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Coronavirus: Animals in zoos 'lonely' without visitors

Birds, elephants and primates are among those missing guests, zoos around the world say.




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Antarctica's A-68: Is the world's biggest iceberg about to break up?

The 5,100 sq km behemoth which broke away from Antarctica in 2017 drops its own large chunk of ice.




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Climate change and coronavirus: Five charts about the biggest carbon crash

How the global pandemic is limiting carbon emissions and what this will mean for climate change.




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Country profile: Djibouti

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Country profile: South Africa

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'It is very gratifying to see': Active COVID-19 cases dropping in Regina, southern Sask.

Physical distancing measures are working in southern Saskatchewan. There has been one new case in Regina in the past ten days and the South region hasn’t seen a new case since April 5.




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Ottawa Public Health 'concerned' about long-term care homes during COVID-19 pandemic

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches says hospital staff are providing support to long-term care homes hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.




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Confederation Line out of service for maintenance work

The City of Ottawa says the Confederation Line will be shutdown from Saturday, May 9 to Wednesday, May 13 so Rideau Transit Group can conduct maintenance work.




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He wrote a graphic novel about losing his home to a wildfire. Now Kincade is threatening it again.

Eisner-winning cartoonist Brian Fies faces down another fire two years after losing his Northern California home. "I'm mostly numb," he says.




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Brandon Routh thought his Superman days were over. Until he got a phone call.

Routh's return as Superman was as healing as it was unexpected: "It was almost more special than the first time."




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Pixar movies keep asking big questions about the afterlife — using Chris Pratt and khaki pants

"Onward" and "Soul" deal with the eternal and the ethereal.




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How cartoonists are ridiculing Pence’s Mayo Clinic visit without a mask

The vice president's visit inspired reactions from cartoonists on both sides of the political aisle.




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Social care providers 'about 24 hours away' from running out of PPE

Community care providers across the UK "are down to about 24 hours' worth of PPE" for their staff, Sky News has learned. 




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After death of YouTube star, Amazon will push for e-scooter safety warnings in the U.K.

Amazon, the global e-commerce giant, will ask electronic scooter manufacturers to make clear in their online listings that their devices cannot be used on public roads.




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Amazon’s autonomous robots have started delivering packages in a new location: Southern California

After nearly eight months of knowledge-gathering street tests and thousands of successful deliveries, Amazon has announced that its delivery robots have begun delivering packages to customers in Irvine, Calif.




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Tired of long lines? A Canadian grocery chain debuts Smart Carts with self-checkout.

A Canadian grocery chain says its introducing a fleet of intelligent grocery carts that scan and weigh products as customers place them in the cart.




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Week 9 fantasy football waiver wire is all about the passing game

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College Football Playoff projections: Alabama, Clemson at the top, but don’t count out Tier 2

Michigan, Georgia and Oklahoma scrambling for final spots.




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The Kansas Jayhawks' inside-outside game makes them a major threat for the NCAA basketball title

The key could be Dedric Lawson, a 6-foot-9 forward who sat out last season after transferring from Memphis and is the best transfer Coach Bill Self has landed in his time in Lawrence.




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A blockbuster Facebook office deal is a make-or-break moment for the future of commercial real estate. 3 leasing experts lay out the stakes.

  • Facebook has been in negotiations for months to lease over 700,000 square feet at the Farley Building on Manhattan's West Side. 
  • Office leasing activity in the city has plummeted, giving the blockbuster deal even more importance as a sign of life in a suddenly lethargic market.
  • The coronavirus has spurred a deep downturn in the economy that is already being felt in the city's commercial real-estate market, prompting a big slowdown in leasing activity.  
  • The rapid expansion of tech in recent years has propelled the city's office market. Real estate execs say that Facebook's big deal is a key barometer. 
  • The crisis also raises questions whether tenants will ever occupy office space the same way as companies and their workforces around the world grow familiar with remote work. 
  • Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Leasing activity in New York City's multi-billion-dollar commercial office market has dropped precipitously as the coronavirus has battered the market and raised questions of when — and even if — tenants can return to the workplace in a post-Covid world.

Amid the growing concerns the crisis will smother what had been robust demand for office space, eyes in the city's real estate industry have turned to a pending blockbuster deal on the West Side that could offer a signal of confidence to the market.

