The old excuse "I've left my wallet at home" will soon no longer hold when it's your round. A British nightclub is about to offer its regulars the option of having a microchip implanted in their arm that will obviate the need to carry cash or plastic. \nLining up for entry or a drink at the bar would also become a thing of the past when the "digital wallet" is introduced by Bar Soba in Glasgow. The chip is already proving popular with VIP members at two nightclubs in Barcelona and Rotterdam. \nAlthough the concept strikes critics as Orwellian, others believe it is only a matter of time before the chip becomes a method of fraud-proof common currency. \nBrad Stevens, owner of Bar Soba, said his motivation was to be cutting-edge and to reward loyal customers. He said he had received a surprisingly enthusiastic response from regulars. \n"There are a number of advantages from instant access to one of our many exclusive DJ and VIP nights and not having to carry money or credit cards to letting bar staff know a customer's name and favorite drink. By the time you walk through the door to the bar, your favorite drink is waiting for you and the bar staff can greet you by name," Stevens said. \nHe also recognized the risks. \n"There is a danger that if a person's not carrying cash, they could just keep on drinking. But we're looking at ways of setting a limit on how much can be spent," he said. \nThe VeriChip is the size of a grain of rice, does not set off airport scanners and contains no power supply. It is encased inside a glass and silicone cylinder and implanted by a medical professional, under local anaesthetic, between the layer of fat and skin on the upper arm. It has a life span of around 20 years, lies dormant until a scanner is passed over it, and sends out a low-range radio frequency. It responds to the signal and supplies the scanner with its unique ID number. How that number is used depends on the database the scanner is hooked up to. In the case of Soba, it will be the balance on a person's bar account.
Michael Bloomberg last week apologized at a business forum hosted by the news agency he founded for remarks by former British prime minister Boris Johnson criticizing China as autocratic. The controversy highlights China’s influence in Asia and sensitivities about overt criticism of Beijing. Bloomberg, a former New York mayor who ran for president in 2020, apologized on Thursday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, a business gathering whose speakers included Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan (王岐山) and whose delegates included Chinese businesspeople. “Some may have been insulted or offended last night by parts of the speaker’s remarks referencing certain countries and
STRONG LANGUAGE: The Turkish defense ministry posted a photograph online of an F-16 jet with the words: ‘Payback time. The scoundrels are being held to account’ Turkey launched airstrikes over northern regions of Syria and Iraq, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, targeting Kurdish groups that Ankara holds responsible for last week’s bomb attack in Istanbul. Warplanes attacked bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian People’s Protection Units (YPG), the ministry said in a statement, which was accompanied by images of F-16 jets taking off and footage of a strike from an aerial drone. There was no immediate comment from either group. The ministry cited Turkey’s right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter in launching an operation it called Claw-Sword
MONEY-MAKING SCHEME: Some students said they were misled about study or work opportunities, or were not told that they were coming to a self-proclaimed republic Foreign students are big business in northern Cyprus, a tiny, breakaway statelet only recognized by Turkey, but some warn that university recruiters are selling “dreams” in the internationally and economically isolated territory. One Nigerian student, who asked to remain anonymous, said he expected to arrive in the country whose soccer teams compete in European tournaments. Instead, when he saw the currency was the embattled Turkish lira, he realized this was “not the Cyprus I thought it was.” The Mediterranean island is divided between the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and a northern statelet established after Turkey launched a 1974 invasion in
POLAND-GERMANY RIFT: Warsaw’s response to Berlin over a NATO system that would increase the alliance’s involvement in the war came as Kyiv accused Russia of war crimes Anti-missile systems that Germany offered to send to Poland should instead go to Ukraine, the Polish government said on Thursday, a proposal that is likely a nonstarter for Berlin because it would significantly ratchet up NATO involvement in Ukraine. Poland’s surprising response to Berlin’s offer was welcomed by Ukraine, which is desperate to protect its airspace as barrages of Russian missiles have knocked out power across the country. German Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht said that use of NATO defense systems outside its territory needs to be agreed by all member states. “It is important to us that Poland can rely on allies
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