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Thursday, November 26, 2015

Favorite brands are launching in Africa

Your favorite big brands have big plans for Africa.
Krispy Kreme (KKD) and H&M (HNNMY)are launching in South Africa this month, marking their first foray into the African market. 
Starbucks (SBUX) is set to open its first store in South Africa in early 2016. And Dunkin Donuts (DNKN) has also announced plans to set up shop in the country.
Big businesses are looking to get into Africa to tap into profits in growing emerging markets. The Sub-Saharan African economy is expected to grow by almost 4% in 2015 and companies see South Africa as a gateway into the region. 
Swedish retailer H&M was the latest to break into the market earlier this month by opening two stores in South Africa's Cape Town and Johannesburg. Thousands of customers flocked to the stores and some shoppers even slept outside the malls for two consecutive nights to be the first people inside the shops.
U.S. doughnut giant Krispy Kreme is opening its newest store in Johannesburg's Rosebank Mall on Wednesday. 
"We're eying out markets like Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana but we want to test the waters first in South Africa," said Krispy Kreme's international vice president, Michael McGill. "Within five years we could be in five or six countries in Africa... this is the hottest new market in the world."
Businesses don't seem deterred by South Africa's sluggish economy, which is currently lagging the rest of the region. The government is forecasting growth of just 1.5% this year.
Krispy Kreme's top South African executive Gerry Thomas said he plans to open 31 stores in prime locations in Africa in the next five years. 
"We like competition and maybe Starbucks will follow us to our locations," he said.
But these newer entrants are following long-time players Seattle Coffee Company and Cinnabon. 
Seattle Coffee has been operating in South Africa since 1996. Cinnabon launched in 2006. But both companies don't have a large footprint in the country.

UK Set For Snow And Storms This Weekend

After a mild week, the weather is due to change on Friday with the arrival of a powerful jet stream delivering low pressure systems. 
Heavy rain and gusty winds will move southeast, with blustery showers following.
It will turn colder as the more persistent rain clears, bringing snow to hills in Scotland and Northern Ireland. 
Friday night may also see snow settling in low levels of northern Scotland for a time.
The weekend will be colder overall and will stay unsettled, with further rain and gales expected, but southern parts will be milder and drier on Sunday.
There will be more snow on northern hills too. 
Flooding will become an increasing risk in the northwest, especially for western Scotland.
On Sunday night, a nasty storm may pass to the north of the UK, bringing the risk of very strong winds to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Looking ahead to the start of the meteorological winter, computer models are suggesting December will be mild and unsettled, even stormy at times.
That's not to say we won't have some cold spells, but it looks like any significant cold and snowy weather will be in the new year - if at all.
Looking back, it's hard to believe the UK and Ireland have only seen one brief cold snap this autumn.
After a relatively cool September, there were headlines of a cold and snowy winter ahead, but there was no real evidence for that.
October turned out mild overall, and November is likely to be even milder.
Provisional figures for the first 15 days of November show maximum temperatures a warm 3.8C above the UK average.
That makes it the second warmest start to November since records began in 1772.
Despite the mild conditions, it has been quite stormy at times, with Abigail and Barney around the middle of the month.
Then last weekend saw our first proper cold spell as northerly winds dragged in air from the Arctic, giving our first widespread night frost.
That's quite late in the season.
There was also some snow, even to low levels briefly, but nothing unusual for this time of year.

