Here Is The New iPad Ad (AAPL) | ||
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Apple has a new iPad commercial out. This ad, entitled "Change", shows the various use cases for the iPad Air 2: from designing a tattoo, to taking photos of skaters, and helping herd sheep. The ad, which first aired on TV Sunday (December 8), is soundtracked by The Orwells' "Who Needs You." Watch it here:Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Uber Has Been Banned In Delhi After Alleged Rape | ||
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The government of India's capital territory has just banned the ride-sharing service Uber after a passenger reported that a driver raped her, according to the Deccan Chronicle. Shiv Kumar Yadav, the Uber driver who's been accused of raping a young female passenger, is scheduled to appear in Indian court on Monday, AFP reports. The man was arrested for another sexual assault three years ago and eventually acquitted of the crime, but he was still allowed to drive for Uber. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has said that Indian systems lack a process to "to establish clear background checks," according to the Deccan Chronicle. Indian police are reportedly considering taking legal action against Uber, claiming that the company hasn't run proper background checks. Delhi's government said in a statement that "(the) Transport Department has banned all activities relating to providing any transport service by the www.Uber.com with immediate effect." The woman who accused the Uber driver of rape said he dropped her off after he assaulted her and told her not to go to police. She reportedly took down the driver's number and snapped a photo of his car, according to AFP. Uber recently raised more funding and is now valued at $40 billion. SEE ALSO: The Indian Uber Driver Who Has Been Accused Of Rape Was Previously Arrested For Sexual Assault Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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European Stocks Are Sliding | ||
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European markets are in a slump Monday morning, despite better-than expected figures for eurozone investor confidence, which reached a 4-month high in December. Here's the scorecard: France's CAC 40: -0.43% Germany's DAX: -0.59% UK's FTSE 100: -0.69% Spain's IBEX: -0.33% Italy's FTSE MIB: -0.38% Asian markets rallied before close. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.08% from Friday's close, Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished 0.18% higher and the Shanghai Composite surged once again, up by another 2.81% US futures are currently mixed: the S&P is down 6.50 points, while the Dow is up 7 points. Later in the US, we'll get figures from the labour market conditions index at 3 p.m. GMT. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Here Is The New iPad Ad (AAPL) | ||
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Apple has a new iPad commercial out. This ad, entitled "Change", shows the various use cases for the iPad Air 2: from designing a tattoo, to taking photos of skaters, and helping herd sheep. The ad, which first aired on TV Sunday (December 8), is soundtracked by The Orwells' "Who Needs You." Watch it here:Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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A Massive Apartment Fire In LA Has Shut Down 2 Major Freeways | ||
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An apartment complex in downtown Los Angeles caught fire early Monday morning and has shut down parts of two major freeways in the city, according to the Los Angeles Times. The complex was reportedly under construction at the time of the fire. Transition lanes between the 110 and 101 freeways have been shutdown, the state highway patrol told the LA Times. The fire can be seen for miles in the LA area. No injuries have been reported so far. It's not yet clear what started the fire. The fire broke out shortly before 1:30 a.m. Pacific time, KTLA reports. More than 200 firefighters are on scene, according to the LA Times. Here are some photos and videos of the fire: — Jon Passantino (@passantino) December 8, 2014 This post will be updated with new developments. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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People Are Complaining That The McVitie’s Fluffy Animal Ad Could Encourage People To Buy And Then Abandon Their Pets At Christmas | ||
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UK biscuit brand McVitie’s commercial starring a menagerie of fluffy animals has been a runaway Christmas advertising hit, causing a nation to collectively “aww.” But the ad has incurred the wrath of animal lovers. McVitie’s Facebook pages and the comments under the YouTube video have been flooded with people accusing the brand of being irresponsible for featuring cute animals at a time of year when many pets are bought, only to be discarded once the festive cheer wears off and people realize they have to actually look after the things. Here are some of the complaints on McVitie's Jaffa Cakes brand page:
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has also received 44 complaints about the ad. That might seem like a small number, but it only takes one complaint for the ad watchdog to launch an investigation and potentially ban the ad (however, those investigations are often a lengthy process and often an adjudication occurs after the ad campaign has run its course anyway.) The ASA told Business Insider: “We are carefully assessing the complaints to establish if there are grounds for further action.” Some of the complaints raised also expressed concern about a section of the ad that featured a rabbit lying on its back, which the complainants believe cause the animal distress. As a result of those complaints, McVitie’s edited ad on Friday, removing that scene from both the TV and online version. Indeed, “abby.mercer,” who commented on Business Insider’s article about the ad wrote: “Rabbits laying like that are experiencing tonic immobility, a last ditch survival instinct which is an attempt to play dead in the hope that the predator will release them. It causes rapid changes in heart rate and increased stress.” She later went on to encourage people to complaint to the ASA, flood McVitie’s #sweeetChristmas hashtag and tell the brand they disagreed with the use of animals in the ad on its Facebook page. McVitie’s has published this statement on its website: "We can confirm that no animals were harmed in the making of the McVitie’s Victoria Christmas ad. We had a professional vet and handlers on set overseeing all the filming to ensure the welfare of the animals was our top priority. The professionals on set have confirmed that in their opinion the rabbit filmed was absolutely not in a state of tonic immobility or “trancing”; the camera angles used in the filming are clearly misleading. However, we understand that the ad could mislead people into thinking that putting a rabbit on its back is recommended, when this is not the case. We have therefore taken the decision to remove this scene in the ad as soon as we can. We’d like to thank anyone who raised this issue with us and would like to remind the public that they should follow professional advice as to how to best handle animals in specific circumstances including from The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund – www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk." Here's the edited ad in full:
SEE ALSO: Business Insider’s 10 Best Ads Of 2014 Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Dollar Is On A Big Upward Tear Right Now | ||
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Pretty much every currency around the world is dropping against the dollar this morning. The US currency is still gaining strength after a fantastic jobs report on Friday. Here's how the dollar holds against some major currencies: Against the euro:+0.18% at 0.8154 Against sterling: +0.09% at 0.6424 Against the Swiss franc: +0.22% at >0.9809 Against the Australian dollar: +0.53% at 1.2082 Against the New Zealand Dollar: +1.08% at 1.3109 The dollar is currently down a little against the yen, after touching a seven year high over ¥121. Overall, the dollar is riding at a near-eight year high against a basket of foreign currencies, as the DXY index shows:
That's on the back of Friday's jobs report, which showed US firms adding 321,000 jobs in November, way above the 230,000 that economists had expected. The Bank of International Settlements is warning today about how the rise of the dollar might impact emerging market economies, as the strength of the US currency has in the past. There's a good FT report on it here showing how a stronger dollar raises the debt burden for companies in developing economies that borrow in the currency. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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O'Sullivan relieved after trumping Trump in UK final | ||
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London (AFP) - Ronnie O'Sullivan joked "I feel like retiring" after edging Judd Trump 10-9 in a nail-biting final to claim his fifth UK Championship title. O'Sullivan led 9-4 at one stage of Sunday's contest at York's Barbican Centre, only for Trump to reel off five frames in succession, taking the match to a deciding frame. But O'Sullivan, who broke his ankle while jogging shortly before the tournament, produced a break of 51 to claim victory. "I can't believe I've won it. I don't want to be playing him in every final. I feel like retiring," said the 39-year-old, who has also won five World Championships and five Masters titles. "He's a tough opponent, he's very dynamic and very explosive. He's fearless, and he's in your face the whole time, and if you go off the boil, he's on you. "I'm trying to make the most of however long this lasts. I'm going to enjoy this moment. I've won the Champion of Champions title and now the UK Championship. "I'm delighted to have had a great few weeks and I can start to think about defending the Masters in January." Victory crowned a glorious year for O'Sullivan, with the only dark spot being a loss to Mark Selby in the World Championship final in May. His triumph against Trump earned him £150,000 ($234,000) in prize money, to go with the £44,000 he was awarded for a 147 break against Matt Selt earlier in the tournament. Trump, 25, said: "I left it too late and fair play to Ronnie -- he took them well in the last frame and overall he was more of a deserving winner." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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US naturalist battles with snake for TV, but not eaten alive | ||
