BANGKOK - Tuesday, June 25th 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Thai Tobacco Trade Association (TTTA), which represents more than 1400 retailers across Thailand, announced today that it is asking the Administrative Court to invalidate the Ministry of Public Health's unconstitutional decision to impose new warnings on cigarette packages. An individual retailer and wholesaler are joining TTTA's suit, and Philip Morris (Thailand) Ltd. is also bringing a similar case. At issue is a Ministry notification that mandates graphic health warnings on 85% of the front and back of cigarette packs. This rule was developed behind closed doors to avoid differences of opinion, without the input of the thousands of retailers whom the rule will burden most, and without the legal authority to impose this controversial requirement.

Mrs. Varaporn Namatra, Executive Director of TTTA said, "We asked many times, but the Ministry refused to talk with us even though this rule will make it har ... Read more »

COLOMBES, France- June 25, 2013 -(BUSINESS WIRE/ME NewsWire)-- Oberthur Technologies, one of the world’s largest providers of security and identification solutions and services based on smart card technologies, today announced its selection by Samsung Electronics to provide PEARL, the state-of-the-art NFC embedded Secure Element (eSE) for the newly released GALAXY S4.

Oberthur Technologies’ PEARL is the most advanced multi-application embedded Secure Element and offers the largest memory on the market. It is also the first of its kind to be certified by Visa, MasterCard and Google. PEARL allows easy deployment of secure NFC payment, strong authentication, transit, access and loyalty applications.
Oberthur Technologies is a recognised leader in trusted payment and plays a key role in the ecosystem through supplying solutions and facilitating connections for a large number of financial institutions and service providers.

"We are proud to be recognised through this con ... Read more »

Prepaid payment service provides financial inclusion for the unbanked population of Brazil

AMSTERDAM - Tuesday, June 25th 2013 [BUSINESS WIRE/ ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, announces that it will supply prepaid EMV payment cards to Mobile Financial Services (MFS), the joint venture formed by Telefónica and MasterCard Worldwide. The launch is part of "Zuum”, a new payment service offered by Telefónica’s Vivo brand which aims to provide financial inclusion for the unbanked population of Brazil. Gemalto will also provide MFS with all the personalization services associated with EMV prepaid cards as well as tamper evident packaging and fulfillment to point-of-sale. With Vivo’s huge coverage of over 90% of the Brazilian population, the service offers widespread accessibility for the vast majority of consumers.

Nearly 40 percent of Brazilians currently do not use banking ... Read more »

NEW YORK - Tuesday, June 25th 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The results of an open label study presented at the INS (International Neuromodulation Society) 11th World Congress in Berlin showed that Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation (nVNS) has meaningful clinical benefits both in time to relief from an acute cluster headache and a decrease in the frequency of attacks.

The report on the open-label trial, run by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust on behalf of two sites in the UK and Ireland was presented by Dr Alexander Nesbitt and Dr Juana Marin. The report included data from 21 patients, five with twelve months of experience with nVNS, and concluded that nVNS delivered by electroCore’s gammaCore device appeared to be effective, safe and well-tolerated for up to twelve months. The report concluded that nVNS is useful for acute and preventive treatment strategies and should be considered before surgically invasive neuro-stimulation. The authors concluded th ... Read more »

Mobile Asia Expo 2013

TOKYO - Tuesday, June 25th 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO:6502) today announced that it will showcase its leading-edge semiconductor solutions for mobile devices at Mobile Asia Expo 2013. Toshiba will highlight solutions in five areas: "Smart Connectivity", "Smart Imaging", "Smart Audio", "Memory" and "Discrete", under the unifying concept "A Smart Future Starts from Toshiba Semiconductor Solutions."

Mobile Asia Expo 2013 will run from June 26 to June 28 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) in Shanghai, China and Toshiba will be at booth N1.F78.

Outline of Toshiba's Exhibition at Mobile Asia Expo 2013:

1) Smart Connectivity: Solutions that use various wireless environments, including near field communication technologies such as TransferJetTM and NFC, plus other technologies, among them FlashAirTM, BluetoothTM, Wi-FiTM and wireless charging.

2) Smart Imaging: System solutions i ... Read more »

The Final Countdown Has Begun

FRENCH GUIANA - Monday, June 24th 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- O3b Networks, the world’s first fiber-speed, satellite network is launching its first four satellites in to orbit today.

What started as a visionary idea six years ago in the jungles of Rwanda to solve the challenge of limited affordable international connectivity, has become a state of the art satellite network providing billions of people across Africa, Latin America, The Middle East, Asia and The Pacific access to fast and affordable internet for the first time.

The first four O3b satellites have been built, tested and are poised at the top of the Soyuz rocket waiting to be launched in to orbit. O3b’s ground systems around the world are in place ready to communicate with and operate the newly launched satellites while O3b staff and customers have gathered at the Guiana Space Centre for the launch which is scheduled to take place at 15.53, local time (18.5 ... Read more »

Covidien iDrive™ Ultra powered stapling system named MDEA Finalist

MANSFIELD, Mass. - Tuesday, June 25th 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Covidien (NYSE: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that its Sonicision™ cordless ultrasonic dissection system won the 2013 Medical Design Excellence Award (MDEA), one of the medical technology industry’s highest honors. Covidien’s iDrive™ Ultra powered stapling system was also an MDEA finalist in the same category for Surgical Equipment, Instruments and Supplies. Since 1998, the MDEA program has recognized significant advances in medical product design and engineering that improve the quality of healthcare delivery and accessibility.

"We are honored to have two products recognized by the prestigious MDEA program this year,” said Paul Hermes, Chief Technology Officer, Surgical Solutions, Covidien. "Congratulations to both the Sonicision and iDrive Ultra teams for their tremendous achievemen ... Read more »

Online Merchants Will Gain Insights and Visibility into the Amazon Marketplace

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Tuesday, June 25th 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Terapeak today announced the release of Terapeak for Amazon.com, a break-through E-commerce market analytics solution, designed to provide visibility into the Amazon marketplace. Online retailers will have access to Amazon market data as well as their own sales data, enabling them to compare key performance indicators.

Terapeak for Amazon.com features product, offer and sales rank searches in over 35 Amazon categories; average, minimum and maximum pricing data; competitor research and analysis, and the ability to view historical Amazon transactions. Online merchants can also analyze and measure product and sales performance across multiple channels. With Terapeak for Amazon.com, online sellers now have unique insight into the competitive environment that is the Amazon marketplace, and yet another Terapeak-powere ... Read more »

NEW YORK - Monday, June 24th 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Thia Breen, Group President, North America for The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL), announced that Philippe Warnery has been appointed to the position of General Manager, Canada.

Mr. Warnery will be responsible for the growth and profitability of the Canadian affiliate with a focus on locally relevant opportunities, assessing market conditions, building key account relationships, managing operational effectiveness, building capabilities, and aligning and engaging the Canada team. Mr. Warnery’s appointment is effective August 12, 2013 and he will report to Ms. Breen.

"Canada is an important strategic focus for the North America region and Philippe will be a key member of my leadership team. He has broad experience in developing and executing international marketing strategies and a collaborative style that will serve him well in this new role. I am delighted to welcome him to our team,” ... Read more »