Victims Of The Paris Terror Attacks

Nick Alexander from Colchester in Essex was shot dead at the Bataclan concert hall as the Eagles of Death Metal played a gig.
The 36-year-old merchandise manager was with his friend Helen Wilson when the gunmen started spraying bullets.
Marie Lausch and Mathias Dymarski were confirmed killed by friends, who staged a vigil in the French city of Metz in memory of the couple the day after their deaths.
Another of those who died at the Bataclan was Matthieu Giroud, a French citizen who was said to have "limitless kindness".
Eyewitnesses said Nicolas Catinat, another killed at the concert hall, acted as a "human shield" to protect his friends.
Matthieu de Rorthais​, 32, was a cancer survivor who was passionate about music. In a tribute on Facebook, relatives described him as "kind, gentle and sensitive".
Paris' Sorbonne university named three students as being among the victims: Kheireddine Sahbi, Marion Lieffrig-Petard and Suzon Garrigues.
London School of Economics graduate Valentin Ribet was described as a "talented lawyer, extremely well liked, and a wonderful personality in the office". He worked for Hogan Lovells, specialising in white collar crime. 
ESSEC Business School confirmed the death of their former student Marie-Aimee Dalloz at the Bataclan. The 35-year-old had worked at Credit Suisse and Amundi Asset Management since her graduation.
American Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old design student at California State University, was spending a semester at Strate College of Design.
The cousin of France international footballer Lassana Diarra was killed. Diarra, who has played for Premier League sides Arsenal and Chelsea, described Asta Diakite as like a "big sister".
The midfielder was playing against Germany when terrorists targeted the Stade de France.
The only civilian victim in the Stade de France attacks was Manuel Dias, a 63-year-old from Portugal. A retired chauffeur, he had taken football fans to the international friendly as a favour - and was not meant to be working that night.
Three Chilean nationals died in Paris: Patricia San Martin, her daughter Elsa Veronique Delplace San Martin, and the musician Luis Felipe Zschoche Valle.
Mr Valle had lived in Paris for eight years with his French wife.
Among others who lost their lives were Djamila Houd, 41, of Paris, who was reportedly killed in a cafe, and Alberto Gonzalez Garrido, 29, of Madrid, who died at the Bataclan.
Writer Guillame Decherf, 43, and Mathieu Hoche, 38, a technician at the news channel France 24, also died at the Bataclan.
Decherf was a writer who covered rock music for the French culture magazine Les Inrocks.
The family of Aurelie de Peretti, 33, described her as someone who "loved life and loved music". She had been looking forward to the Bataclan concert for months, as it was her reward after working at a restaurant in Saint Tropez for six months.
Georges Salines tweeted a number of appeals for help in finding his daughter Lola Salines, but he later confirmed she was among the victims.
Friends had also been searching for Maud Serrault, a marketing director at Best Western. They later said she was among the victims at the Bataclan.
Quentin Boulanger, who had worked for the cosmetics brand L'Oreal, had also not responded to messages sent by worried friends and family after he attended the Eagles of Death Metal concert. The 29-year-old's death was later confirmed.
Another musician to lose their lives at the Bataclan was Baptiste Chevreau, a 24-year-old from Tonnerre whose grandmother, Anne Sylvestre, is an iconic singer who played at the venue in the late 1980s. 
Pierre Innocenti and Stephane Albertini ran an Italian restaurant in Neuilly-sur-Scene, which frequented by Paris Saint Germain football stars.
Valeria Solesin, 28, from Venice in Italy, died at the Bataclan. She was with her boyfriend and other friends, who survived.
Halima Ben Khalifa Saadi, a mother-of-two, was celebrating a birthday at La Belle Equipe when gunmen attacked the restaurant. Her sister Houda was also killed.
Anne-Laure Arruebo and Cecile Coudon Peccadeau de L'Isle had also been enjoying an after-work drink when they were murdered at La Belle Equipe. They were colleagues who worked at the General Directorate of Customs and Excise.
Another diner caught up in the restaurant attack was Veronique Geoffroy de Bourgies - a former journalist and model who ran a non-governmental organisation helping children in Africa. The 54-year-old leaves behind a husband and two children, aged 12 and 15, who she adopted from Madagascar.
