Business

Miami, May 24 (IANS) Ron DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, will launch his bid for the 2024 US presidential election on Wednesday during an online appearance on Twitter with outgoing CEO Elon Musk, according to media reports.

Musk confirmed the development at a Wall Street Journal event on Tuesday, reports CNN.

"I will be interviewing Ron DeSantis, and he has quite an announcement to make. And it will be the first time that something like this is happening on social media and with real-time questions and answers, unscripted," the tech billionaire said, adding that he was not planning to endorse any candidate "at this time".

The Twitter Spaces conversation between Musk and De Santish will take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and will be moderated by David Sacks -- a tech entrepreneur and major political donor who contributed just over $70,000 to the Governor's political committee in 2021.

Twitter Spaces is a platform that allows "creators" to host live audio conversations that other users can join and engage with.

An official launch video from the DeSantis campaign is expected later the same evening, the BBC reported.

The 44-year-old, who is being viewed as former President Donald Trump's chief rival for the Republican Party's nomination, is expected to file paperwork declaring his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission this week, an informed source told CNN.

A formal announcement is planned for next week in his Florida hometown of Dunedin, the source added.

Meanwhile, MAGA Inc. -- Trump's political action committee (PAC) -- mocked DeSantis' decision to announceme his bid on Twitter, calling it "one of the most out-of-touch campaign launches in modern history".

"The only thing less relatable than a niche campaign launch on Twitter, is DeSantis' after party at the uber elite Four Seasons resort in Miami," MAGA Inc. said in a statement on Tuesday.

DeSantis's announcement will end months of speculation about when he would officially declare his candidacy.

His tenure as Florida's Governor has seen the state expand gun-ownership laws, implement restrictions on sex and gender identity education in public schools, and bring in new limits on abortion.

--IANS
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San Francisco, May 23 (IANS) Hackers stole over $400 million from crypto projects in 40 attacks in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 in the US, a new report has shown.

According to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, the amount of funds lost in the first quarter was 70 per cent, down from the same period in 2022.

However, the amount lost was actually less than in any other quarter of 2022.

Moreover, the report showed that the average hack size fell to $10.5 million in Q1 2023, down from nearly $30 million in the same quarter of 2022, despite a similar number of incidents (around 40).

To date, in Q1 2023, hacking victims recovered more than half of all stolen funds.

According to the report, hackers are increasingly returning stolen funds in exchange for a "white hat" reward from the affected projects. In 2023, hackers recovered more than half of the stolen funds.

Notably, a hacker who stole $1.5 million from Tender.fi in March returned the funds after receiving a $8,50,000 bounty.

The report also looked into the possible causes of the decrease in crypto attacks.

Crypto hacking is receiving increased regulatory scrutiny, as evidenced by a number of high-profile enforcement cases.

Crypto exchanges are tightening KYC/AML requirements, making it more difficult to cash out stolen coins.

In addition, the report said that the industry had seen the continued implementation of anti-money laundering standards by virtual asset service providers (VASPs), increased efforts by law enforcement and regulators to go after bad actors and the increasing sophistication of blockchain intelligence tools.

--IANS
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Chennai, May 23 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Union and the "milkman of the state" Aavin will soon lose their monopoly in milk procurement in the state with the arrival of the national milk major Amul to Tamil Nadu.

Amul has already established a plant in Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh and milk procured from Vellore is being routed to this plant.

Amul has already announced formation of milk collection centres in Tiruvannamalai, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Vellore and Tiruvallur districts of the state through Self Help Groups (SHGs) and cooperatives at the village.

Presently 3,000 litres of milk is procured from Vellore district by Amul and it is planning to increase the procurement to 30,000 litres per day. At present, the Vellore district is supplying 1,75,000 litres per day to Aavin but Amul is slowly but steadily increasing the procurement.

The national dairy major is setting up another milk plant in Sri City which is just 30 km from the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border and this would also lead to more procurement of milk from Erode, Tiruvannamalai and Salem districts of Tamil Nadu which have been hitherto supplying to Aavin.