Facebook is in talks to take over 700,000 square feet of space in the Farley Building, a block-long property across Eighth Avenue from Penn Station.

"If that deal happens, then this market will be just fine," said Peter Riguardi, the New York area chairman and president of JLL. "If the deal happens but it's renegotiated, it will be fine, but it will be a trend that every tenant can follow. And if it doesn't happen, I would be very concerned about the market."

Read More: Inside the drama over control of the iconic Chrysler Building: A real-estate tycoon and a prestigious college are renegotiating a critical $150 million deal.

Facebook's NYC real-estate footprint

Last year, Facebook signed on for 1.5 million square feet in the Hudson Yards mega-development just west of the Farley Building, taking space in three new office towers at the project.

For months the $600 billion Silicon Valley-based social media giant has been in negotiations for even more space at the nearby Farley Building, whose interior landlord Vornado Realty Trust is redeveloping to include newly built office and retail space.

Vornado had originally expected to complete the deal with Facebook in early March, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The talks have continued on as the virus pandemic has brought commerce and social life to a virtual halt. The source expected the lease, which will commit Facebook to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in rent for the space over the life of the lease, to soon be completed.

In a conference call with investors and analysts on Tuesday to discuss Vornado's first-quarter earnings, the company's CEO Steve Roth also hinted that the Facebook deal was still on track.

"There's another large tenant that has been rumored to be that we've been in dialogue with," Roth said, not directly naming the company. "That conversation is going forward aggressively and hopefully maybe even almost complete."

Rapid growth in Big Tech leasing before coronavirus

Recent real-estate decisions by Facebook and other tech companies have worried real-estate executives that they may reconsider their footprint after years of dramatic growth. Facebook on Thursday revealed that the bulk of its over 40,000-person workforce will be asked to work remotely for the remainder of the year, a timeline that appears to show the company is using caution in returning to its footprint.

Read More: Neiman Marcus just filed for bankruptcy, and it could mark a major blow to NYC's glitzy Hudson Yards — one of the most expensive mega-malls in US history. Here's why.

Real-estate executives have expressed concern that tenants may become accustomed to offloading a portion or even the bulk of their workforce to a remote-working model, leading them to drastically reduce their office commitments.

At a minimum, the economic upheaval has appeared to spur a newfound sense of caution in tech companies that have grown rapidly in recent years. Alphabet called off negotiations to expand its San Francisco offices by over 2 million square feet in recent weeks, according to a report from The Information.  

Tech has been a big driver of demand for office space

In recent years the tech industry had become one of the most voracious takers of space in the city, helping to push up commercial rents and spur the construction of new office space.

In 2019, tech firms accounted for 24.5% of the 31.6 million square feet of leasing activity in Manhattan, eclipsing the financial industry as the city's biggest space-taking sector for the first time, according to data from the real estate services and brokerage firm CBRE.

In 2010 tech leasing comprised just 4% of the 24.2 million square feet that was leased in the Manhattan market that year, CBRE said.

"Nothing has buoyed the confidence of landlords more in recent years than tech tenants," said Sacha Zarba, a leasing executive at CBRE who specializes in working with tech firms. "It didn't matter where your building was. If it was attractive to tech, you would stand a good chance to lease your space. If that industry retrenches a bit, it removes a big driver of demand."

The Manhattan office market has slowed rapidly in recent weeks as the virus crisis has battered the economy and shut down daily life.

About 844,000 square feet of space was leased in Manhattan in April, according to CBRE, 64% lower than the five-year monthly average. In the first four months of the year, nearly seven million square feet was leased, a decline of 30% for the same period a year ago. 

So far, however, there are signs that tech continues to snap up space.

After scuttling plans to develop a 25,000 person second headquarters space in Long Island City last year, Amazon purchased 424 Fifth Avenue, a former flagship department store for Lord & Taylor, for nearly $1 billion in March. That property totals about 660,000 square feet. Late last year, before the pandemic hit U.S. shores but had flared in China, Amazon also leased 335,000 square feet at 410 Tenth Avenue.

