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NCI grants $3.8m to develop advanced cancer screening tool
 The National Cancer Institute has awarded a $3.8 million grant to researchers at the University of Utah Health, Intermountain Healthcare and the Huntsman Cancer Institute, enabling them to develop an advanced cancer screening tool.

Their creation will marry EHR technologies and clinical decision support (CDS) techniques to screen patients for breast cancer and colorectal cancer.

The tool will pinpoint those who are at high risk for these types of cancer. It will also offer individualized evidence so clinicians and patients can understand proper screening strategies.

Researchers from the Salt Lake City-based organizations will rely on assistance from oncologists, primary care physicians and genetic counselors.

“The goal of the CDS project is to enable a standards-based and scalable CDS platform for individualized cancer screening to be used across healthcare organizations,” Guilherme Del Fiol and Kensaku Kawamoto, assistant professors of biomedical informatics at University of Utah Health, noted in a statement. “To achieve this goal, our team of researchers will extend and solidify two well-established open source CDS Web services based on rule logic and information retrieval.”

Such a vendor agnostic solution seeks to address issues with extant screening techniques. For example, some EHRs don’t have CDS capabilities, and other clinical decision support systems have closed architectures.

Scott Narus, Intermountain’s medical informatics director and chief clinical systems architect, said the project will have a positive impact on oncology research.

“With the collaboration between the University of Utah and Intermountain Healthcare, and the support of the National Cancer Institute, we have the potential to produce a CDS platform that has significant impact on individualizing cancer screening according to the best available evidence,” he said. “Our aim is to improve patient care and outcomes through evidence-based medicine.”

With assistance from Intermountain, University of Utah Health will develop the tool and demonstrate its effectiveness. Then Intermountain will test it to prove it’s transferable to another organization and EHR system.

Intermountain is no stranger to the evidence-based oncology game. In 2013, it partnered with Syapse, a precision medicine software company, to launch Intermountain Precision Genomics.

Photo: mathisworks, Getty Images

Output: The National Cancer Institute has granted $3.8m to researchers at the University of Utah Health, the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Intermountain Healthcare. The funds will allow the scientists to work on developing a cancer screening tool, which will combine clinical decision support techniques with EHR technologies. The tool will be able to effectively and consistently identify those at high risk of developing colorectal or breast cancer.


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Bayer provides $60,000 funding to four digital health start-ups
 The digital health start-ups selected for funding via Bayer's Grants4Apps Accelerator programme have been revealed.

The Grants4Apps programme has been running since 2014, making it one of pharma's most well-established digital health funds.

This year the scheme will foster four start-ups focused on medical adherence, endometriosis, atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis, and ultrasound diagnostics by providing mentoring and 50,000 Euros in funding.

Those selected include London-based firm aparito which combines wearable technology, an app and a dashboard for professionals to transform data capture during clinical trials.

Aparito’s tech has been used in rare disease and oncological trials in the past.

New York-based Oratel Diagnostics has also been selected for its non-invasive test to detect endometriosis – a debilitating disease causing severe pelvic pain and infertility in girls and women of a reproductive age.

In most countries, endometriosis is commonly diagnosed using surgery which can take up to seven years for disease confirmation. Oratel’s solution looks to cut the diagnostic time dramatically.

South Korean firm Sky Labs has been selected for its device that diagnoses atrial fibrillation (AF) called CART (Cardio Tracker).

AF is a chronic disease that affects one in four over-40s and, if left undetected, can lead to stroke.

The CART resembles a ring and is worn on the finger. Inbuilt sensors can track heart rate and identify any signs of abnormal activity with the use of software algorithms.

Sky Labs is currently working with Seoul National University Hospital to fine tune its algorithms using clinical data from 1000 atrial fibrillation cases.

The final startup to be selected is London company ThinkSono which uses software to diagnose deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Across the EU and US, DVT-related issues cause around 800,000 deaths per year – more than breast cancer, prostate cancer, AIDS and car accidents combined.

ThinkSono’s solution is a portable ultrasound scanner equipped with deep neural network technology that allows for diagnosis of DVT at the point of care.

[caption id="attachment_31319" align="alignnone" width="302"] Bayer's Reinhard Franzen[/caption]

“We recognise the huge creative potential outside of Bayer and we believe that combining expertise is key to innovation and success,” said Reinhard Franzen, head of Bayer Pharmaceuticals commercial operations Europe, Middle East and Africa. “The Grants4Apps Accelerator offers new partnership opportunities in the digital health area with its vibrant development in the past years. We are very excited to welcome the four new startups for 2017.”

Output: The four start-ups that will be receiving €50,000 ($60,000) in funding and mentoring via Bayer’s Grants4Apps Accelerator programme have been revealed. They are New York-based Oratel Diagnostics, which has developed a non-invasive test to detect endometriosis; London firm Aparito, which combines wearable technology, an app and a dashboard to improve data capture during clinical trials; South Korean firm Sky Labs, which has developed a device that diagnoses atrial fibrillation; and ThinkSono from London, which uses software to diagnose deep vein thrombosis.


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Jaguar Land Rover to add electric motor to every vehicle from 2020
 Jaguar Land Rover has become the latest large carmaker to say it will stop launching new models solely powered by internal combustion engines, two months after Volvo pledged to do so.

The UK-based manufacturer promised that all new models from 2020 will be fully electric or hybrid, a year later than Volvo’s target, but a big step beyond its unveiling last November of a single electric concept car.

The plan comes after the Scottish government said it would phase out the need for petrol and diesel cars by 2032, eight years earlier than the UK and French targets of banning sales of new cars with internal combustion engines.

Dr Ralf Speth, JLR’s chief executive, said: “Every new Jaguar Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving our customers even more choice.”

But Speth also warned of the unintended consequences of the electrification of cars and arrival of autonomous vehicles. The UK’s 250,000-plus lorry drivers are at risk from driverless technology, with knock-on effects for the UK’s social fabric, he said.

“In the UK, there are currently more than a quarter of a million lorry drivers. What happens to our society if these lose their jobs? Who pays for them? What happens to the social fabric of the country?”

Furthermore, electric cars’ impact on petrol and diesel demand could hurt oil-producing nations, Speth said. “Many could be forced to impose substantial spending cuts within the next five years, straining living standards and so creating unrest in areas already suffering from instability,” he added.

Protecting privacy in an era of self-driving cars would also be vital, he said. “The very technology that could liberate us, autonomous vehicles, could become a method of insecurity and enslavement … Big freedoms could end up creating the big brother state.”

While Speth has said he sees battery-powered cars as a way to grow its global workforce of 40,000, the high emissions of the carmaker’s petrol and diesel vehicles mean it has to go electric to meet stringent new European carbon targets.

Average CO2 emissions from JLR cars were 164g (5.8oz) per kilometre in 2015, well above the UK average of 121.4g. More importantly, they are a long way from the 95g target a manufacturer must hit by 2021.

Prof David Bailey, an automotive expert at Aston University, said the company had been slow to wake up to electric vehicles.

“Jaguar are playing catchup – Tesla has stolen a chunk of their lunch, BMW are way ahead as well,” he said.

“The premium end of things is moving more quickly [towards electrification] in part because electric car costs are higher at the moment because of battery costs, so they can absorb that. It’s also because they are heavily dependent on diesel and the market is moving away from diesel.”

JLR, a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate Tata, makes no electric cars but plans to begin building production versions of its battery-powered SUV next year.

The I-Pace will have a range of 310 miles (500km), putting it on a par with competition from US-based Tesla but ahead of cheaper options such as the new Nissan Leaf, unveiled on Wednesday.

JLR has indicated that it would like to build an electric car plant in the UK, similar to Nissan’s Sunderland facility, where the Leaf is built, but it has yet to make a concrete commitment. The Leaf is the UK’s bestselling electric model, and this week Nissan revealed its new design and an extended, 235-mile range.

Such a move would be a significant boost to the British car industry and follows BMW, which in July pledged to build its electric Mini in Oxford. Jaguar sold more than 583,000 cars in 136 countries last year.

Industry watchers had spotted earlier this year that JLR had trademarked a series of car names that suggested an electric future, although the company will continue to build existing petrol and diesel models beyond 2020.

Speth told an audience in London that JLR could not pursue its electric ambitions alone, questioning whether the government was doing enough on infrastructure. “Where is the network of charging points that [electric cars] will require to function? Indeed, where is the power grid that will allow us to build them?” he said.

Ministers on Thursday announced the launch of a new industry-and-government-backed brand to develop driverless vehicles in the UK. The Meridian hub will coordinate research and development into the technology, paid for by carmakers and £100m in public funding.

BMW, which has sold 8,000 electric cars in the UK, said on Thursday that it plans to have 25 electrified vehicles on sale by 2025, a dozen of which would be fully electric. The German carmaker boasted that the models would have a range of up to 435 miles, more than double the range of most current electric vehicles.

Governments keen to tackle air pollution and cut carbon emissions are driving electric car production, alongside falling battery prices.