Meanwhile, Lamia Mondeguer and her boyfriend Romain Didier also became caught up in the shooting. Both from Paris, Lamia was passionate about cinema and had graduated from the School of Film Studies, while Romain is remembered as someone who was "generous, eager, fearless, talkative and fun".
Chloe Boissinot​, a 25-year-old who lived in Paris, was one of those who died when gunmen stopped outside Le Petit Cambodge restaurant in the 10th arrondissement and began shooting at diners indiscriminately. 
Milko Jozic and Elif Dogan, had been in the city for a matter of months when they were gunned down at the Bataclan. The pair, from the Belgian city of Liege, had been living near the concert venue.
Marie Mosser was one of three employees from Mercury Records - part of Universal Music France - killed at the Bataclan.
Also killed was 34-year-old Thomas Ayad, an executive who was part of a team from EODM's parent label Universal.
Elodie Breuil was confirmed dead by her brother Alexis after spending an agonising day travelling between hospitals and the Ecole Militaire complex in Paris.
Mexican citizen Micheli Gil Jaimez was due to marry her boyfriend in three weeks. He posted on Facebook: "I love you my love. Rest in peace."
Other Bataclan victims included freelance graphic designer Claire Camax, Hyacinthe Koma, Precilia Correia, MaximeBouffardGermain Ferey and Alban Denuit, an artist from Bordeaux.
Manu Perez posted on Facebook before the Bataclan attack pictures of his ticket and the band on stage. He also thanked a friend for buying him a ticket.
Ciprian Calciu and Mariana Pop Lăcrămioara from Romania were out celebrating a birthday at La Belle Equipe bistro. They had an 18-month old child.
Francois-Xavier Prevost, 29, was head of advertising at the French advertising agency LocalMedia and also worked for another communications company, Havas Media Group. He died at the Bataclan.
Graphic designer and keen photographer Eric Thorne was another Bataclan victim. He was expecting the birth of a second daughter in a few weeks.
Father-of-three Nicolas Classeau was director of the IUT at the University of Paris-Est Marne La Vallee and died at the Bataclan.
Paris architect Quentin Mourier was also killed. He grew up in Colmar in northeastern France. Friends there spoke of him as a "humanist, smiling, always turning to the others".
Another architect, Vincent Detoc, leaves behind a young family - including two children, aged seven and nine. His wife, Monika, told Le Parisien: "Without my children, I would not have the strength to continue. How will I live without this man I loved madly?"
Hundreds of students have paid tribute to Romain Dunet, their 28-year-old English teacher, on Facebook. Colleagues told Le Monde how he had reassured students not to be afraid after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January.
Christophe Foultier was devoted to his two young children. As well as working as an artistic director, he was a rock musician with an album in the pipeline. He and his wife were regular concertgoers at the Bataclan - and he was the only person in his group of friends who did not survive the attack.
Also killed at the Bataclan was Thomas Duperron, a 30-year-old who was communications director for the Maroquinerie concert hall in the 20th arrondissement. Liberation reported that before the concert, he had posted a clip of an Eagles of Death Metal song with the caption: "# Rocknroll tonite !!!"
Ludovic Boumbas was attending a birthday party when gunmen opened fire at La Belle Equipe. A friend told Mail Online Mr Boumbas threw himself in front of a woman and took a bullet.
Yannick Minvielle was the co-Creative Director of RED, and another of those who the terrorists killed at the Bataclan. The father of a seven-year-old son, Mr Minvielle was described as "happiness incarnated".
Grégory Fosse, 28, was a musical programmer for the French TV station D17 who died at the Bataclan. The Liberation newspaper quoted the company as saying in a statement: "We all knew his kindness, his special smile, and his passion for music."
Like Mr Fosse, Fabrice Dubois died at the concert hall. The 46-year-old was Creative Director of Publicis Conseil and leaves behind a wife and two children - a 13-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son.
Jean-Jacques Amiot​, 68, was a Parisian who had a lifelong passion for music - with relatives telling the Liberation newspaper of how he was a "peaceful, gentle man".
Print production manager Armelle Pumir Anticevic "embodied strength and happiness", her employer said. The mother-of-two, 46, was celebrating inside the Bataclan with her husband Joseph when she died.