The commitments of major tech companies absorb millions of square feet in the city, but they also help fuel a larger ecosystem of tenants that occupies an even larger footprint. That means that a decrease in the real estate of just a few big tech players could be multiplied across the market as smaller players in the sector follow suit.

"Those big tech firms do a fantastic job of training and credentialing tech talent on the city," said Matt Harrigan, a co-founder of Company, a space incubator at 335 Madison Avenue that provides offices and community for both startups and more established tech firms. "Google and Facebook spin off talent who start or join other tech ventures that take space. That's what's so important about having the large presence of those companies here."

Have a tip? Contact Daniel Geiger at dgeiger@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (646) 352-2884, or Twitter DM at @dangeiger79. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

SEE ALSO: What to expect when you're back in the office: 7 real-estate experts break down what the transition will look like, and why the workplace may never be the same

SEE ALSO: Major tenants are delaying big leases in NYC as they re-think their office space needs for the post-coronavirus world

SEE ALSO: As WeWork and flex-space rivals stumble, 18 million square feet of space in NYC is at risk. Here's what that means for the real-estate market.

SEE ALSO: BI Prime Edit in Viking Neiman Marcus just filed for bankruptcy, and it could mark a major blow to NYC's glitzy Hudson Yards — one of the most expensive mega-malls in US history. Here's why.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Softbank-backed delivery startup Rappi is testing out robots for contactless delivery — take a look

  • Colombian delivery app Rappi is testing pilot robot deliveries in Colombia.
  • Rappi operates in several Latin American countries, and last year SoftBank invested one billion dollars into the startup.
  • Deliveries are made using Kiwibot, a delivery robot from a Colombian owned company in California.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Colombian delivery app Rappi is yet another company turning to robots to reduce reliance on human workers during the coronavirus pandemic. 

In addition to Colombia, Rappi operates in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Last spring, SoftBank invested $1 billion — one-fifth of its Innovation Fund for Latin America — in the startup. It was founded in 2015, and other investors include Sequoia Capital, Andreesen Horowitz, and Y Combinator.

Colombia is currently under a lockdown set to end in May, though it may be extended again. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported on the lack of coronavirus testing throughout Latin America, making it difficult to assess how widespread the virus is in the region.

Like in other countries, the Colombian delivery app is using robots to complete orders at a time when people are at risk of catching the virus from interacting with others. So far, the robots are part of a pilot in Medellin, with potential to expand.

Here's what it looks like. 

SEE ALSO: Nonprofits, truck drivers, food banks, and others are turning to a little-known Google Maps feature to navigate life amid the coronavirus pandemic

Rappi is using robots for deliveries in Medellin, the capital of Colombia.



Typically, Rappi works similarly to GrubHub or DoorDash, with delivery drivers picking up orders and bringing them to customers' doors.



As the coronavirus spread between people, options for contactless delivery became more popular.



Deliveries in the pilot program use Kiwibot robots, from a California company with a Medellin office.



The four-wheeled delivery robots have orange flags to call attention from walkers, drivers, and bikers.



Customers stuck at home because of the coronavirus can order and pay for meals digitally, and then last mile delivery is completed by the robots.



Robots can carry deliveries up to five square inches in size, and are disinfected between orders.

Source: The Star



Kiwibots have a stereo camera system to sense its surroundings as it moves.



The sensor system allows it to react to lights and obstacles.



Kiwibots are equipped with corner recognition, which allows them to create safe paths on sidewalks.



Kiwibot emphasized its robots ability to "seamlessly mesh into the fabric of urban landscapes," with technology like street crossing mode.

Source: Kiwibot



Rappi says it completes about 120 deliveries each day with the 15 robots in the pilot area.

Source: The Star



It plans to run the program until July, and then potentially expand to other cities.



Kiwibots have previously been used for deliveries at colleges including UC Berkeley, and Kiwibot says it has made more than 30,000 deliveries since it started in 2017.

Source: The New York Times






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Ring lights, loved by influencers and YouTubers, are now being snatched up by work-from-home employees for Zoom calls and video chats

  • Millions of people have quickly had to adapt to working from home during the pandemic, leading some to scramble to look presentable over video chats with colleagues.
  • One strategy workers have used is the purchase of a ring light, a product that can be used in your video set-up to to improve lighting of your face on-camera.
  • Right lights have already been popular buys for influencers, vloggers, and TikTok creators who adopt various tools to produce professional-quality videos uploaded online.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The ring light is beloved by YouTubers and aspiring TikTok creators for casting a flattering, even glow across anyone's face. Now, ring lights are seeing widespread interest among people tuning into Zoom work calls from their poorly lit homes during the pandemic.