However, a report found that on average, 1.7% of carmakers’ sales were electric vehicles, compared with their own target of 3.6%.

The Nissan Leaf, the UK’s top-selling electric car. The new model launched this week has a range of 235 miles. Photograph: Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock

The state of electric cars

How many electric cars are there?

While electric cars make up less than 1% of new car sales worldwide, there are now more than 2m on the road. Most of them – 90% – are sold in China, the US and the EU, although some countries are racing ahead, such as Norway, where nearly a third of new cars sold are electric. The key thing is the rate of growth. In the UK, sales of fully electric cars are up 51% this year to date, compared with registrations in 2016.

What is driving their growing popularity?

Government policy, such as European targets for new cars’ carbon emissions and Chinese subsidies for electric cars, as leaders attempt to solve urban air quality problems and tackle climate change. In November, the EU will discuss tough new carbon targets for 2025, with some campaigners calling for manufacturers to be set a target on the proportion of battery-powered cars they sell.

The other big reason is that the cost of car batteries has fallen fast. Costs dropped from $1,000 (£763) per kilowatt-hour of capacity in 2010 to around $300 last year, with some companies edging towards $150, according to Dutch bank ING. Finally, there is now real competition between carmakers trying to outdo one another – expect more rhetoric and pledges at the Frankfurt motor show next week.

What’s the state of the technology?

“The technology is ready. The ranges are getting longer and new models are being put on the road,” said Julia Hildermeier of campaigners Transport & Environment. The group counted 20 fully electric models on sale in Europe last year, rising to 48 if plug-in hybrids are included. However, there were more than 400 petrol and diesel models. The new generation of electric cars can also go further between charges – around 200 miles, or more than 300 in the case of premium models. Next up are lorries and freight. Later this month, the US-based Tesla is reportedly planning to announce an electric truck with a range of up to 300 miles.

Output: UK-based car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced it is to end production of solely petrol and diesel vehicles from 2020, and will focus on hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs). The move follows the Scottish government's plans to eliminate petrol and diesel cars by 2032, eight years earlier than the UK and France. Dr Ralf Speth, CEO of JLR, warned of the unintended consequences of electrification on the trucking industry, the impact of EVs on the oil industry, and the need for privacy protection with the rise of self-driving cars.


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US text message project aims to help Asian men give up smoking
 Researchers at the Georgia State University School of Public Health have received more than $1 million to develop cellphone messaging programs to help smokers kick the habit in China and Vietnam, countries where smoking rates among men are among the highest in the world.

The five-year project, titled "Cultural Adaptation and Evaluation of mHealth Interventions for Cessation in China and Vietnam," is funded by the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health.

The lead investigators of the project are Dr. Michael Eriksen, dean of the School of Public Health, and Dr. Jidong Huang, associate professor of health management and policy.

Smoking is an overwhelmingly male habit in the two Asian nations. In Vietnam and China, more than 40 percent of men smoke, while only about 2 percent of women are smokers. By contrast, slightly more than 17 percent of U.S. men and 14 percent of U.S. women smoke, according to the latest edition of The Tobacco Atlas. Combined, China and Vietnam have more than 300 million smokers.

"This work provides us with an important opportunity to help millions of smokers in these countries to quit," said Eriksen. "And millions of their family members, friends and co-workers stand to benefit from reduced exposure to the dangers of second-hand smoke."

Access to smoking cessation programs is limited in China and Vietnam. However, mobile phones and texting technologies are increasingly popular in the two countries and offer a cost-effective way to reach large numbers of people with so-called mHealth (mobile health) applications.

In the early phases of the project, researchers will conduct focus groups in Shanghai, China and Hanoi, Vietnam, to develop culturally appropriate and effective smoking cessation messaging. Researchers will test messaging that will be delivered in the Hanoi area via text message services, and in Shanghai via WeChat, a social media application popular in China.

Also working on the project are public health researchers Dr. Matt Hayat, associate professor of epidemiology & biostatistics, Dr. Claire Adams Spears, assistant professor of health promotion and behavior, and Pam Redmon, executive director of the China Tobacco Control Partnership housed at Georgia State.

"We have been working to change social norms of tobacco control in China for the past nine years through the China Tobacco Control Partnership, and this project allows us to build upon our previous mHealth cessation interventions in China," Redmon said. "With this project, we will expand the collection of effective anti-smoking messages by including mindfulness concepts, use the innovative platform 'WeChat' to deliver messages in China and expand the cessation intervention to Vietnam."

Output: A team of researchers at Georgia State University have secured more than $1m in funding for a five-year programme aimed at encouraging China and Vietnam's 300 million smokers to quit. The initiative will use text messages and China's popular WeChat platform, which are more prevalent than anti-smoking programmes, to deliver culturally appropriate information and support. In China and Vietnam more than 40% of men smoke, compared with 17% of men in the US. The project will begin with researchers devising culturally appropriate smoking cessation messages to be delivered by text, with the help of focus groups in Hanoi and Shanghai.


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The Economist discovers messaging app matches Facebook's referral traffic
 Since starting to post to the popular Asian app Line in January 2016, The Economist has grown its following to nearly 1 million in several countries.

As with The Economist’s approach to other social platforms, the goal of posting to Line was to build audiences in new markets and ultimately drive loyal readers to subscribe. Line wasn’t meant to be a huge traffic driver for the publisher, but it’s finding popular posts drive as much referral traffic to its site as Facebook does, where it has over 8 million followers.

“Some publishers are busy chasing traffic through Facebook and Twitter; it’s not uncommon for these more niche platforms to become an afterthought,” said Sunnie Huang, who recently became the publisher’s newsletter editor after serving as social media writer. “For us, [Line is] so interesting because of the mix of readers; it’s definitely been worth investing [in it].”

The Economist’s social media team of 10 people usually all contribute to posting to each social platform. But Line has a dedicated team of two or three people working on it because its audience is more global, and the content needs to be formatted for Line.

While the amount of content The Economist posts to its homepage on Line remains the same — roughly six pieces a day, one every four hours so the global audience will always see something fresh — the breadth of content has expanded. It has started publishing links on Line from the digital edition and the magazine; now, the Line homepage reflects a more diverse range of content the publisher offers, such as pictures from its image desk, videos from Economist Films or lifestyle articles from its sister magazine 1843. More stories from the Asia section are posted to Line than other social platforms.

The Economist has increased the number of Line push notifications it sends from three a week to one a day, usually opting for stories related to Thailand or Indonesia, where Line has a big following. Stories about technology also perform particularly well. Some of these are behind the paywall, so they encourage readers to subscribe, but Huang said it was too soon to share how Line directly influences subscriptions.

Push notifications direct users to a small card linked to the story. The cards are created from a template and can feature news photos, charts and illustrations, but the graphics require more design effort than posting links to the publisher’s Line homepage. But the effort pays off, according to Huang, who wrote in a Medium post that these push notifications drive up to 10 times the referral traffic to its site than the homepage links. This works out to roughly the same amount of referral traffic as Facebook and Twitter, but Huang declined to share specific numbers.

“You can’t compare a push of a story about Thailand (where we have a large following) and a homepage story on something from the archive,” she said. “Push notifications are the most attractive feature for us on Line.”

Elsewhere, the publisher uses push notifications in its own app, where it can segment the audience to tailor the pushes, something other publishers are finding useful. No such feature exists for The Economist on Line.

While tapping into an Asian market to grow The Economist’s reach was the goal, the platform is gaining ground in the States and the U.K., too, according to The Economist’s readership. The publisher frequently sees the U.S., Canada and the U.K. in the top 10 countries driving Line referral traffic. Further down that list are Syria and Iran, new markets for The Economist.

“We have found out where [Line followers] come from,” said Huang. “The next step is to find out who they are and how they consume content differently.”

Image courtesy of The Economist via Facebook

Output: London-based publication The Economist has revealed it receives as much referral traffic from popular Asian app Line as it does from Facebook, where it has more than 8 million followers, according to The Economist's newsletter editor, Sunnie Huang. She said although the amount of content posted to Line is the same, the content is more diverse, while push notifications send up to 10 times the referral traffic to its site on Line than homepage links. Huang said it was too early to determine the impact of Line on subscriptions.


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Ripple opens Indian office, targets remittance markets
 Ripple has opened a new office in Mumbai, India as the company looks to build its presence in the world’s largest recipient country of remittances. Navin Gupta, who worked for two decades in transaction banking, product management and global strategy roles at HSBC and Citibank, has been appointed country manager got Ripple India.

“India is the largest recipient of corporate and retail remittance worldwide, totaling close to US$71 billion,” Gupta said. “The businesses and Indian expatriates sending money into the country want their cross-border payments to be as fast and seamless as payments made within India’s domestic digital payment network.”

He said Ripple’s instant and cost-effective blockchain-powered payments have the potential to be “a transformative component of India’s economy,” and help bring payments services to the unbanked.

