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Paul Moller stands in the back corner of a large garage in Davis, California, clean-shaven and wearing a large pair of golden aviator glasses. The 52-year-old engineer is a professor down the road at the University of California, Davis, but he’s not the type to sit back with a book and highlighter. In his white polo shirt and glossy brown bomber jacket, he looks ready to tinker with the shiny invention behind him at knee-level at a moment’s notice. advertisement advertisement The dark blue saucer behind Moller features eight propellers encircling a small, one-person cockpit. Behold Moller’s new M200X—a vehicle reminiscent of the Jetson family’s green flying car that Moller says is almost ready for manned test flights. Cut to: Moller stands outside with the M200X in an open grassy field. The vehicle, tethered to a rope, powers up, whirring loudly. The saucer lifts slowly into the air, rocking back and forth unsteadily, before Moller and his team signal … [Read more...] about Paul Moller’s 50-year dream to build a flying car won’t die

FILE PHOTO: The Social Security System Building on East Avenue in Quezon City. Photo taken January 18, 2016. INQUIRER/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA ILOILO CITY — The Social Security System (SSS) here on Wednesday invited businesses to avail of its Pandemic Relief and Restructuring Program (PRRP) 3 to ensure employee benefits and avoid legal troubles. A Run Against Contribution Evaders (RACE) campaign team from the SSS’ Iloilo-central office conducted surprise visits to six businesses in the city proper to inform and remind them of their accountabilities. These six businesses, which range from food products and services to general merchandising, owed a total of P945,000.67, including P758,616 in principal liabilities and P186,384.67 in penalties. The team, led by Acting Vice President for Visayas West Area 2 Angelo Blancover and legal operations lawyer Bernardo Dofitas Jr., informed them of their respective accountabilities, and that they have until November 22 to avail of the PRRP 3. … [Read more...] about SSS urges businesses in Iloilo to avail of its pandemic relief and restructuring scheme

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is setting up a digital forensics laboratory to develop its capacity to investigate cartels or abuses of dominance by big businesses. The independent, quasi-judicial, antitrust body formed to implement the Philippine Competition Act (PCA or Republic Act No. 10667) said the laboratory would have specialized forensics equipment, software, as well other tools useful for their operatives. “The development of PCC’s digital forensics capacity is a major asset for our enforcement team,” PCC officer-in-charge Johannes Bernabe said in a press statement on Wednesday. He added that the use of digital forensics would allow their investigators to uncover trails of electronic transactions or documents that point to cartels or collusions. PCC investigators will also undergo proficiency trainings and accreditation on the use of digital forensics equipment. The commission said further that it would deepen its partnership with the National Bureau of … [Read more...] about Antitrust agency builds capability to battle cartels

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline A full-scale nuclear war between Russia and the U.S. could trigger a global famine and kill more than 5 billion people, according to peer reviewed research published in Nature Food on Monday, while a smaller regional nuclear conflict could also lead to the starvation of billions, sober findings that show the wide-reaching implications of nuclear war as tensions between several nuclear-armed states soar amid ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Key Facts Soot blasted into the atmosphere following a nuclear exchange would obliterate crop production by blocking out sunlight and lowering temperatures, according to climate models simulating six different nuclear war scenarios. The models, which analyzed changes to agricultural production and trade in five scenarios for how smaller nuclear wars between India and Pakistan could play out and one large war between Russia and the U.S., showed that even a small, … [Read more...] about Even A Limited Nuclear War Could Kill Billions By Starvation, Study Finds

C orn dogs will fry. Pigs will parade. Butter cows will greet visitors from their climate-controlled enclosures. This month is go-time for Ferris wheels, bacon-wrapped beef on a stick and llamas dressed in costumes . For the first time since the pandemic laid waste to the business, state fairs across the U.S. will swing open their gates hoping disease and deficits are behind them. The big question is whether they can overcome higher prices, vendor worker shortages and lingering fear of Covid-19 to regain or surpass their pre-pandemic form. “This whole year, everything about it has felt normal in a new world,” said Jerry Hammer, CEO of the Minnesota State Fair, second only to Texas in size and host to the llama costume contest, which also includes alpacas. “We’re in a much different place than we were three years ago. People are excited about the fair this year. The issues we have are typical, where they haven’t been for the last two years.” State fairs seem like … [Read more...] about State Fairs Hope To Put Disease And Deficits Behind Them In Their First Full-Throttle Season Since Covid

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) started its science mission just a few weeks ago, surpassing all expectations while astonishing scientists and the public alike. Its infrared instruments and a light-collecting area 6.25 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope are delivering sharper photos that go further into the Universe’s past than ever before. advertisement advertisement And yet, it will soon feel like a toy camera. The Webb is just the beginning of a new golden age of astronomy that is bringing us devices that will capture images that we can’t even imagine right now—the aggregate of which will change our perception of existence itself. Two of these future machines are very different from the JWST, each representing two completely different design philosophies. One is the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), a titanic device equipped with seven 27.5-foot mirrors that will be housed inside a 12-story building on top of Las Campanas Observatory … [Read more...] about These next-gen telescopes will make the James Webb look like a toy

Executives from NPX Capital pose for photos during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at the JoongAng Ilbo building in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, on July 21. From left are: Ka Jong-hyun, chief operating officer of Terapin Studios; Samuel Hwang, CEO of NPX Capital; and Kim Do-young, chief legal officer of NPX Capital. [WOO SANG-JO] The webtoon market is a promising one — or at least in the eyes of a young Korean investment company. NPX Capital is an alternative investment management firm founded in 2016 by Samuel Hwang, a 39-year-old start-up expert who established New Pathway Education in China in 2009. The firm has since been making its name among local venture capitalists after successfully joining early-stage investments into promising start-ups, such as The Pinkfong Company, Riiid and Mathpresso. Having taken on the role of the quiet helping hand for start-ups, NPX Capital is becoming more active in the market, especially in the webtoon industry. Last year, it acquired … [Read more...] about [INTERVIEW] NPX Capital is finding the funds to finance webtoon boom

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It was one year ago I discovered London-based digital brand, Urbanic . Their deep reach within emerging markets and unique approach towards inclusivity within them were intriguing. Their incredible growth, however, was fascinating and it became obvious they are quietly positioning themselves to be the next big name in the global fast fashion game. Urbanic was founded with key Gen-Z qualities of individuality, social and environmental responsibility, and a non-bending mentality to making certain everyone has a seat at the table. The last has become pivotal to the brand because in the markets and consumer groups within which they operate are communities where, historically, only narrow standards of existence prevailed. For example, they’ve led the charge on controversial concepts such as the acceptance of homosexuals in India or the amplification of body positivity in Latin America. This mission of inclusive values and … [Read more...] about Emerging Market Digital Brand, Urbanic, Introduces Sustainable Packaging