Video conferencing software has exponentially grown in use in recent months, and employees now find themselves in situations online creators have been dealing with for years: Looking their best in front of the camera while in the comfort of their own homes.

Lockdown orders have coincided with a recent surge of interest in ring lights, especially in the U.S. where work-from-home rolled out to non-essential employees starting in early March. Twitter users have been sharing with followers their recent ring light purchases for classes, work meetings, and happy hours taking place over Zoom and FaceTime.

Ring light set-ups provide the benefits of a professional photo studio without the cost, casting your face in a shadow-free, flattering hue while you're in front of the camera. Ring lights on Amazon go for between $60 and $150, depending on how powerful of a light or complicated of a set-up you want. Many of these ring-lights come with tripods and pieces to hold your phone or camera.

Although newly work-from-home employees may just be discovering ring lights for the first time, they've long been a trick for creators whose bedrooms have doubled as their studios. While ring lights have been especially vital for makeup tutorials and beauty vloggers, they've since become commonplace to set-ups for young people starting out on YouTube and TikTok. Now, they're just one of the products with appearance-adjusting features catered to influencers, such as specific camera models that come with skin-smoothing filters.

As dates for returning to the office continue to get pushed back at some companies, sales will likely continue to rise for ring lights. However, it's probably on the more expensive side of simple tips and tricks to implement to look for presentable on your video calls. For those that don't want to splash out cash for a ring light, Zoom has a little-known filter on its platform that users can apply to give their faces a softer look and minimize imperfections. The "touch up my appearance" can be turned on directly within the Zoom app (you can find the steps for activating it on Business Insider).

SEE ALSO: WhatsApp is touting steps taken to cut the viral spread of coronavirus misinformation, but experts question whether it's done enough

Join the conversation about this story »

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I've been using Apple's new iPhone SE for 2 weeks — here are the best and worst things about it so far (AAPL)

  • The $400 iPhone SE stands out for its fast performance, compact design, and effective camera.
  • Still, the iPhone SE is lacking some of the camera features found on similarly priced Android rivals.
  • Overall, the phone is best suited for Apple loyalists upgrading from an older device like the iPhone 6S that want something affordable and familiar.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple's iPhone SE is unlike any iPhone Apple has released in the past two years. In fact, it looks a lot more like the the iPhone you probably remember from 2017 and earlier, back when iPhones still had home buttons and smaller-sized screens.

I switched from the $1,000 iPhone 11 Pro to Apple's new iPhone SE recently, and overall I've found it to be a solid option for Apple fans looking for a cheap, portable device. The smaller and lighter size is easy to manage and operate with one hand, and Touch ID brings some convenience that Face ID can lack. 

But of course, since it's significantly cheaper than the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, it's lacking in some areas. It doesn't have an ultra-wide-angle camera or low-light photography capabilities, for example, even though similarly priced Android devices offer some of those features.

After spending a couple of weeks with Apple's cheapest iPhone, here are my favorite (and least favorite) things about it.  

SEE ALSO: Apple is expected to release a new Apple Watch this fall — here are the features we want to see

The iPhone SE runs on Apple's latest iPhone processor, which makes it feel snappy and fast.

The iPhone SE runs on Apple's A3 Bionic processor, the same chip that powers the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. As a result, the iPhone SE feels snappy and fast in daily use.

I found this to be especially true when switching from my old iPhone 8 to the SE. In most cases, it was able to launch apps, render 4K video clips, and find surfaces more quickly in augmented reality than Apple's more-than-two-year-old iPhone 8.

That being said, the iPhone SE is pretty similar to the iPhone 8 in just about every other way, save for a few exceptions. It's best suited for those upgrading from an iPhone 7 or older. 

The A13 Bionic is the major advantage the iPhone SE has over similarly-priced Android phones, many of which may offer more sophisticated cameras but run on less powerful processors. 