Banking in India is in the midst of a major digital revolution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised in 2014 to end “financial untouchability” with a scheme to improve financial inclusion. Since this government program was implemented, almost 300 million households have opened formal bank accounts for the first time.

The Digital India program, launched by the government in 2015, intends to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy, notably by promoting cashless transactions and converting the country into a “less-cash society.”

In order to support the enormous increase in banking customers, accounts and transactions, the Indian economy has become ripe for growth in the fintech industry. Areas such as mobile banking, payments services, digital lending, point-of-sale, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, are all seen in “hyper-growth phase” in the country, according to IBM.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, said the new Mumbai office will allow the company to “respond to the rapidly-growing demand for frictionless payments by our current customers Axis Bank and YES Bank, as well as other banks and non-banks across the country.”

In addition to working with Ripple for real-time cross-border payments, YES Bank, one of India’s largest private banks, is also using the Hyperledger Fabric in a blockchain-powered vendor financing solution.

Besides the private sector, the Indian government too is exploring the use of blockchain in various areas, including land registries, government-recorded data security, and banking services. A research group founded by India’s central bank is currently developing a model platform for blockchain technology, which it said will be suitable for different applications relevant to banking

Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency space, Bitcoin wallet provider Blockchain announced today a partnership with Bengaluru-based bitcoin exchange Unocoin to enter the Indian market by bringing its software platform through its new Indian partner.

Unocoin has around 400,000 users and added 50,000 last month. It has partnered with 1,900 businesses and sees 500 transactions a day with an average value of Rs 30,000 (US$468).

Output: San Francisco-based firm Ripple has opened a bureau in Mumbai, India, to be headed by Navin Gupta, formerly of HSBC and Citibank. Ripple offers frictionless payments to customers via Axis Bank and YES Bank. India receives around $71bn in corporate and retail remittances, and Gupta said the company's blockchain-powered payments have the potential to be "a transformative component of India’s economy".


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Influencers pay up to $7,500 for fraudulent Instagram blue ticks
 "I mean if Mashable wants to pay for it, I can get you a blue check over night," reads a recent Twitter direct message.

This is a guy who knows a guy, a middleman in the black market for Instagram verification, where anyone from a seasoned publicist to a 22-year-old digital marketer will offer to verify an account—for a price. The fee is anywhere from a bottle of wine to $15,000, according to a dozen sources who have sold verification, bought verification for someone else, or directly know someone who has done one or the other.

"These guys pay all their bills from one to two blue checks a month," another message from the middleman added later.

The product for sale isn't a good or a service. It's a little blue check designated for public figures, celebrities, and brands on Instagram. It grants users a prime spot in search as well as access to special features.

More importantly, it's a status symbol. The blue emblem can help people gain legitimacy in the business of influencer marketing and bestows some credibility within Instagram's community of 700 million monthly active users. It cannot be requested online or purchased, according to Instagram's policies. It is Instagram's velvet rope.

But it's clear from people who spoke on the condition of anonymity, many of whom have their own blue checkmarks, that a black market for Instagram verification is alive and well.

And it's an open secret in the influencer community.

"It all comes down to money and who you know," said one seller, who agreed to go by his first name, James. "It’s sad, but it’s kind of how life is, you know?”

Instagram has helped create this underground market. While anyone can apply for verification on Facebook(opens in a new tab) and on Twitter(opens in a new tab), Instagram has made itself exclusive and therefore rather elitist. Influencers who have press clippings and work with big brands on sponsorship deals often can't manage to get that elusive blue checkmark, according to several verified and unverified influencers and people who have sold verification.

James said he got into the market for verification via an Instagram direct message. Previously, he had been buying and selling Instagram accounts that had popular or one-word names, and he decided to message someone with an interesting handle (a.k.a. username). That someone said they were able to take over that account because he worked at Instagram.

And that was the start of a side-business. James would find people who would pay for verification, and his friend on the inside of Instagram would make it happen.

His contact at Instagram charges $1,200 per blue checkmark, and then James will tack on another fee based on the user's apparent interest or other needs.

"I’ve sold verifications anywhere from $1,500 to $7,000," James said.

James, whose day job is running an internet startup, has sold five badges since he started earlier this year with the help of his friend who works at Instagram. His contact at Instagram charges $1,200 per blue checkmark, and then James will tack on another fee based on the user's apparent interest or other needs.

Only three of his submissions have been approved, however. James and his contact at Instagram have to submit an official form, and they do not want to get caught.

Instagram is aware of this kind of thing.

“You are responsible for any activity that occurs through your account and you agree you will not sell, transfer, license or assign your account, followers, username, or any account rights," reads a section of Instagram's terms of use(opens in a new tab).

James said he has heard of several employees getting fired for selling verification or accounts. When Instagram decided to shutdown about 30 accounts related to cannabis(opens in a new tab) last year, a former employee tried charging people up to $7,500 to reactivate them since he still had access to the feature. He was found out, and his access was officially terminated, according to James.

Instagram declined to comment.

A source who was directly connected to a seller said he was not comfortable with sharing the name or any other details about the person he knew in fear of ruining his side-business.

"He's actually a good friend and legit makes his income this way," he said. He personally has been pitched between $3,000 to $7,000 for a blue checkmark.

Getting that blue check is getting harder. Just a year ago, James said his contact at Instagram was able to do five name transfers a week. Now, it's more like two per week and "maybe one to two verifications," he said.

James isn't the only person that interested Instagram users can go to. One entrepreneur pointed us to Alejandro Rioja. According to Rioja's personal website(opens in a new tab), he's an "internet entrepreneur, digital marketer, and computer geek." His website suggests to connect with him on Facebook Messenger(opens in a new tab), where after the first prompt a user sees he does account verification:

Credit: facebook messenger screenshot

As described in the thread above with Rioja's Messenger bot, Instagram verification costs $6,000 per account.

"I work with 2-3 people [at Instagram] depending on their availability. The price is $5k-$8k, which varies depending on how easy it is to verify, i.e. they already have press and are somewhat of a known figure. The Instagram employee takes most of it, 60-80%," Rioja wrote in a Twitter direct message.

The cost for verification is the highest on Instagram because it's the most coveted.

The cost for verification is the highest on Instagram because it's the most coveted. That's in part because it is the strictest, several sources told us. Business on Instagram can be big. Advertisers may be spending more than $1 billion per year on influencer marketing on Instagram, according to a study by Mediakix(opens in a new tab). An easy way to identify an influencer is via that blue checkmark. It's immediate legitimacy.

Instagram verification is granted through a form that is not publicly available, but is accessible to some people in the tech and media industries. Former employees, current employees, big media and entertainment companies have a portal where they can request name changes and verification, according to several sources.

They must submit the user's actual name and accounts along with a form of identity (like a passport) and the name of a contact at Facebook or Instagram. That's one way Instagram can hold employees accountable to not misuse their privileges for things like paid verification, according to several sources.

Credit: SCREENSHOT OF INSTAGRAM VERIFICATION FORM

Attachments can be used to show press clippings, which are an important part of getting through the process. Rioja also offers media placement in various publications that also costs thousands of dollars.

While someone like Rioja may be the seller, someone at Instagram still needs to approve the request. That's why Rioja says there's a "money-back guarantee."

"I've verified 12 accounts. I can't share the usernames as my clients don't like this," Rioja said.

Here's a step-by-step process of how it works, according to one source who has sold verification and corroborated by two other sources who have bought it:

There's usually an employee at Facebook/Instagram who is willing to take a bribe or just be a friend. A middleman will be the seller. The middleman receives cash, which may or may not be split with the Facebook/Instagram employee. The friend at Facebook/Instagram submits a verification request and crosses their fingers it gets approved.

The black market for verification is an open secret among Instagram influencers. The people who have bought verification might not want to admit it to a reporter, but people aren't afraid to share to other social media influencers.

"I had a friend that did it," a tech founder told me. He then texted his friend and asked if they wanted to comment for the story with guaranteed anonymity. The friend confirmed that they paid for verification but declined to comment further.

Once users have a blue checkmark they also join an exclusive club of people who repeatedly get asked for one, according to several sources who have been asked.

"It's more bragging about how they can get anything, I guess."

"You end up getting a ton of messages from people asking 'How you got that check mark, bro?'" said Adam Rose(opens in a new tab), an actor who is verified on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. He got his verifications through the formal processes, without paying any middlemen.

There are plenty of people who may not be able to help but do love chatting about their blue checkmark.

"It's more bragging about how they can get anything, I guess," said someone who runs a popular YouTube channel and is verified.

And anything has its price.

If you know more about the Instagram black market, send an email to Kerry Flynn at [email protected]

Output: Influencers who want to obtain Instagram verification – one of the site's coveted blue ticks – are paying thousands of dollars to get the symbol on the black market. Anonymous insiders team up with Instagram and Facebook contacts, who secretly fill out the required submission forms before attempting to verify the account themselves. The practice is regarded as an open secret among Instagram influencers, who have found that gaining verification through the proper channels can be elusive. Advertisers spend $1bn annually on influencer marketing on Instagram.