Interestingly Aavin pays Rs 32 to 34 for a litre of milk procured from farmers but Amul is giving Rs 36 per litre and collection agents are provided 50 paise per litre on the spot. This is a more attractive proposition to the milk agents who are instrumental in procuring and arranging milk presently to Aavin and Amul is slowly entering into Tamil Nadu through such attractive measures.

Aavin officials while speaking to IANS said that political intervention is required to prevent this entry by Amul and want a backlash to be given to the national milk major just like Karnataka had opposed Amul poaching into the market of Nandini, the Karnataka milk major.

--IANS
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Bhubaneswar, May 23 (IANS) Jio 5G service is now available in all district headquarters as well as over 200 major cities and towns across Odisha, a company official said on Tuesday.

"Jio is the operator of choice for mobile users in the state and the most loved technology brand, and this launch is a testament to Jio's continued commitment to the people of Odisha, especially the youth," said a Jio spokesperson.

By rolling out the 5G services at a rapid pace across Odisha, Jio aims to strengthen its 5G coverage in Odisha and provide transformational benefits of technology to the users, he said.

At present, Jio users in all these cities, towns, and villages can enjoy the Jio welcome offer, under which unlimited data at up to 1 Gbps+ speeds is being provided at no additional cost.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Allen Career Institute on Tuesday announced the appointment of former Meta executive Abha Maheshwari as Chief Executive Officer of its digital arm called Allen Digital.

Maheshwari has been tasked with building Allen's digital and technology teams in Bengaluru, creating digital-first products for enhancing delivery of outcome-based learning to students.

"Her expertise in product management, growth, and partnerships in global consumer technology companies will help bolster our efforts to scale digital-first consumer experience at Allen," said Nitin Kukreja, CEO, Allen Career Institute.

She previously served as a Director and Head of Commerce & Payments, Product Partnerships for India at Meta in their San Francisco office in the US.

Maheshwari was also part of the core leadership team that built and scaled Facebook's Ads developer ecosystem to a multi-billion-dollar programme.

"I look forward to building upon Allen's rich academic legacy and scaling access to education through technology-enabled, digital experiences," said Maheshwari.

Allen recently hired Ankit Khurana as Chief Product Officer and Saurabh Tandon as Chief Technology Officer.

Allen plans to scale its technology and product teams in Bengaluru to 200 by the end of the year.

Founded by Rajesh Maheshwari in 1988, Allen Career Institute has a pan-India base with more than 200 classroom centres in 53 cities.

--IANS
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By IANSlife
New Delhi, May 23 (IANSlife) EIH Limited, India's premium hospitality company, reported its consolidated financials for the fourth quarter and full year ending March 31st, 2023.


Commenting on the FY23 performance, Vikram Oberoi, Managing Director and CEO, of EIH Limited, said, "FY23 has been a record year for EIH Limited, reporting the highest ever full-year consolidated revenue, EBITDA and PAT. Hotels managed by EIH Limited achieved an industry-leading Rev PAR index of 127 percent for FY23, on the back of an ARR index of 120 per cent. We would like to acknowledge the significant contribution of our Chairman Emeritus, PRS Oberoi in creating a very strong foundation for the Company and building some of the world's finest hotels on the base of which these results have been achieved."

"Our exceptional performance is a testament to our unwavering commitment to quality, our premium positioning, and our meticulous attention to detail. We're not just about iconic hotels; we're about creating unforgettable experiences," added Arjun Oberoi, Executive Chairman, of EIH Limited.

"During the year, the Company also forayed into additional business segments including management of the 'Bay Club', a world-class members club, and shortly launching our first standalone high-end lifestyle restaurant 'Amadeo by Oberoi' in Mumbai. EIH will continue to expand on these and other business opportunities, offering discerning guests the best experience in hospitality. Our flight and airport catering business has rebounded strongly and continues to build on its reputation and profitability by providing quality services to leading international and domestic airlines."

In conclusion, Vikram Oberoi stated, "FY23's extraordinary performance is a tribute to the passion and unwavering commitment of the EIH team who place the needs and wellbeing of our guests above all else. Our focus remains steadfast on creating value for our stakeholders through profitable operations and strategic expansion."

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Samsung India on Tuesday announced that its national education and innovation competition 'Solve for Tomorrow' has seen overwhelming participation from youth with over 50,000 registrations coming in from across the country.

