, November 9, 2007
British-born Muslim hair stylist Bushra Noah is currently undertaking legal action against the owner of a hair salon for alleged religious discrimination. Noah is suing London hair salon owner Sarah Desroiser. Desroiser who runs a salon in King’s Cross, has said that she would not accept Noah as a stylist if Noah’s hair was covered. Noah, like many devout Muslims keeps her hair covered in public places, believing it to be immodest otherwise.
Noah claims that her headscarf is a fundamental part of her religious beliefs and that wearing the scarf would not interfere in her carrying out the job at all. Desrosiers said that it is not discrimination but rather that “the essence of my line of work is the display of hair. To me, it’s absolutely basic that people should be able to see the stylist’s hair. It has nothing to do with religion. It is just unfortunate that for her covering her hair symbolises religion.” Desosiers added that she had worked with Muslims in the past and employs a Muslim accountant.
Noah claims that the state of her own hair is irrelevant to her ability to style others hair.
The last few years have seen a string of similar cases in Britain. Last year, there was a case over whether a British Airways employee could wear a prominent cross, and another case in which a teacher argued that she had a right to wear a Jilb?b (a traditional Islamic dress that covers almost the entire body) in the classroom. In that case, the teacher lost in the High Court.
Colleges offering admission to displaced New Orleans students/OH-WY
- See the discussion page for instructions on adding schools to this list and for an alphabetically arranged listing of schools.
Due to the damage by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding, a number of colleges and universities in the New Orleans metropolitan area will not be able to hold classes for the fall 2005 semester. It is estimated that 75,000 to 100,000 students have been displaced. [1]. In response, institutions across the United States and Canada are offering late registration for displaced students so that their academic progress is not unduly delayed. Some are offering free or reduced admission to displaced students. At some universities, especially state universities, this offer is limited to residents of the area.
Neville Chamberlain’s War Diaries go on display
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
File:Arthur-Neville-Chamberlain.jpg
The personal diaries of British wartime Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain are to go on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Beginning on August 20, 2009, a free exhibition, marking the 70th anniversary of the declaration of WWII, will allow visitors to have an unprecedented insight into the mind of the Prime Minister at the helm of the government when war was declared on September 3, 1939. His entry for that day, a note scribbled in pencil reads simply: “War declared.” With the diaries, a letter to his sister detailing the preparations for war, and the declaration letter itself, written by Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax.
The centrepiece at the exhibition will be accompanied by King George IV‘s jacket worn on his television appearance, and other previously unseen memorabilia from the period in the immediate run up to the Second World War.
A book, entitled The World Goes To War, is to be published on August 27, 2009 to accompany the exhibition. Also, a television documentary will be broadcast on UK network ITV1.
Treatments For Hair Loss}
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Submitted by: Shujat Ali
If you sit down and watch TV for just one hour, you are sure to see at least four different commercials for hair care products, ranging from shampoos to hair tonics. All of these products have one thing in common, apart from being hair care products- they all prey upon your fear of losing your hair. Each and every one of them will try and make you believe that unless you start to use that particular brand of product, you will start to suffer from hair loss and that in turn will mean that you should just crawl into a corner and die of shame.
The reality however is not quite as bleak as these commercials make it out to be, for which we can be very thankful since if we believed them and decided to fall for the hype, we would rush out and buy every product we see, which would be disastrous for our hair, pocket and bathroom shelves! Hair loss treatments are an important issue for a lot of people and are a serious topic of concern and conversation, along with hair growth and hair fall solutions.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8930YfWfwoA[/youtube]
One of the effects of aging is a marked increase in the rate at which our hair starts to fall out, although there is no fixed age at which this becomes more prominent, with some people experiencing baldness in their teens- the famous swimmer Duncan Good hew being a prime example of this. Others will start to notice thinning hair or bald patches in their thirties or forties; whereas I know of some pensioners who still have a full head of hair. Men, generally tend to suffer more than women from this affliction which is probably a good thing since a bald man is a lot more attractive than a bald woman.
Hair loss treatment come in various forms with the most common being tonics to rub onto the affected areas or fortifying shampoos and conditioners. The truth is that there are very few treatments which will stop hair fall completely, only delay the process, and a lot of hair fall solutions are applied too late, or have side effects. The best way to ensure that you have strong, healthy and shiny hair is to massage your scalp and hair with a good quality hair oil such as jojoba hair oil or almond oil. A lot of the new shampoos available are now being advertised as including oil for helping with Hair growth. Hair oil also makes the individual strands of hair stronger, smoother and shinier.
Hair loss is also affected by your lifestyle and a big factor is stress, which can lead to hair fall and other scalp related problems. A poor diet which does not include most of the vitamins and nutrients required for healthy hair growth, is also to blame for hair loss as the scalp is weakened, causing the hair to either break or fall out, leading to a thinning head of hair.
Naturally it really deserve this much attention. But our much busy and polluted air it is becoming much tough for us to sustain our hairs as long as we want and as much healthy with growing.
About the Author: In Charisma hair oil we have include all magic ingredients of Hair growth oil extract. Hair fall solution introduced and launched a significant product. Charisma Hair Oil is an excellent conditioner for Hair loss treatment. (
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Source:
isnare.com
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Four Russian stores hit with gas attacks
Monday, December 26, 2005
In Russia’s second largest city, St. Petersburg, four gas attacks left more than 70 people ill. Devices with wires, timers, and glass vials of a gas determined on scene to be methyl mercaptan were found in outlets of Makisdom, a home improvement chain store. The chemical is both naturally occurring and manufactured and is used as an oderant for detection of propane or natural gas leaks.
Store officials have said that they had received threats that sales would be disrupted before New Year’s. Russians traditionally give gifts on the holiday. Police officials said they believed a commercial dispute or a prank not terrorism.
The local emergency hospital was overflowed from the influx of ill people from the attacks. Valentina Matviyenko, Governer of St. Petersburg, said that those who sought medical help were not suffering any further medical problems.
A custodian at one of the stores found the devices and alerted police. The devices were found at another store with their vials broken. The devices in the two other stores were carried outside by employees and covered with buckets. The police explosives experts defused them.
- Interfax. “Gas Attack in Russian Store Poisons Dozens of Shoppers, Workers” — Bloomberg, December 26, 2005
- “Russia gas attack sickens scores; commercial dispute suspected” — Jerusalem Post, December 26, 2005
- Irina Titova (ap). “Gas Attack at Russia Store Sickens Dozens” — Washington Post, December 26, 2005