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First 'plot shop' of land for self-builds opens in Oxfordshire
 The UK’s first ever ‘plot shop’ has been officially opened today (7 September 2017) in the town of Bicester by Housing and Planning Minister, Alok Sharma.

Located right on the high-street, this one-of-a-kind outlet will sell plots of land on the Graven Hill site in Oxfordshire to those wishing to build their own home – whether from scratch or through customised design.

Once complete, the Graven Hill development will be the largest of its kind in the UK, delivering up to 1,900 new self and custom build homes.

By making it easier to access land and expert advice, Graven Hill’s plot shop promises to pioneer custom and self-build as a mainstream choice for aspiring home owners.

Housing and Planning Minister, Alok Sharma said:

We need to get creative with how we build our housing in this country, to deliver more of the right homes in the places people want to live. With the opening of the UK’s first ‘plot shop’, the journey to building your own home can now start on the high-street. As confirmed in our housing white paper, we are committed to doubling the number of custom and self build homes by 2020 – so that anyone who wishes to design their dream house can do so. Through diversifying the housing market in this way, we can give people greater choice over the homes they live in – whether that’s buying on the open market or by commissioning and building their dream home.

Karen Curtin, Managing Director of Graven Hill said:

We are delighted to welcome Alok Sharma in officially opening the Graven Hill plot shop. The shop’s town centre location has proven to be integral to its success since our soft launch this summer, and we invite anyone thinking of building or customising their next home to visit the shop for an informal chat on the options available or arrange a visit to site. The official opening of the shop is significant, not only because the government is recognising the importance of our unique development, but because we are also able to announce that purchasers opting for a Tailored Finish home may be able to access the government’s Help to Buy scheme. Graven Hill is pioneering in the sense that for the first time, new home-buyers have the flexibility to choose between building their own house and custom designing one that meets their individual requirements. To date, over 81% of plots released in Phase 1a have been sold and over the course of the next 10 years, Graven Hill will become a community of 1,900 properties. We are still at the beginning of our journey but with the first occupations imminent there has never been a more exciting time to be involved with self and custom building.

Peter Rogerson, Virgin Money’s Director of Mortgages said:

The custom build market is a really exciting area of new house building that offers significant growth potential, providing a supply of high-quality homes specifically designed to buyers’ individual requirements. Virgin Money is committed to helping more people achieve their dream of home ownership and we are proud to be the only mainstream mortgage lender offering a custom build proposition. We worked closely with the team at Graven Hill to develop our proposition, and we are delighted to see the new ‘plot shop’ open to highlight to potential buyers the attractive opportunities available to them.

Custom build

Custom build gives aspiring homebuilders the tools to design the house of their dreams, whilst leaving it to the professionals to build it into reality. The result is your home how you want it – without the burden and risk traditionally associated with a full self-build project.

The scheme is hugely popular overseas in Holland and Germany, and has the potential to deliver over 40,000 homes a year in the UK.

Since April 2016, every council across the country has been required to hold a register of those seeking to build their own home. Over 18,000 aspiring custom and self-builders have now signed up to their local registers.

Local authorities will use their registers as a measure of demand for self and custom build in their areas. The legislation requires local authorities to find and commission sufficient land to match the demand on their registers.

Building more homes is at the heart of the government’s plan to fix the broken housing market, as set out in their housing white paper.

Supporting people to design and build their own homes is part of a range of measures introduced to help more people onto the housing ladder and increase housing supply. Since 2010, government-backed schemes have helped over 400,000 households onto the housing ladder.

The government’s Home Building Fund, launched in October 2016, targets £1 billion in short term loan finance to support small and medium-sized enterprise builders, innovation and custom build.

Further information

Visit www.gravenhill.co.uk to receive the latest news or to register your interest in the Graven Hill project.

The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Bill was first presented to Parliament in 2016 by Richard Bacon MP and placed a duty on local authorities to keep a register of those seeking an interest in bringing forward self and custom build projects.

Output: The UK's housing and planning minister, Alok Sharma, has opened the country's first "plot shop" in Bicester, where people who want to build their own home can purchase land on the Graven Hill site in Oxfordshire. Sharma said the government was "committed to doubling the number of custom and self-build homes by 2020", and creative ways of building housing were needed to achieve that aim. When complete, Graven Hill will become a community of 1,900 properties, the largest of its kind in the UK.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Diageo prepares for voice-controlled online shopping
 Despite early bets on Amazon’s Alexa, Diageo doesn’t have a voice strategy. The alcohol maker is, however, shifting some of its focus to conversational, long-tail search terms.

Diageo is laying the groundwork for when a large part of its search buying is for voice rather than text, or rather based on the meaning behind a query instead of a specific keyword. Much of Diageo’s early voice search efforts involve brainstorming what naturally spoken questions may be asked about its brands, especially because there’s a chance that cost per click could rise if there is only room for one paid search placement.

Bidding strategies aside, Diageo is also considering the feasibility of producing variations of ad copy that deliver the best possible answers. If someone asked for a Moscow mule, for example, not only would Smirnoff need to have copy in place to answer the query, it might also need copy ready if the next question were “What vodka should I buy?” or “What ingredients are in it?”

There will come a time when many search queries won’t be “mai tai” in text form; instead, it will be “how to make a mai tai” as a verbal query, said Benjamin Lickfett, head of digital innovation at Diageo. When that happens, Lickfett believes it will be a “winner-takes-all” market in the sense that searching using personal tools such as Apple’s Siri or Alexa provides instant answers rather than a page with a list of results.

Speaking to Digiday at an iProspect event on Sept. 6, Lickfett said Diageo was “making sure they get the basics right” for voice search. “We’re looking at the long tail of how voice-based search is different,” he said. “We’ve already seen in certain results how things like cocktail recipes work with the combination of voice-triggered search and visual stimulus and positioning our content in the right way to show up there.”

Lickfett stressed it is still early for Diageo’s brands in voice search, which comScore predicts will account for 50 percent of all search activity by 2020. Even Google says it’s years away from being able to monetize those queries in the same way it does search, apps, ads and online transactions.

Yet Diageo believes that when voice searches are ubiquitous, it will better be able to monetize people’s queries. The brand has long tried to bridge the gap between its online ads and sales, most recently with the launch of shoppable films on Amazon Prime. But for all the bets Diageo has made on e-commerce, it has never had anything it deemed successful enough to scale, which is why there’s so much internal excitement around the potential for voice search.

“It’s hard to talk about voice search without talking about conversational commerce, which is an incredible opportunity,” said Lickfett. “For us, having conversational offerings based on Alexa skills or people creating cocktails around occasions that they might need our brands for is a really interesting area for us to play in.”

Lickfett is eyeing Amazon’s Echo Show, an Alexa-powered device with a display, in particular. He said the Echo Show is of interest because it’s specifically designed for the kitchen, meaning potential opportunities exist for brands like Johnnie Walker and Guinness to appear on the device’s screen.

Although the predominant voice behavior is broad information seeking, 25 percent of voice searches have purchase intent (for example, buying or ordering something), according to an iProspect study of over 1,000 respondents across the U.K. It is likely to take time before that translates into any meaningful return on investment for advertisers like Diageo, with only 15 percent of adults in the U.K. using voice search today, per iProspect.

Mobile devices are where Simon Tokumine, senior product manager of search at Google, believes voice search will dominate in the coming years. Indeed, more than half (57 percent) of voice searches happen in the U.K. on smartphones, while 13 percent of them occur on smart-home devices, according to iProspect.

Media analysts have questioned whether voice search could pose a threat to Google’s grip on online media, given it would require an overhaul of how the company makes money from advertising. “Mobile devices, for all their successes, are not as easy to use for complex tasks as desktop,” said Tokumine, speaking at the same iProspect event. “In those situations, it’s about thinking how you can leverage voice to effectively short-circuit all this complexity.”

Photo courtesy of Addison Group

Output: UK drinks company Diageo is laying the groundwork for a future in which customers use voice search instead of typing a query into a search engine, and is eyeing Amazon's Alexa technology. "We’ve already seen in certain results how things like cocktail recipes work with the combination of voice-triggered search and visual stimulus, and are positioning our content in the right way to show up there", said Benjamin Lickfett, Diageo's head of digital innovation. Voice is predicted to make up 50% of all search activity by 2020, but is currently used by only 15% of UK adults.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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China buys US mine, consolidates control of rare earth elements
 While rare earths aren’t actually that rare — there are more REEs in the ground than copper or lead — they are extremely difficult to mine economically. China has dominated rare earth mining since the 1990s, extracting 85 to 95 percent of the world’s REEs from large clay deposits in the country’s south. When China cut back sharply on REE exports in 2010, it triggered a global price spike, exposing the superpower’s monopolistic grip on materials that are critical to dozens of high-tech industries.