It's small and compact, which means it's easier to use with one hand and fit into pockets.

The iPhone SE is the most compact iPhone Apple has released in years. It has a 4.7-inch screen just like the iPhone 8, and weighs noticeably less than the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro.

The iPhone SE weighs 5.22 ounces, while the iPhone 11 weighs 6.84 ounces and the iPhone 11 Pro weighs 6.63 ounces. 



It's also the only iPhone Apple sells that comes with a Touch ID home button.

Although I've grown accustomed to swiping up from the home screen to return home and unlocking my phone just by looking at it, I've really appreciated having Touch ID again.

Apple's fingerprint sensor sometimes works a bit faster than Face ID in my experience when unlocking my phone. And since Face ID works best when held directly in front of your face, I often have to physically pick up my phone to unlock it when using the iPhone 11 Pro. 

With the iPhone SE, by comparison, I can unlock my phone just by resting a finger on the home button without having to move the device. It's a small convenience, but one that I've come to appreciate.



The camera quality is good for the price.

The iPhone SE has a single 12-megapixel camera that supports Portrait Mode and all six lighting effects that go with it. Overall, the camera system is very similar to the one found on Apple's iPhone XR from 2018.

You won't get the more advanced photography features found on Apple's newer iPhone models, but you won't be disappointed by the SE's camera either. During my time with the phone, I've found that it takes sharp, crisp images that may not be as vibrant as the ones taken on the iPhone 11 Pro, but are in some cases an improvement over the iPhone 8.



But the camera is lacking compared to some similarly priced Android phones.

Given its cheap price, it's reasonable to think that the iPhone SE wouldn't come with all of the capabilities of the iPhone 11 or 11 Pro.

But that hasn't stopped some Android phone makers from bringing features like low-light photography, multi-lens camera systems, and ultra-wide-angle lenses to their devices. Google, Samsung, and TCL all offer compelling smartphones with more feature-rich photography capabilities at similar price points as the iPhone SE.  



The iPhone SE's design also feels a bit antiquated compared to modern smartphones.

While I appreciate the portability of the iPhone SE's design, its appearance does feel a bit outdated compared to other modern smartphones. Other affordable Android phones, like the $400 Samsung Galaxy A51 and $400 Google Pixel 3a, still offer screens with much smaller bezels for around the same price.  

 



And the battery life leaves me wanting more.

I usually get roughly one full work day out of the iPhone SE, which is acceptable given its low price. But when switching from a more expensive phone like the iPhone 11 Pro, I often found myself scrambling to plug in my phone after work hours.

Battery life will always vary depending on how you use your phone. During the workday, I tend to take a lot of phone calls, leave my screen on for long periods of time to avoid missing work notifications, and record audio frequently. All of these tasks will drain your battery faster than usual, which is why I tend to get more battery life out of the SE on the weekends.

The bottom line is: If you're a power user that's frequently recording video or audio, or running graphics-heavy games, you may want to make sure you have a charger handy or opt for a phone with longer battery life.



So is it right for you?

The iPhone SE is a reliable, affordable choice for Apple fans that want something that feels familiar and won't break the bank. 

You shouldn't expect to get all of the benefits you'd find on a much more expensive phone like the iPhone 11 Pro. But the SE's A13 Bionic chip offers fast performance for the price, and should provide some reassurance that you're phone won't quickly feel outdated in terms of speed. 






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Rihanna has a message for President Trump about immigration

The native of Barbados apparently doesn't like Trump's immigration policies.




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He’s on a boat: Obama hangs out with George Clooney in Italy

The former president is living his best life on Lake Como.




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Michelle Obama talks about her last night at the White House, Democratic presidential candidates in interview

“The transition happens so quickly; it’s like you don’t even get to move your furniture out until the new president takes the oath of office,” Obama told Gayle King in an interview at Essence Festival.




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Nicki Minaj pulls out of concert in Saudi Arabia ‘after better educating myself on the issues’

The rapper said she wanted to support women's and LGTBQ rights.




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Monica Lewinsky jokes about the worst career advice she’s ever been given

The former scandal figure is mining what was a traumatic experience for some dark humor.