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New York (AFP) - When naturalist Paul Rosolie wanted to focus attention on the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, he decided he needed a stunt guaranteed to get people looking. So the staunch environmentalist offered himself as dinner to an anaconda -- and was prepared to be swallowed alive, filming every moment. But in the end, Rosolie wasn't exactly ingested by the snake, disappointing viewers who expected a journey into the belly of the deadly beast. Instead he let the anaconda coil around him before calling the mission off, fearing he might get seriously injured. Anacondas, the largest snakes in the world, typically suffocate their prey before ingesting it, making Rosolie's attempt all the more dangerous. Rosolie survived, and now people all around the world have a chance to watch his harrowing struggle with the beast, after its debut broadcast Sunday night in the United States on the Discovery Channel. The idea came to him after a decade spent working in, and working to save, the rainforest habitat, Rosolie told AFP. "Everybody on Earth knows that the rainforests are disappearing and most people can tell you how important they are, but still, not enough people are paying attention, not enough people realize this is such a problem." The American activist said he was proud to take on the adventure, even though the prospect of dying was hard to swallow. - 'I need help' - To avoid suffocating, experts crafted Rosolie a specially designed carbon fiber suit, equipped with a breathing system -- as well as with cameras and a system to communicate. "We didn't know if this was going to work, if I was going to be eaten, but we made sure that if I did make it inside the snake, I wouldn't suffocate," Rosolie explained after the ordeal. The next challenge was trying to find a snake in the Peruvian Amazon jungle. "We spent 60 days out in the jungle, camping, hiking, looking through swamps every night," Rosolie said. Eventually, they found a female snake, which at, six meters (20 feet) long, fit the bill. "When I went up to the snake, it didn't try to eat me right away," Rosolie recounted. "It tried to escape. And when I provoked it a little bit, and acted a little more like a predator, that's when it turned around and defended itself." In the end, Rosolie wasn't swallowed whole by the giant serpent, but instead wrestled with the beast as she coiled around him before he aborted the mission. As the snake wrapped around a suited-up Rosolie -- at one point opening its wide jaws on his helmet -- the daredevil said she was squeezing his arm tight, which he feared might break. "I felt her jaw on my helmet and I could hear a gurgling and wheezing," he said, after surviving the standoff with the snake. His team looked on worried as his breathing strained and his heart rate slowed. He told them he was feeling light-headed and as the anaconda squeezed tight around him, he called for help. "Guys you need to get in here... I'm calling it I need help!" he said from inside the suit, prompting the support crew to rescue an exhausted Rosolie from the anaconda's powerful grip. "Her crush force was fully on my exposed arm so I just started to feel the blood drain out of my hand and I felt the bone start to flex and when that got to a point when I felt like it was about to snap, I had to tap out," he said. Viewers on social media were swift in criticizing the show's misleading title after it aired Sunday. "'Eaten Alive' to be retitled 'Eaten Alive: Just Kidding,'" said one user. Another tweeted: "Eaten Alive? More like Briefly Drooled On By A Snake While Alive." - Anaconda doing well - He insisted his team was careful not to harm the snake and that he was the only one in danger. "We didn't force the snake to do anything, we didn't ask from the snake anything out of the ordinary," Rosolie said, explaining that "snakes very often regurgitate if they're eating something and a predator comes by, they have to give up their meal so they can escape," he sadi before the program was aired. The anaconda is now doing well, he said. But Rosolie has faced fierce criticism from animal rights groups, including from PETA, who said "the snake was tormented and suffered for the sake of ratings." Rosolie said he even received death threats. But he wasn't fazed, saying the shock value is important to increase attention to his cause -- even if he was not exactly eaten alive. A fund linked to the show was set up to raise awareness and money to protect the Amazon and could also allow for more research of anacondas in their habitat. After the US showing, the inaccurately named "Eaten Alive" will air on December 10 in Finland, Denmark, Hungary, Poland and Sweden, and two days later in Australia, before being broadcast in other countries, including China and India. Discovery said it expect at least three million viewers in the United States and a million others around the world. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Uber Has Been Banned In Delhi After Alleged Rape | ||
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The government of India's capital territory has just banned the ride-sharing service Uber after a passenger reported that a driver raped her, according to the Deccan Chronicle. Shiv Kumar Yadav, the Uber driver who's been accused of raping a young female passenger, is scheduled to appear in Indian court on Monday, AFP reports. The man was arrested for another sexual assault three years ago and eventually acquitted of the crime, but he was still allowed to drive for Uber. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has said that Indian systems lack a process to "to establish clear background checks," according to the Deccan Chronicle. Indian police are reportedly considering taking legal action against Uber, claiming that the company hasn't run proper background checks. Delhi's government said in a statement that "(the) Transport Department has banned all activities relating to providing any transport service by the www.Uber.com with immediate effect." The woman who accused the Uber driver of rape said he dropped her off after he assaulted her and told her not to go to police. She reportedly took down the driver's number and snapped a photo of his car, according to AFP. Uber recently raised more funding and is now valued at $40 billion. SEE ALSO: The Indian Uber Driver Who Has Been Accused Of Rape Was Previously Arrested For Sexual Assault Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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