Now a Chinese-led coalition threatens to further tighten control of the rare earths trade with the purchase of the only operational REE mine in America. The Mountain Pass Mine in the California desert south of Las Vegas was a powerhouse producer of REEs from 1965 to 1985, at which point China took over global production and never looked back. Mountain Pass was shuttered from 2002 to 2012 because it couldn’t compete with the low prices coming out of China. After a brief revival from 2012 to 2015, Mountain Pass closed for good in 2016 and its owner, Molycorp, filed for bankruptcy.

This past June, an investor group with alleged ties to the Chinese government bought the mine for $20.5 million, beating out American bidders including entrepreneur Tom Clarke of ERP Strategic Minerals.

“I think it would be extremely foolhardy to let a Chinese-linked organization go ahead and buy this mine,” said Jeff Ferry, research director with the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Ferry’s group is calling on the US government to block the Mountain Pass sale on both national security and economic grounds.

RELATED: The Secret to a Better Battery Might Just Be Floating in Thin Air

It’s true that rare earths are critical to US military technology. Elements like yttrium are used in the atomic batteries that power guided missiles. The electrical systems in manned and unmanned aircraft are powered with rare earth magnets. And the lightweight, space-age materials used to make modern jet engines and rocket noses all rely on compounds stabilized with REEs.

CIA director Mike Pompeo told a Senate committee in May that foreign control of REEs was “a very real concern.”

Ferry says that the federal government should act “right now” to block the Mountain Pass deal through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, better known as Cfius (pronounced sih-fee-us). Cfius is an interagency committee charged with protecting vital national security interests from foreign control. It recently blocked the sale of an American semiconductor company to Chinese investors and is considering taking similar action with the Chinese purchase of MoneyGram.

If the government doesn’t stop the Mountain Pass deal on national security grounds, Ferry thinks that Cfius should expand its mandate to protect American industries from the potential economic harm created by foreign monopolies on these essential raw materials.

“The fact is, rare earths are used in almost every form of modern electronics, whether it’s smartphones, large motors in wind turbines, or small motors in the latest generation of electric cars,” said Ferry. “We’re talking about tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars worth of industries that are potentially affected by rare earths.”

RELATED: Seaweed Could Provide a Powerful Boost to Next-Gen Batteries

Rare earths are prized for a host of unique properties including magnetism, luminescence, and lightweight strength. Ana de Bettencourt-Dias is a rare earth chemist at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she studies the light-emitting properties of REEs. The very first color TVs used rare earths like europium and terbium to create red and green light, and today’s LED and OLED displays are built with REEs that emit light efficiently and with very high color purity.

But Bettencourt-Dias says that the biggest and most important industrial application of REEs has to do with magnets, particularly neodymium-based magnets, which are the strongest in the world. Wind turbines use huge neodymium magnets for their power generators, and smaller neodymium magnets are found in computer hard drives and just about every part of your car, from electric windows to audio speakers.

There are alternatives to REEs for high-tech industrial applications, but they’re less efficient and more expensive. Bettencourt-Dias said that large-scale recycling of electronics could be an alternative source for rare earths, but the cost of physically disassembling smartphones and TVs, and the difficulty of chemically separating rare earths, is still far greater than buying raw materials from China.

The reality is that too many current and future technologies rely on rare earths — particularly the engines and batteries for electric vehicles — to put the genie back in the bottle.

“If people stop wanting to use things that are powered by electricity, then yes, we can stop using rare earths,” said Bettencourt-Dias, “but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

RELATED: Artificial Intelligence Is Poised to Revolutionize Warfare

According to the US Geological Survey, America imported around 12,600 metric tons of rare earth compounds and metals in 2016, and nearly all of it originated in China. Although the US buys certain compounds and components from countries like Japan and France, the raw minerals for most of those imports come from China.

Global mining production of rare earths in 2016 was 126,000 metric tons. The USGS reports that China mined at least 105,000 metric tons or 83 percent of the total. But that doesn’t take into account illegal — and environmentally destructive — REE mines operating all over China. Of the official tally, Australia comes in (a distant) second at 14,000 metric tons or 11 percent of total production.

When the Mountain Pass mine was operational in 2015, the US extracted 5,900 metric tons, less than 5 percent of global REE production. But even that small fraction of rare earth production could give the US the independence it needs to protect the vital defense and economic interests of itself and its allies, said Ferry, if the Mountain Pass mine is in American hands.

“I don’t think the one mine solves all of our problems,” said Ferry, “but it’s a step in the right direction.”

WATCH: Why We Need Rare Earth Elements

Output: US non-profit organisation the Coalition for a Prosperous America is calling on the country's government to block the $20.5m sale of the nation's only rare earth elements (REE) mine in California to a Chinese-led coalition. REEs are used in every form of modern electronics, from smartphones to guided missile systems. In 2015, the Mountain Pass Mine yielded 5% of global REEs, whereas China extracts between 85% and 95% of the world's supply.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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US hurricane risk models are 'inadequate and out-of-date'
 This, in part, underscores the rare severity of the storm that hovered over the Texas coastline for days. But it also arguably highlights inadequacies in our federal flood risk assessments, since by some calculations Harvey “represents the third ‘500-year’ flood in the Houston area in the past three years,” as the UC Davis researchers note.

That “basically refutes suggestions that Houston has just suffered from random ‘bad luck,’” said Nicholas Pinter, associate director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, in an e-mail. “We scientists are ultra-cautious about reading climate change in any single weather event, and that caution is appropriate. But there is a growing suspicion that the U.S. may be creeping over a meteorological tipping point.”

The crucial problem is that flood-zone maps are based on historical patterns that are increasingly divorced from the current dangers under changing climate conditions. That, in turn, means that planning policies, building codes, insurance programs, and building patterns based on these assessments can often be dangerously out of date as well. In many cases, we’re constructing cities and flood protections based on the climate of the past rather than the conditions of the future—or even the present. That’s subjecting citizens to ever greater dangers, and society to far higher costs for disaster relief and reconstruction in the aftermath of events like Harvey or, as is looking increasingly likely, Hurricane Irma.

Some scientists have been sounding this warning for years, arguing that flooding and storm risk analysis need to move beyond the “stationary” approach, which assumes that the statistical distribution of events in the past will remain constant moving forward.

“We can’t extrapolate the past into the future because of changes going on in the system,” says Paul Milly, research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, and lead author of a 2008 Science paper titled “Stationarity Is Dead: Whither Water Management?” “Climate change needs to be considered as a possible factor in the changing risks of floods and other hazardous events,” he says.

A 100-year hurricane rainfall event before 2000 could become a roughly one-in-10-year occurrence by 2081.

Among other factors, warmer air holds more moisture, and higher sea levels increase the height of storm surges, all of which can amplify the magnitude and destructive capacity of storms.

Progress toward new methodologies, however, has been slow and uneven, in part because of political complexities—and in part because it’s a challenging science. The climate system is highly complex, our knowledge is incomplete, and projection models generally include broad ranges of potential impacts, dependent on future greenhouse-gas emissions, environmental tipping points, and other factors.

But some scientists are certainly trying to update our understanding of the growing dangers from climate change. Kerry Emanuel, a hurricane researcher and professor of atmospheric science at MIT, recently evaluated the future risk of hurricane rainfall in Boston—and found a stark shift in threat levels as climate change increases the frequency of storms and amount of rain per storm.

Output: Changing climate conditions have rendered US flood zone maps and planning policies, building patterns and codes, as well as insurance policies "dangerously out of date". "There is a growing suspicion that the US may be creeping over a meteorological tipping point," warned Nicholas Pinter, associate director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. Experts have warned the static approach to flood and storm risk, which assumes current and future events will be similar to those of the past, needs to be scrapped in favour of a system taking into account possible climate change.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Watchtower seeks to streamline employer benefits process
 For most of us, the quality of our health and insurance benefits is determined by behind-the-scenes transactions between insurance companies, brokers and the HR person down the hall.

Watchtower Benefits, a Chicago-based startup, wants to make the employer-sponsored insurance market more efficient.

Co-founder Ryan Sachtjen said the process today is entirely manual, requiring brokers to collect data on employee demographics, current policies and how much the insurance company paid out in benefits. The broker sends that data to insurance companies, who use it to put together bids for the upcoming year’s plan.

Those bids come as extensive, text-based documents, and the broker manually extracts the most important insights into a spreadsheet to help employers choose the best plan.

According to Sachtjen, it’s a time-consuming, error-prone process that often leaves decisionmakers with incomplete information — ultimately landing you with a less-than-perfect plan.

“We want to be a recommendation engine that can help brokers give advice to employers,” he said. “We want to help companies understand how their benefits compare to those of other employers they’re competing against for good talent.”

The biggest challenge to making it all happen, said Sachtjen, is a lack of data standardization across the industry.

“These insurance programs are hyper-customized in how they are built for employer groups,” he said. “That makes it very difficult for consumers to compare offers. Companies even have different terms to explain the same types of coverage within their plans.”