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After Nicki Minaj backs out of concert in Saudi Arabia, Janet Jackson, 50 Cent and others join lineup

Human rights advocates have urged artists not to perform in the country because of its dismal human rights record.




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Trump popped in on a wedding at his golf course, and a ‘U-S-A!’ chant broke out

The president stopped by a Staten Island couple's wedding and was greeted with cheers, screams and a supportive crowd.




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Rihanna, Cardi B, John Oliver and more lash out at Trump after deadly mass shootings

Stars criticized the president after two mass shootings that occurred less than 24 hours apart in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio.




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Priyanka Chopra is confronted by Pakistani at Beautycon over tweets about India

The "Quantico" actress was called out during her appearance for a tweet sent during military hostility between the neighboring, nuclear-armed countries.




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Brandi Carlile drops out of women’s summit over former Trump official Kirstjen Nielsen’s involvement

The singer announced she will not participate in Fortune’s Most Powerful Women conference after learning the former homeland security secretary was a speaker.




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Jason Momoa and Jaden Smith are serious about clean water. Just ask Chris Pratt.

When it comes to getting schooled on plastic water bottles, look no further than Aquaman.




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Steve Harvey’s cartel jokes about Colombia at the Miss Universe pageant didn’t go over well

The host made news of his own with questionable jokes, an eye roll and whispers of another wrong winner.




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Donald Trump Jr. is tweeting about Jussie Smollett. Again.

The president's son mocked the former "Empire" actor's legal troubles in numerous tweets this week. And not for the first time.




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Profiles in Thinking About Courage: inside ‘A Warning’ by Anonymous




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Check if Your Stripe Checkout is SCA Compliant

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) came into effect on September the 14th 2019 as part of the latest General Data Protection Regulation. This new regulation affects many online merchants who sell to those within Europe and other businesses that operate within the region. This regulation was devised to limit the amount of online fraudulent activity and […]

The post Check if Your Stripe Checkout is SCA Compliant appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.




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Benefits of Adding Multiple Payment Gateways to Your Website’s Checkout

If you are just starting up your website, perhaps you are selling tangible items, or you have a hit single that you’ll be offering digital copies of, one of your pressing questions may be: “Which payment gateway should I use to accept payments from my customers?“. While there are pros and cons of using any […]

The post Benefits of Adding Multiple Payment Gateways to Your Website’s Checkout appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.




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Celebrity Edge : What's Good and Bad About This Cruise Ship?

Celebrity Edge is the third class, or type, of ship in the Celebrity Cruises Fleet. The first ship was Celebrity Edge in 2018, followed by Celebrity Apex in 2020. After spending time on the ship, and talking to cruise passengers, I review this new class of ship and discuss what is new and different, and what is good or poor about the ship - and who I think it is best for. This should help you decide if the Celebrity Edge ships are right for your cruising vacation.

Get my Cruise T-shirts at my store at https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/store

Get a great Cruise deals via CRUISEDIRECT.COM at https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/CruiseDirectYT

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge




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Saga Cruises Spirit of Discovery Ship : 8 Must-Knows And A Key Watch-Out

Saga Cruises launched Spirit of Discovery in July 2019, the first of two sister cruise ships (Spirit of Adventure in 2020). These are the first new-build ships for cruising ever for Saga, why had previously bought and refurbished existing cruise ships. The Spirit of Discovery holds 999 passengers and in this I discuss the 8 things that I think are best about the ship, and show and explain why. I also talk about one major watch-out and issue that could stop you from cruising.

Note: I travelled as a guest of the cruise line on a pre-naming cruise before making this video. Saga Cruises had no input in the video and content.

** Subscribe to my channel: http://bit.ly/TFT_YouTube2
** Buy one of my unique Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore
** Get great cruise deals via CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise

Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 60+ cruises.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge




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Cruise Drinks Packages. 8 Big Watch-Outs

Cruise drinks packages are becoming increasingly popular. Most cruise lines offer them, and actively promote and encourage cruising passengers to buy one. However, is a drinks package right for you? I explore 8 reasons and times that a drinks package on a cruise ship is probably not worth buying. Cruise lines often have different levels and types of drinks packages, such as lines like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Celebrity, and what should you be thinking about if deciding between these. Discover if a drinks package is right for you, and the watch-outs and things to consider.

