Day: July 29, 2022

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Record EU Inflation Expected; Economy Continues to Grow

The European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, on Friday estimated inflation is expected to reach a record 8.9% in July, while the Eurozone and EU economy overall continued to grow during the first quarter of 2022.

In its report, Eurostat indicated inflation in July was driven largely by the energy sector with 39.7% growth, down from 42% in June. The food, alcohol and tobacco sector follows, with a rise of 9.8%, compared with 8.9% in June. The non-energy industrial goods sector grew 4.5% compared with 4.3% in June, and the services sector grew 3.7%, compared with 3.4% in June.

For months, inflation has been running at its highest levels since 1997, when record-keeping for the euro began, leading the European Central Bank to raise interest rates last week for the first time in 11 years and signal another boost in September.

Meanwhile, Eurostat also reported Friday the eurozone’s seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.7% and by 0.6% in the EU overall, compared with the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2022, GDP had grown by 0.5% in the euro area and 0.6% throughout the EU.

The positive numbers come despite stagnant growth in Germany, Europe’s largest economy. France showed modest 0.5% growth, while Italy and Spain exceeded expectations with 1 and 1.1% economic expansions, respectively.

Eurostat says the numbers for both GDP growth and inflation are preliminary flash estimates based on data that are incomplete and subject to further revision.

The Associated Press, citing regional economic analysts, reports a rebound in tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic helped drive economic growth. The analysts caution, however, that inflation, rising interest rates and the worsening energy crisis are expected to push the region into recession later this year.

Source: Voice of America

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Giant Video Screen Falls on Boy Band Mirror Dancers at Hong Kong Concert

A huge video panel fell on the stage during a concert by popular Hong Kong boy band Mirror on Thursday, crushing one performer and trapping others, prompting a government investigation and the suspension of future shows.

At least two dancers were injured, with one in a serious condition and the other stable, local broadcaster RTHK reported.

Three members of the audience were also injured, local media reported, with many fans emotional after the harrowing scenes.

“I am shocked by the incident. I express sympathy to those who were injured and hope that they would recover soon,” Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said Friday.

The government would investigate and review safety procedures to protect performers, staff and the public, he said.

Kevin Yeung, the city’s culture secretary, said the show would be suspended until the stage structure was safe. The government’s leisure bureau had already contacted the concert organizer about other stage incidents in recent days, he said in a statement.

The hugely popular cantopop group was formed in 2018 through a reality television show and had planned a series of 12 shows at Hong Kong’s Coliseum, next to the city’s Victoria harbor.

More than 13,000 Mirror fans signed an online petition asking the concert organizer to resolve the problems and ensure safety for all performers, according to the petition’s website.

MakerVille, the concert organizer which is owned by Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li’s PCCW Media Group, said it was thoroughly investigating the cause of the accident.

“We are deeply sorry that the incident caused unease to viewers or others affected.”


Source: Voice of America

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Syinix Launches World First Machine that can cook Africa Staple Food: Banku, FUFU etc.

ACCRA, Ghana, July 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — According to the study, 83% of African eat a variety of Swallow foods (such as Banku, fufu,etc.) as their staple food. For most of African, however, making swallow food is a difficult process, as users have to stir the food throughout, and the whole process is time-consuming as well. Therefore, a full-automatic Swallow Maker that are hands-free is the irresistible trend. On 28th July, Syinix officially unveiled the world’s first Swallow Maker in Accra, Ghana, creating a new era of fully automated cooking swallow food in Africa.

Syinix World's First Swallow Maker

Swallow Maker

Syinix Managing Director of West Africa Justin said at the launch event:” Welcome to witness this historic moment with Syinix. Swallow Maker is not only the first model for Syinix, but also the world’s first automatic swallow food cooking machine. Both the product concept and the functions of Swallow Maker are unique. It is fully automated, multifunctional, easy to clean and large capacity to bring easy and convenient cooking experience for African families.

Syinix is a high-end home appliance brand of Transsion Holdings, which also owns three major famous mobile phone brands in Africa: Tecno*, Infinix*, Itel*. Syinix has now spread to more than 20 countries in Africa, and it’s features of high quality and innovation , are becoming increasingly competitive and promising in the African market in recent years.
Syinix’s product team visited over 10 African countries and found that some of the swallow food process still involved using mortar and pestle, which requires two people to beat and turn the food constantly. Recently people start using pot and spoons which still requires manual mixing. After discovering these problems, Syinix’s product team eventually developed the world’s first fully automatic swallow maker after more than 2 years hard work.

Full automation:
Swallow maker as a fully automated machine, requires simple operations before delicious food is made. User will only need to pour the ingredients into the machine proportionally, and the rest of the human work is replaced by the machine. Compared to traditional production methods, swallow maker stops users from constantly stirring thus, can spend more time with their families and enjoy life.

Multi-function:
Another function of Swallow maker is that it supports the production of all-purpose swallow food to ensure the taste and eating habits in different parts of Africa.For example, banku , fufu and konkonte in Ghana; eba, pounded yam, amala and semolina in Nigeria, and ugali in Kenya. In addition, Swallow maker supports creative cooking, allowing users to try out more new creative ingredients and recipes.

Large capacity & Easy to clean:
The “Swallow Maker” is a high-capacity device that support preparing meals for a family of four or five, which meets the needs of the majority African families. It’s removable knife set and non-stick coating design makes it convenient to clean up food residue.

Others functions:
Syinix takes full consideration of user needs in the whole process of developing Swallow Maker. The metal pot body and no modified material, as well as the special power operation mechanism, ensures the safe and stable production process of the machine. Other ingenious designs, such as the appearance of the machine, is inspired by traditional African handicrafts, and can effectively prevent it from falling off easily when holding or moving it. Syinix swallow maker successfully got a number of patents and the 2022 German Red Dot Design Award. It also support 13-month warranty period by Syinix’s after-sell service partner Carlcare* that guarantees the whole use experiences.

Purchase channels:
More details, visit Syinix’s official website: https://gh.syinix.com/products/syinix-swallow-maker-worlds-first-one.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868953/Syinix_World_s_First_Swallow_Maker.jpg