To standardize the information, Watchtower uses text extraction software to pull out, translate and compare sections directly. The startup is also developing a strategy for using machine learning to aid in standardization as new insurance companies start using the platform.

Right now, Watchtower supports life and disability insurance, but its plan is to move into health, dental, vision and accident insurance as well.

Watchtower’s five-person team combines experience from the insurance industry as well as from tech companies like TurboAppeal, Gogo, SpotHero and Retrofit. The company is currently recruiting for an additional engineer, and expects the team to grow over the next year.

“The nice thing about our business is that contracts are big enough that we don’t need a ton of new customers to start building revenue,” said Sechtjen.

Photo by 1871/Gregory Rothstein.

What's your startup's story? Drop us a line or tweet us @BuiltInChicago

Output: Chicago-based start-up Watchtower Benefits has developed a platform that standardises and streamlines the employer-sponsored insurance market. Co-founder Ryan Sachtjen said the current system is "a time-consuming, error-prone process". The Watchtower platform uses text extraction software to extract and translate different sections of insurance programmes, and is working on using machine learning to increase standardisation as the business grows. Currently, the firm offers life and disability insurance, but plans to expand into health, dental, vision and accident insurance.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Financial fraud on the rise with US elderly at most risk
 Fraud is a concern for people of all ages, but it's especially hazardous to older adults. In fact, American seniors lose over $36 billion each year as a result of financial abuse, according to a 2015 study by True Link Financial.

You might assume that only a small minority of elderly Americans are taken by fraudsters, but Allianz Life recently found that roughly 37% of seniors are victims of financial abuse -- a figure that has nearly doubled since 2014. Although seniors suffering from dementia or other forms of mental decline are easier targets, they only account for 45% of the victims.

Among the people who have been affected by financial abuse, the average loss was about $36,000. For many of these victims, though, losing money is just one of many consequences of financial abuse. In the Allianz survey, caretakers reported that the seniors they cared for expressed anger, depression, guilt, and anxiety after they realized they were victims of fraud, and many of them become more isolated after the incident.

Fortunately, there are some warning signs seniors can look for to protect themselves from fraud.

If you don't trust someone entirely, don't let them near your money

In fact, most of the time, the scammers are close to their victims. According to the National Adult Protective Services Association, 90% of people who commit financial abuse are family members, friends, or caretakers of their victims.

These scams can take many forms, but thieves typically start out by acting like they're "helping" you. They may say, for example, that they want to open a joint bank account so they can help to manage your finances. Of course, this gives them unrestricted access to your money. They may also ask for your ATM PIN in case you forget it, or they could suggest carrying your credit or debit cards for you so you don't lose them.

Sometimes, these requests are legitimate, and the friend or family member can be trusted. But if you have any concerns about this person's trustworthiness, consider it a red flag.

Don't respond to emails asking for money

Getting duped by a stranger is still a risk many seniors face, although it's less common than financial abuse by a friend or family member. Some of these scams are more obvious than others. Most people know not to respond to suspicious emails from princes in Nigeria, so thieves have gotten sneakier.

Other forms of fraud, though, are more difficult to detect. For example, you may receive an email asking for donations to a good cause -- which is common after any type of disaster. The email may even look like it's from a legitimate source, and you may have no way to tell that it's fake unless you look closely at the address it came from. If you're unsure whether the request is legitimate, or if you want to be extra safe, go to the charity's website and donate there, rather than through the email.

Don't let scammers scare you into sending money

Another common scam is when you get a call from an impostor pretending to be a family member -- typically a grandchild -- who's in trouble and needs you to send money to help. This one is so common it even has a name: The Grandparent Scam.

The scammer will research your family and learn as much as they can, including names, occupations, and city of residence. You could get a call from someone who claims to be your granddaughter Emily, saying she needs $1,000 because her car broke down on her drive back home to Wichita from Kansas State. In a more frightening version of this scam, "Emily" might say that she's been arrested and needs you to send money for bail. Not only might the scammer's story sound pretty believable, but your concern for your grandchild might override your judgement.

In this scenario, always be listening for clues as to whether the person on the other end of the line is a phony. Ask a lot of questions that only the real family member could answer, such as their favorite childhood toy or their mother's birthday. And if you have another phone handy, give your loved one a call. If they answer, you'll know within seconds whether they're actually in trouble.

No one likes to think they could be the victim of financial abuse. But the truth is that it can happen to anyone, and older adults are often prime targets. To avoid putting yourself at risk, use common sense, ask a lot of questions, and enlist the help of someone you know you can absolutely trust when you're questioning your judgement.

Output: Around 37% of US senior citizens have fallen prey to financial scams, a figure that has almost doubled since 2014, according to a survey from Allianz Life. It revealed the average loss incurred by older people was around $36,000, with sufferers of dementia accounting for around 45% of victims. Further, the survey found that older victims of scams felt "anger, depression, guilt, and anxiety" and became more isolated as a result.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Mexico seeks closer ties with Alibaba as Trump threatens Nafta
 The three countries are currently re-negotiating NAFTA, which underpins Mexico's economy — the U.S. accounts for 80 percent of its exports.

The deal comes as Pena Nieto closes a trip to China on trade and investment, and is part of efforts to open new opportunities for Mexico, as President Donald Trump has threatened to kill the $1.2 trillion North American Free Trade Agreement, the foundation of trade for the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

"By partnering with Alibaba, we can expand Mexico's export options in China and in Asia more broadly, while enhancing Mexican [small- and medium-sized enterprises'] knowledge of e-commerce and cross-border trade," said Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto of the memorandum of understanding inked with Alibaba.

Mexico's Ministry of Economy and Alibaba will partner to get more Mexican products onto the tech firm's popular e-commerce platforms. The move aims to help Mexico's small- and medium-sized enterprises expand internationally and in China — the world's largest consumer market with a growing middle class. Alibaba, in turn, will provide its technological expertise on logistics and payments, and it will share analytics to help Mexican firms market better to the Chinese.

"The idea behind Mexico's current diversification efforts, including going to China, is that, in the event President Donald Trump eventually backs out of NAFTA, we have to be ready to start implementation of plan B, and plan B is China," said Adrian Cisneros Aguilar, a lawyer and director-general of Chevaya, a firm that specializes in helping Mexican firms expand in China.

For a long time, Mexico didn't need to look beyond the U.S. when it came to trade. But on the campaign trail, Trump said he would slap tariffs on both Mexico and China, something that appears to have pushed the two nations closer together. China reiterated during Pena Nieto's trip that it's open to signing a free trade agreement directly with Mexico. Mexican officials have previously echoed similar sentiments.

More trade with Mexico is something consumers will likely welcome, as many in China have developed a taste for avocadoes, beer and tequila. Avocado exports from Mexico to China, for example, have shot up to more than 10,000 metric tons of the green fruit from 17 metric tons back in 2009, according to Mexican government data cited by ChinaAg, a market research firm.

While growing trade with China can offset some of Mexico's reliance on the U.S., there's still a long way to go for replacing the U.S. as the main trade partner — Mexican exports to China are around $7 billion a year, a far cry from the $300 billion in goods the country sends across the border to the U.S.

But experts say there are a number of challenges when it comes to a broader economic relationship between China and Mexico. One detail that complicates further trade ties between the two nations is that both are competing for more business with the U.S. The physical distance is also an issue, as China has no shortage of trading partners closer to home.

On top of that, while a free trade agreement could be a step in the right direction, many Mexican businesses are still inexperienced when it comes to dealing with China's tough business environment.

"Companies that have never mentioned China are approaching me to say they see, suddenly, it's an option," said Cisneros Aguilar.

But success in the world's second-largest usually requires time and effort — what works for Mexican companies in Spain won't translate in China, he explained.

Understanding the environment is very "important when it comes to a country like China, which is so culturally different from us," Cisneros Aguilar said.

Output: Mexico is looking for closer ties with Alibaba and is seeking a better trade relationship with China, just as the US, Canada and Mexico renegotiate the $1.2tn North American Free Trade Agreement, possibly to Mexico's disadvantage. Alibaba and Mexico's ministry of economy are setting up a partnership to get more Mexican products on to Alibaba's e-commerce platforms. "By partnering with Alibaba, we can expand Mexico's export options in China and in Asia more broadly, while enhancing Mexican [small and medium-sized enterprises'] knowledge of e-commerce and cross-border trade," said the Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto. The US accounts for 80% of Mexico's exports.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Huawei global sales overtake Apple for first time
 An attendee uses her smartphone to take a picture of her selfie on the camera app of a P9 smartphone launched by Huawei in India.

Huawei, China's leading smartphone maker, surpassed Apple's global smartphone sales for the first time in June and July, according to analysis by consulting firm Counterpoint Research.

Huawei is now only behind Samsung in sales, and Counterpoint says that's thanks to the company's consistent investment in R&D and manufacturing, as well as aggressive and creative marketing (including this KFC phone).