Volkswagen reveals emissions fix for diesel cars in Europe

Volkswagen said on Wednesday that it would be able to bring its diesel cars into line with European clean-air standards by updating engine software and installing a small, tube-shaped part roughly the same diameter as the cardboard tube in a roll of paper towels.
The technical patch that VW presented at company headquarters here is valid only for Europe, where it will be installed beginning next year.
Modifying Volkswagen diesel cars sold in the United States will be more complicated because of stricter rules on emissions of nitrogen oxides, pollutants harmful to the environment and human health.
On Wednesday, in fact, California regulators gave Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche a deadline of 45 days to outline how they planned to fix faulty emissions on their cars with 3-liter diesel engines. The agency had already given such a deadline for the automaker’s 2-liter engines, which ended on Friday.
Volkswagen will go a long way toward overcoming the crisis it faces if it can fix the cars in Europe.

'Facebook Killer' Guilty Of Murdering Wife

Derek Medina shot 27-year-old Jennifer Alfonso eight times during an argument in their Florida home.
The 33-year-old former amateur boxer, who claimed he acted in self-defence, admitted to the August 2013 killing in posts on Facebook.
A Miami jury returned a guilty verdict on Wednesday, one day after being handed the case.
Medina faces up to life in prison.
At trial, prosecutors said Medina fatally shot Ms Alfonso because she threatened to leave him.
Court records indicated the couple had a tumultuous relationship.
They were first married in January 2010, divorced in February 2012 and then remarried three months later.
Medina's defence, who deferred making an opening statement, argued that Ms Alfonso abused drugs, battered her husband and was involved in Satan worship.
They claimed Medina shot his wife after she attacked him a knife.
Afterward, he posted two messages on Facebook, acknowledging he had killed her.
"I'm going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife love you guys miss you guys take care Facebook people you will see me in the news," he wrote in the first post.
The next and final post, called "Rip Jennifer Alfonso", was a gruesome photograph showing a woman in a black leotard slumped on the floor.
The photo was up for more than five hours before Facebook removed the page.

Turkey's move against Russia: Cold War redux?


On November 24, a Russian Su-24 warplane was shot down near the Turkish-Syrian border. According to Turkish officials, the plane was running an assault against Sunni-Turkmen groups fighting joint Russian-Syrian ground forces. 
Russia has confirmed that one of their pilots died after ejecting from the jet, which certainly raises the stakes for Moscow to respond.
Although the downing was breaking news, it wasn't completely surprising for Russia and Turkey watchers, who have been following repeated Russian violations of Turkey's airspace.
After all, Turkey has been watchful of growing Russian involvement in Ukraine and the Black Sea since February 2014, and was already monitoring Russian violations of Turkey's airspace in the Black Sea.
Not the first time
For example, in early March 2014 and March 2015, Russian fighter-bombers conducted unannounced air-to-sea attack exercises locking onto NATO warships in the Black Sea, briefly violating Turkish airspace, and leaving only after Turkey scrambled its jets.
Turkey may have to sacrifice their support for the Turkmen, abandon its involvement in the Aleppo battle, along with the rest of its operational priorities in Syria in order not to provoke Russia and escalate the crisis into an unmanageable magnitude.