According to the company, the top three teams in the competition stand a chance to win Rs 1.5 crore to turn their ideas into action.

Youth, especially from smaller towns and districts of the country, such as Begusarai, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Gulbarga, Jalpaiguri, Khurda, North 24 Parganas, Madhubani and Pathanamthitta have sent in their ideas.

Youth from all over the country have sent in their ideas to solve real-world problems around e-waste management, recycling of marine plastic waste, circular economy, climate change, providing clean water, healthcare costs, mental health, and more.

Moreover, the company will select the top 30 teams (individuals or teams of up to three members) from among the applications received, which will be trained and mentored by Samsung and its partners -- Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at IIT Delhi and MeitY Startup Hub -- at a residential bootcamp at IIT Delhi, helping participants enhance their ideas.

Youth can apply for 'Solve for Tomorrow' by May 31 on the company's official website.

First launched in the US in 2010, 'Solve for Tomorrow' is currently operational in 63 countries globally and has seen over 2.3 million young people participate worldwide.

--IANS
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San Francisco, May 23 (IANS) Entertainment giant Disney has started its third round of layoffs that will affect over 2,500 employees across the board, the media reported.

Although Parks and Resorts remain largely untouched, no particular division is being targeted by pink slips this week, according to Deadline, citing sources.

As part of a cost-cutting measure, the company began removing dozens of titles from its streaming platforms this week.

According to the report, the television division, which was hit hard in the second round of job cuts, is largely spared this time with a small number of layoffs.

Moreover, the report mentioned that the new round of job cuts comes as media companies struggle to deal with the effects of the ongoing writers' strike, which has stopped the development and production of films and television shows.

The first round of layoffs began in March when Disney CEO Bob Iger announced three rounds of layoffs as the company aims to reduce its workforce by around 7,000 workers.

In April, Disney kicked off its second round of layoffs, affecting 4,000 employees.

The entertainment giant revealed in February that it expects to save $5.5 billion as a result of layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.

--IANS
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Cannes, May 19 (IANS) Hollywood star Harrison Ford is officially ready to retire his 'Indiana Jones' character -- the swashbuckling, fedora-wearing adventurer -- a legendary role he has inhabited in five films across 40 years, reports 'Variety'.

"Is it not evident?" the 80-year-old actor joked at the Cannes Film Festival's Friday press conference for the action-adventure. "I need to sit down and rest a little bit."

In returning to the character for one last time, adds 'Variety', Ford expressed a desire to see "a completion of the five films". He added: "I wanted to see the weight of life on him. I wanted to see him require reinvention. I wanted him to have a relationship that wasn't a flirty movie relationship."

Director James Mangold's 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' isn't playing in competition, but it's one of the buzziest premieres at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It marks Ford's return to the festival for the first time since the fourth chapter, 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' (2008), notes 'Variety'.

'Dial of Destiny' premiered on Thursday night at the Palais, where, according to 'Variety', Ford was greeted with a movie star welcome, with thousands of fans screaming his name and the audience inside the theatre showering him with applause.

He also received a tribute award to celebrate his lengthy Hollywood career, ranging from blockbusters such as 'Star Wars' and 'Blade Runner 2049' to 'The Fugitive' and 'Witness'.

"It's indescribable. I felt ... I can't even tell you," an emotional Ford said while reflecting on the prior night. "It's just extraordinary to see a relic of your life as it passes by. With the warmth of this place and sense of community, the welcome is unimaginable. It makes me feel good."

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said that it will withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknote from circulation but it will continue as legal tender.

In a statement, the RBI said: "The 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 primarily to meet the currency requirements of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all 500 and 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

"The objective of introducing 2,000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of 2,000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19," the RBI said.

The RBI said that about 89 per cent of the 2,000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4-5 years.

"The total value of these banknotes in circulation has declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3 per cent of notes in circulation) to Rs 3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8 per cent of Notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023," it said.

The RBI also pointed out that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions and further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public.

"In view of the above, and in pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation," the RBI said, adding: "The banknotes in 2,000 denomination will continue to be legal tender."

It also said that all banks shall provide deposit and/or exchange facility for 2,000 banknotes until September 30, 2023.

--IANS
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