Watch my video about the unusual ways cruisers smuggle alcohol on a cruise: https://youtu.be/xTICZTwMYkY


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** USA cruisers get great cruise deals CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise
** UK Cruisers get great cruise deals with CRUISE.CO.UK: http://bit.ly/BookCruiseUK

Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 60+ cruises.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge




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Seabourn Cruises Must-Knows and Watch-Outs

What are the 4 Things You Really Need To Know Before Cruising with Seabourn Cruises? I explore the ultra-luxury Seabourn Cruise Line and discuss for essential things about them to help you decide if this is the best, or right, cruise line for your cruising vacation, including what Seabourn is, what they do better and the same as other ultra-luxury cruise lines, what your fare really gets (and does not get you) and who the line is best for.

Note: I travelled as a guest of the cruise line before making this video

** Buy my Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore
** USA cruisers get great cruise deals CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise
** UK Cruisers get great cruise deals with CRUISE.CO.UK: http://bit.ly/BookCruiseUK

Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 60+ cruises.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge

#




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Cruise Embarkation Day Watch-Outs and Tips

Discover the 9 top tips and tricks to make your cruise embarkation day fast, stress-free and sets you up for the most enjoyable cruise vacation you can have. I explore the watch-outs and things to focus on drawing on my experiences of setting off on 73 cruises to date. I have learnt, sometimes the hard way, on the things to watch out for, to be ready for and how to make cruise embarkation day easy and get you into your cruise as quickly as possible.

Once you have watched this, why not watch one of these popular recent videos:
10 Cabins to Avoid: https://youtu.be/PgTGLma919A
European River Cruise Watch-Outs: https://youtu.be/oqhz54wStyk
5 Cruises To Avoid: https://youtu.be/CNiPzK4IRWA
Alaska Cruise Need-to-Knows: https://youtu.be/Tn7dpNw5kSI
Things Cruise Lines Don’t Want You to Know: https://youtu.be/cs5UKha9ALc
Rules Passengers Break Most: https://youtu.be/djZLZ3XV_f0
Things You Can’t Do On A Cruise Any More: https://youtu.be/zas6F4wMD0Q
Should You Pay Cruise Gratuities: https://youtu.be/QBYzqxXjEXQ

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY:
Buying my Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore
Booking your next cruise with CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise


Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 60+ cruises.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge




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8 Offbeat Questions About Cruise Ships Answered

I give the answers to 8 of the more offbeat, unconventional and unusual questions that many passengers, including me at one time, were afraid or embarrassed to ask. I explore everything from what water is in the toilets to how many people die on a cruise and what happens to the body and what waste is (and is not) out into the ocean. Find out the answers to some of the more offbeat questions many cruise passengers have about cruise ships and cruising.

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY:
Buying my Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStoreBooking your next cruise with CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise

Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 74 cruises at time of making this video.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge

- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers

- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge




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Numéricable Selects Calix and Arcadiz for Broadband Business Services Rollout

Numéricable has selected the Calix E7-2 Ethernet Service Access Platform and gigabit passive optical network technology to upgrade its service delivery platform in Belgium and Luxembourg. Calix, along with optical specialist Arcadiz Telecom, will work closely to roll out Numéricable’s new high-speed broadband networks to deliver business services across the region. The new platform will enable Numéricable’s customers to take advantage of advanced voice, video, and data services at symmetrical speeds ranging from 30 megabits per second (30 Mbps) up to 1 gigabit per second (1 Gbps).

Numéricable serves over 150,000 customers in Brussels with triple-play services for residential subscribers. Owned by Coditel and with a close relationship to the French Numéricable organization, with whom it shares a range of resources, Numéricable Belgium is a long-established operator with a highly dispersed coax cable network. The company has traditionally delivered triple-play residential services over its hybrid fiber coax infrastructure, but in recent years has moved increasingly towards using its fiber to connect businesses and has developed a number of specific niche markets. The company is now looking at ways to maximize the potential of its fiber infrastructure in Belgium and Luxembourg and deliver revenue-generating advanced services to its business customers.



  • Service Providers/Europe IPTV

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A Republican finally reveals the truth about the GOP tax cuts

No, they aren’t going to pay for themselves.