Figures haven't been released yet for August, though Counterpoint indicates sales for that month also look strong. However, it's worth noting that with Apple's new iPhone releases just around the corner, the iPhone maker is almost certain to get back on top in September.

Researchers at Counterpoint also point out that Huawei has a weak presence in the South Asian, Indian, and North American markets, which "limits Huawei's potential to the near-to-mid-term to take a sustainable second place position behind Samsung." Its strongest market is China, and it's also popular in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Huawei's phones have become popular, thanks to designs with large displays and advanced camera functions. Still, Apple doesn't have much to worry about; Counterpoint says the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus remain the world's best-selling smartphones, while Oppo's R11 and A57 claimed the third and fourth spots, respectively, followed by Samsung's Galaxy S8, Xiaomi's Redmi Note 4X, and Samsung's Galaxy S8 Plus. Surprisingly, despite overtaking Apple in global sales, none of Huawei's phones appear on the Top 10 list.

"While Huawei climbed to be the world's second largest brand overall, it is surprising to see none of its models breaking into the top rankings," said Counterpoint Research senior analyst, Pavel Naiya in a statement. "While Huawei has trimmed its portfolio, it likely needs to further streamline its product range like Oppo and Xiaomi have done — putting more muscle behind fewer products."

According to IDC, Apple shipped 41 million iPhones in the second quarter of 2017, compared to Huawei's 38.5 million. We've reached out to Counterpoint Research for further details on the number of devices shipped in June and July.

More from The Verge:

Output: Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has overtaken Apple in worldwide smartphone sales for the first time, according to Counterpoint Research. Huawei now stands behind only Samsung in terms of global sales figured. Despite the success of the brand overall, no individual phone models ranked among the bestsellers. The release of Apple's new iPhone is imminent, which could put Apple back on top of worldwide sales in September.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Risk of war with Pakistan and China, warns Indian army chief
 India’s army chief said on Wednesday the country should be prepared for a potential two-front war given China is flexing its muscles and there is little hope for reconciliation with Pakistan.

General Bipin Rawat referred to a recent 10-week standoff with the Chinese army in the Himalayas that ended last week. He said the situation could gradually snowball into a larger conflict on India’s northern border. Rawat said Pakistan on the western front could take advantage of such a situation.

The Press Trust of India news agency quoted Rawat’s remarks at a seminar organised by the Center for Land Warfare Studies, a thinktank in New Delhi.

India fought a war with China in 1962 and three wars with Pakistan, two of them over control of Kashmir, since securing independence from Britain in 1947. All three countries are nuclear powers.

Rawat said credible deterrence did not take away the threat of war. “Nuclear weapons are weapons of deterrence. Yes, they are. But to say that they can deter war or they will not allow nations to go to war, in our context that may also not be true,” the news agency quoted him as saying.

India last week agreed to pull troops from the disputed Doklam plateau high in the Himalayas, where Chinese troops had started building a road. The 10-week standoff was the two nations’ most protracted in decades, and added to their longstanding strategic rivalry.

Warfare lies within the realm of reality. Bipin Rawat, Indian general

“We have to be prepared. In our context, therefore, warfare lies within the realm of reality,” Rawat said.

His comments came a day after India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and China’s president, Xi Jinping, agreed on a “forward-looking” approach to Sino-India ties, putting behind the Doklam standoff.

Xi and Modi met on the sidelines of a summit of the Brics emerging economies in the south-eastern Chinese port city of Xiamen. The Brics nations are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Output: India should prepare for a potential two-front war with China and Pakistan as the standoff in the Himalayas could develop into a larger conflict with China, which Pakistan would use to its advantage, Indian general Bipin Rawat has said. “We have to be prepared. In our context, therefore, warfare lies within the realm of reality,” he said.


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Input:
Deutsche CEO Cryan warns of robots taking bankers' jobs
 The chief executive of Deutsche Bank has issued a stark warning about the impact of technology, saying a “big number” of his staff will lose their jobs as robots take over.

John Cryan told an audience in Frankfurt: “In our bank we have people doing work like robots. Tomorrow we will have robots behaving like people. It doesn’t matter if we as a bank will participate in these changes or not, it is going to happen.”

He also referred to accountants inside the bank who “spend a lot of time basically being an abacus”, who would also be replaced by machines.

In remarks reported by German publication Handelsblatt at a conference in Frankfurt, Cryan added: “The sad truth for the banking industry is, we won‘t need as many people as today.”

Cryan, a Briton who took the helm of Deutsche in June 2015, is in the process of restructuring the bank, which employs 100,000 staff around the world.

Cryan is the latest business leader to make predictions about the impact of automation on on banking roles. In 2015, the former chief executive of Barclays described how the industry was facing an “Uber” moment, with hundreds of branches closing and a potential halving of the number of jobs in the sector.

Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, has also warned that robots will be able to take on more work with up to 15m jobs in Britain at risk – not just from the low-skilled jobs traditionally impacted by machinery but also more skilled roles such as administrative, clerical and production tasks.

Others though have been circumspect. Kallum Pickering, an analyst with Berenberg, has said: “Producers will only automate if doing so is profitable. For profit to occur, producers need a market to sell to in the first place. Keeping this in mind helps to highlight the critical flaw of the argument: if robots replaced all workers, thereby creating mass unemployment, to whom would the producers sell?”

Cryan also said that automation might lead to an improvement in jobs. “If you take an accountant at the bank, a large part of their job is to produce numbers. It takes them three to four weeks to produce an account and then they move to the next one. Wouldn’t it be great, if machines could produce those numbers in just a few hours? Then accountants could analyse the numbers, form valid opinions what those numbers mean and not just produce them,” he said.

Cryan also spelt out the opportunity for the Germany financial capital to benefit from Brexit, pointing out the city has the regulatory capability, law firms and consultants and an international airport to take business from London. “These are all arguments in favour of a move to the banks of the Main when faced with relocating from the banks of Thames,” said Cryan. His colleagues have warned up to 4,000 of Deutsche’s 9,000 roles in the UK could leave after Brexit.

Cryan told the conference that Germany and Frankfurt had to decide how much they wanted to benefit from Brexit. “For months there have been discussions regarding which location is set to profit the most once London is no longer within the European Union. I cannot fully understand this debate because as I see it, the race had already been won before it even began,” he said.

While new finance jobs will be created in Dublin, Amsterdam and Paris – all vying for business leaving London – none of these have the infrastructure to take on the business. “There is only one European city which can fulfil these requirements and that city is Frankfurt,” said Cryan.

The choice was not between Dublin, Paris or Frankfurt but New York, Singapore or Frankfurt. “What determines who gets what piece of the cake?” said Cryan. It was not about changing laws or tax subsidies, he added. “In truth, it is its infrastructure that makes London unique in Europe. In this respect, this is where Germany needs to catch up if wants to take over a large share of the business performed in London.”

He said Frankfurt needed “more attractive, urban residential areas, enough international schools and a dozen additional theatres and a few hundred restaurants”.

Output: Many banking jobs will be lost to robots, Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan has warned, identifying accountancy as ripe for transformation by technology. “The sad truth for the banking industry is, we won‘t need as many people as today,” Cryan told a conference in Frankfurt. "In our bank we have people doing work like robots. Tomorrow we will have robots behaving like people." Cryan also said technology would take the drudgery out of accountancy, enabling staff to concentrate on analysis.


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Boeing bumps up forecast for China's aviation purchases by 6.3%
 Boeing has forecast that Chinese airlines will buy 7,240 commercial aircraft worth $1.1 trillion between now and 2036.

The fresh 20-year outlook, released Wednesday, is a chunky 6.3 percent larger than the plane maker's previous estimate. Boeing said it reflected a firm belief in China's prospects.

"China's continuous economic growth, significant investment in infrastructure, growing middle-class and evolving airline business models support this long-term outlook," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in the report.

"China's fleet size is expected to grow at a pace well above the world average, and almost 20 percent of global new airplane demand will be from airlines based in China," Tinseth added.

Boeing sees the need for 5,420 new single-aisle airplanes through 2036, accounting for three-quarters of total deliveries. For wide-body planes, Boeing forecasts China will require 1,670 new airplanes over the same time period.

It says passenger airlines will likely focus on smaller and medium sized wide-body aircraft while larger planes will be snapped up by freight operators.

Boeing has estimated that China's outbound travel market will soon reach 200 million passengers annually.

And worldwide, Boeing projects the need for 41,030 new commercial airplanes over the next 20 years valued at $6.1 trillion dollars.

Output: Boeing has estimated the Chinese aviation market will need to add $1tn worth of commercial aircraft by 2036. The forecast, which is 6.3% above its earlier prediction, is part of the company's 20-year outlook, which expects to see demand for 5,420 new single-aisle aircraft and 1,670 new wide-body planes over the two decades. "China's continuous economic growth, significant investment in infrastructure, growing middle-class and evolving airline business models support this long-term outlook," said Randy Tinseth, VP of marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. By 2024, China will have overtaken the US as the world's largest aviation market by passengers, according to the International Air Transport Association.