After Russia moved into Syria in early October of this year, the number of Russian airspace violations increased dramatically and on a recurring basis. The most substantial and direct threat was the case in which a Russian Su-30 had "painted" a Turkish F-16 via radar lock for a duration of more than five minutes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Russian violations and said that they are becoming intolerable, and NATO warned Russia by calling its incursions into Turkey as an "extreme danger".
Indeed, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed the alliance's concerns and stated that Russian violations of the Turkish airspace are no accident and have happened multiple times and for longer periods. More concretely, Stoltenberg offered to field ground troops in southern Turkey in response to growing Russian violations of Turkey's airspace.
Russia's intrusion into Turkish airspace is the latest instalment of similar violations against NATO countries. One of the most significant of these incidents was the late-October 2014 Russian air exercise, close to Norwegian, British, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Turkish airspace.
An ongoing pattern of Russian airspace violations is also observed in the Baltic Sea. Adding on top of all is the established Russian military pattern of "accidentally" engaging in hostilities.
For example, in August 2014, heavily armed and battle-ready Russian paratroopers penetrated Ukraine's eastern territories - a move that was defined by the Russian defence ministry as an "accident".
The mounting momentum of Russian moves around NATO territory and in Ukraine has generated substantial mistrust in Ankara towards what Russia really intends to do in Syria.
Why now?
But why did Turkey shoot down the Russian jet - while other NATO countries did not resort to such an extreme measure? Most importantly, despite the lack of a similar confrontation between Russia and Turkey during the Cold War - and the fact that the last time a Russian jet was downed by NATO was in 1952 - what caused the Turkish Air Force to shoot down a Russian jet this time?
After all, based on flight data provided by Turkish armed forces, two F-16 jets scrambled in advance to intercept any probable Russian violation and they have practically ambushed the Su-24, which reveals a more profound planning behind the interception.
The most immediate explanation is also the most straightforward - that Russian jets have been violating Turkish airspace both above the Black Sea and also recently above Syria, and despite repeated warnings, this went on for an extended period of time.
The point of no return was Ankara and NATO's earlier ultimatum in October, after which Turkey did not have any other option but downing the jet when Russia violated its airspace again.
Less visibly, on the other hand, Turkey was infuriated by the joint Russian-Syrian operations against pro-Turkish Turkmen militias, whom Turkey defines as ethnic kin.
Squeezed into a small pocket of territory called Bayirbucak across Turkey's Hatay province, these Turkmen groups recently lost ground as Syrian troops supported by the Russian military captured several key positions.
However, more than kinship, Bayirbucak region's strategic location - as the main northern Syrian opening into the Mediterranean - is what makes it significant.
As Turkey seeks to prevent Syrian Kurdish groups, such as the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Defence Forces (YPG) from establishing a united de facto statelet, a significant part of the strategy revolves around denying those groups access to the Mediterranean and keeping them landlocked.
Turkey's strategy was to keep the Turkmen of Bayirbucak well-funded and well-armed and integrate them into the proposed "safe-zone".
That safe zone would then span from Jarablus in the east to Azaz in the west, joining with the other Sunni enclaves in northern Aleppo and Idlib, and becoming the foundations of a future independent state in northern Syria.
However, lack of coordination in the field, along with Russia's entry into the theatre has rendered this strategy implausible, if not impossible.
Repercussions
So, what now? What does this incident tell us about the future of Russia's relations with Turkey in particular, and NATO in general?
NATO will surely assert its support for Turkey publicly while conveying their annoyance with Turkey's aggressive measure. This is especially true for the US, whose air force is flying at close proximity to Russian jets operating in northeast Syria.
Had the pilots been rescued and delivered to Russia, damage control would have been slightly easier. But now, with one pilot dead, there will be more pressure on the Kremlin to retaliate and avenge the situation through a visible and publicised event.
Although Turkey has a justification in downing the Russian jet from an international law point of view, this righteousness is unlikely to translate into strategic gains for Turkey.
With a more aggressive Russian aerial presence eager to settle the score, and with the Russian navy dominating the Black Sea and patrolling through the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, Turkey may have to sacrifice its support for the Turkmen, and abandon its involvement in the Aleppo battle along with the rest of its operational priorities in Syria, in order not to provoke Russia and escalate the crisis into an unmanageable magnitude.
In turn, Russia may exert substantial support on Syrian-Kurdish groups such as PYD and YPG, which Turkey defines as "terrorist organizations".
Akin Unver is an assistant professor of international relations at Kadir Has University, Istanbul.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own.

Teen's Shooting: Obama 'Deeply Disturbed'

Barack Obama has said he is "deeply disturbed" by a video showing a white Chicago police officer fatally shooting a black teenager.
It comes as small groups of protesters took to the streets of the city for a second night, reportedly confronted by police officers.
Writing on his Facebook page, the US President said: "Like many Americans, I was deeply disturbed by the footage of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald."
Activists have compared the killing with that of black teenager Michael Brown who was shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri last year.
His death led to 15 months of demonstrations in cities across the US over the issue of what protesters claim was ongoing police brutality.
Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times on 20 October 2014 while running down a street in the city.
Police say he refused to drop a knife which was recovered from the scene.
Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder.
Prosecutors say the officer emptied his 9mm pistol of all 16 rounds and that he was on the scene for just 30 seconds before he started shooting.
It is alleged he opened fire just six seconds after getting out of his vehicle and kept firing even though Mr McDonald dropped to the ground after the initial shots.
During demonstrations on Wednesday several hundred people blocked traffic on the city's West Side while some circled police cars in an intersection and chanted "16 shots".
Five people were arrested during the demonstrations on charges including hitting a police officer, weapons possession and resisting arrest.
The fatal shooting put Van Dyke's record in the force under scrutiny, as it emerged that he had at least 20 complaints filed against him but was never disciplined.