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Input:
Africa, China unite to advance green policy
 Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-06 21:00:58|Editor: Yurou

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by Christine Lagat and Lu Duobao

NAIROBI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Scientists drawn from prestigious Chinese and African research institutions on Wednesday approved a joint communique to advance green agenda through knowledge sharing in habitat protection, waste management and climate change mitigation.

The scientists said in a draft communique released after a three-day conference in Nairobi that joint research programs, capacity building and skills transfer will be the building blocks of their future collaboration.

"Scientists of Africa and China, with the involvement of many national and international partners have taken important steps on an important journey. It will make great contributions to prosperity for the people of Africa and the whole world," the scientists said.

More than 70 scientists and policymakers from ten African countries and China attended the three-day conference to brainstorm on new strategies to promote sustainability agenda in line with objectives of South-South cooperation.

The conference on climate, ecosystems and livelihoods for Africa was sponsored by United Nations Environment, World Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Delegates agreed that a robust Sino-African partnership in scientific research, technology transfer and innovations will unleash mutual benefits that include climate resilience, food security and improved human health.

"Participants agreed that future cooperation should be based on existing institutions, networks and ongoing programs in both China and Africa including centers of excellence," said the joint communique.

It added that that both Chinese and African research institutions should partner to promote awareness on climate, ecosystems and livelihoods while building the capacity of communities to advance the green agenda.

The joint communique underscored the role of the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative (B&R) in facilitating robust collaboration between Chinese and African scientists in diverse areas like climate research, health, agriculture, energy and habitat protection.

"The B&R initiatives, following those under the Forum on China-Africa cooperation, have brought China and Africa closer together, with joint research initiatives to explore sustainable development and adaptation to climate variability," noted the communique.

Both African and Chinese scientists are optimistic that their future cooperation will be fruitful given the goodwill from their respective governments.

"We have invested enormous resources to support capacity building and research in diverse areas like climate change, ecosystems conservation, solid waste and chemicals management across Africa," said Feng Feng, Director General of Bureau of International Cooperation at the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Salif Diop, a member of African Academy of Sciences, was upbeat that strategic collaboration in climate research, agriculture and food security, water, energy and health will unleash prosperity at both ends.

"We are looking at a pragmatic cooperation with our Chinese colleagues to strengthen research that could rejuvenate action on climate change, hunger, water scarcity and pollution," Diop told Xinhua.

Output: Scientists from China and Africa have partnered to promote environmentally sustainable living by sharing knowledge and research on habitat protection, climate change mitigation and waste management. "We are looking at a pragmatic cooperation with our Chinese colleagues to strengthen research that could rejuvenate action on climate change, hunger, water scarcity and pollution", said Salif Diop, a member of the African Academy of Sciences.


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eHealth teams with Square to develop business health insurance
 MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH), which operates eHealth.com, a leading private online health insurance exchange, announced today that it is now providing Square’s small business customers with access to a broad range of health insurance solutions as well as eHealth’s innovative plan comparison tools and robust customer support.

Square’s point-of-sale service offers tools for every part of running a small business, from accepting credit cards and tracking inventory to real-time analytics and invoicing. Through the Square dashboard, the more than two million small businesses using Square now have access to a co-branded eHealth website offering brand-name small business and individual & family health insurance options.

By accessing eHealth through the Square dashboard, small businesses can compare health insurance plans online from multiple insurance companies and get customized quotes for their business. At no cost, small business owners can also get personalized help and useful advice from licensed eHealth agents. eHealth has also expanded its offering to enable online applications for small group health insurance with select insurance companies, which enables health insurance applications to be approved in as little as 24 hours in some instances.

“We are incredibly excited to work with Square and introduce their small business customers to the great health insurance options available to them and their employees,” said eHealth CEO Scott Flanders. “Whether they’re purchasing coverage only for themselves or for their employees as well, a quality health insurance plan is an investment in any small business’s future – and eHealth has the comprehensive selection and tools they need to find the best plan for their needs.”

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements regarding eHealth’s partnership with Square. These forward-looking statements are inherently subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including risks associated with: our ability to maintain and perform under the agreement for this partnership; our ability to realize, enroll, service, and retain customers from this partnership; and other factors that could cause operating, financial, and other results to differ, which are described in eHealth’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the investor relations page of eHealth’s website at http://www.ehealthinsurance.com and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. eHealth undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform to actual results or changes in intentions or expectations.

eHealth

eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) owns eHealth.com, a leading private online health insurance exchange where individuals, families and small businesses can compare health insurance products from leading insurers side by side and purchase and enroll in coverage online. eHealth offers thousands of individual, family and small business health plans underwritten by many of the nation's leading health insurance companies. eHealth (through its subsidiaries) is licensed to sell health insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. eHealth also offers educational resources and powerful online and pharmacy-based tools to help Medicare beneficiaries navigate Medicare health insurance options, choose the right plan and enroll in select plans online through Medicare.com (www.Medicare.com), eHealthMedicare.com (www.eHealthMedicare.com) and PlanPrescriber.com (www.PlanPrescriber.com).

For more health insurance news and information, visit eHealth's Consumer Resource Center.

Output: Private US online health insurance exchange eHealth is integrating its services into Square's dashboard, enabling more than two million small businesses to access a range of health insurance solutions. The collaboration allows Square customers to receive personalised help and advice from licensed eHealth agents, while also fast-tracking some small group health insurance applications. “We are incredibly excited to work with Square and introduce their small business customers to the great health insurance options available to them and their employees”, said Scott Flanders, CEO of eHealth.


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Terror attacks spur active shooter insurance expansion
 The specialty active shooter insurance market has grown and evolved over the past 18 months as mass casualty events continue to plague a growing list of cities worldwide.

Beazley P.L.C. is providing liability coverage while Hiscox Ltd., Ironshore Inc. and XL Group Ltd., which does business as XL Catlin, are writing property cover with business interruption. The policies are triggered by an event, and a policyholder does not have to suffer property damage to make a claim.

Beazley launched its product in February 2016, writing business via a consortium with other Lloyd’s of London syndicates managed by Talbot Underwriting Ltd. and Liberty Specialty Markets, said Chris Parker, political violence kidnap and ransom underwriter, political accident and contingency, at Beazley in London.

Maximum capacity is $20 million per risk, and all underwriting and pricing is done by Beazley, which binds on behalf of the other syndicates. The insurer uses a broad definition of weapons, ranging far beyond firearms, and its policy can even be triggered by the brandishing of a weapon without the completion of an attack or bodily injury or property damage.

XL Catlin launched its active shooter coverage in February 2016, the result of two years’ development, according to Ben Tucker, head of U.S. terrorism and political violence insurance for the insurer in New York.

Available worldwide, it is written through XL Catlin’s Lloyd’s syndicate, as well as in foreign markets including Singapore and Australia, and it is written in the U.S. on a surplus lines basis. Limits up to $35 million per risk are available, Mr. Tucker said.

Hiscox launched its active shooter product in October 2016 and recently broadened its definition of attack in August to include knife and vehicle attacks.

Limits are based on individual clients and submissions, but Hiscox “has the appetite to go up to a $50 million maximum,” said Jennifer Rubin, vice president for war, terrorism and political violence for Hiscox in New York. The policy is available in the U.S. and Europe, including the United Kingdom, and is written on a surplus lines basis through Hiscox’s Lloyd’s syndicate, Ms. Rubin said.

The Hiscox policy does not have a property damage trigger, so a policyholder can be compensated if it suffers lost business due to an attack on an adjoining business, for example. Coverage also includes a loss of attraction cover, allowing a claim if there was business and income lost due to a police cordon and investigation or other lack of egress or access, Ms. Rubin said.

Ironshore’s active shooter coverage was launched in September 2016 along with the company’s Terrorism Crises 360° crises management response service, which is provided to all clients of the company’s stand-alone terrorism coverage.

The product is written on nonadmitted paper, and policyholders electing the active shooter add-on typically buy limits in the $1 million to $5 million range, mainly to cover the cost of business interruption and expenses such as temporary office or work facilities, said James Dover, New York-based senior vice president for war and sabotage at Ironshore Inc., a Liberty Mutual Insurance company.

Ironshore follows the U.S. government/ Department of Homeland Security definition of an active shooter situation, which is “an individual or group of people actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined or populated area,” according to Mr. Dover. The company does not seek to define the weapon or mode of attack, he added.

Output: Recent "mass casualty events", including terror attacks, have prompted a growth in the speciality active shooter insurance market. Beazley launched its product, which has a maximum capacity of $20m per risk, in February 2016, while XL Catlin launched its active shooter coverage in the same month, with up to $35m available. Hiscox unveiled its policy in October 2016, but recently included knife or vehicle attacks in its definition, while Ironshore launched its Terrorism Crises 360° management response service and active shooter coverage in September 2016.