365 jili

365 jili MILAN — Shoppers laden with bags from Fendi, Loewe, Prada and other designer labels clog the narrow sidewalks of Milan's swankiest shopping street, bringing joy to the purveyors of high-end luxury goods this, and every, holiday season. There's even more to celebrate this year: a commercial real estate company crowned Via MonteNapoleone as the world's most expensive retail destination, displacing New York's Fifth Avenue. The latest version of American firm Cushman & Wakefield's annual global index, which ranks shopping areas based on the rent prices they command, is a sign of Via MonteNapoleone's desirability as an address for luxury ready-to-wear, jewelry and even pastry brands. A man walks past a shop Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. The average rent on the Milan street surged to $2,047 per square foot, compared with $2,000 per square foot on an 11-block stretch of upper Fifth Avenue. Via MonteNapoleone's small size — less than a quarter-mile long — and walking distance to services and top cultural sites are among the street's key advantages, according to Guglielmo Miani, president of the MonteNapoleone District association. "Not everything can fit, which is a benefit," since the limited space makes the street even more exclusive and dynamic, said Miani, whose group also represents businesses on the intersecting side streets that together with Via MonteNapoleone form an area known as Milan's Fashion Quadrilateral. Women look a shop Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. The biggest brands on the street make 50 million euros to 100 million euros in annual sales, Miani said, which goes a long way to paying the rent. Tiffany & Co. is preparing to take up residence on Via Montenapoleone, and longtime tenant Fendi is expanding. The MonteNapoleone District says 11 million people visited the area this year through November, but there's no way to say how many were big spenders vs. window shoppers. The average shopper on Via MonteNapoleone spent 2,500 euros per purchase between August and November — the highest average receipt in the world, according to the tax-free shopping firm Global Blue. The street is a magnet for holiday shoppers who arrive in Maseratis, Porsches and even Ferraris, the sports car's limited trunk space notwithstanding. A mannequin is seen Dec. 12 in a shop in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. Lights twinkle overhead, boutique windows feature mannequins engaged in warm scenes of holiday fun, and passersby snap photos of expertly decorated cakes in pastry shop displays. A visitor from China, Chen Xinghan, waited for a taxi with a half-dozen shopping bags lined up next to him on the sidewalk. He said he paid half the price for a luxury Fendi coat that he purchased in Milan than he would have at home. "I got a lot," Chen acknowledged. "It's a fantastic place, a good place for shopping." A man waits for a taxi Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleon street in Milan, Italy. A few store windows down, Franca Da Rold, who was visiting Milan from Belluno, an Italian city in the Dolomites mountain range, marveled at a chunky, yardslong knit scarf priced at 980 euros. "I could knit that in one hour, using 12-gauge knitting needles as thick as my fingers, and thick wool. Maximum two hours," Da Rold said, but acknowledged the brand appeal. Buildings are decorated Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. Despite upper Fifth Avenue getting bumped to the No. 2 spot on the Cushman & Wakefield list, the organization that serves as the Manhattan street's guardian and chief promoter had praise for MonteNapoleone's achievement. "Milan's investment in its public realm is paying off, which is a win for their shoppers, businesses and city as a whole," said Madelyn Wils, interim president of the Fifth Avenue Association. She also expressed confidence that with new investments and a record year for sales on Fifth Avenue, "we'll be back on top in no time." The holiday season feels a little less jolly considering the amount of waste generated by gift-giving. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the amount of household garbage in the U.S. increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year's. After the decorations come down, all that waste heads to landfills, producing a significant contributor to climate change: methane gas. "Greening" the holidays is essential, and one simple tip is to think more about how sustainable the materials are in your decorations, decor, and, of course, gifts. Instead of plastics, you could opt for items that can be reused, are made of renewable materials or natural fibers that boast a smaller environmental impact in both production and durability. Due to consumers' desires for more eco-friendly goods, sustainable materials are among the biggest trends in home decor. Fortunately, there are plenty of affordable—and earth-conscious—home goods that make perfect holiday gifts. Made Trade rounded up a list of sustainable home decor trends in 2025 that offer dozens of creative options for holiday gift-giving. Each trend includes examples of great gifts for the home and advice for ensuring items are sustainably produced or can help create a more eco-friendly space. In the depths of winter's gray days, it's a real gift to see a little green, which is why indoor gardening gifts are a wonderful idea. Not only are they eco-friendly and promote sustainability—the more food you can grow yourself, the less you have to buy—they also foster an appreciation of nature and bring the natural world indoors to enjoy. Sprouting kits and microgreens require minimal amounts of space and sunlight, but a sunny, south-facing window will permit a small herb garden or leafy greens for salads. If you're not sure what kind of light your recipient has access to, go with gifting indoor grow lamps along with the plants, or pick a hardy, low-water houseplant—some can act as natural air purifiers too. When buying gifts for the home, consider what materials the items are made from and how far away they come from—not only are natural materials like rattan, jute, palm leaves, clay, organic cotton and linen, and ceramics more sustainable, but if they are being used by a local craftsperson, gifters are also saving on fossil fuels for the transportation. Plus, you're helping the local economy by supporting local craftspeople, so it's a win-win. Natural fiber pillows, sheets, blankets, and even doormats offer comfort and consideration of the environment. The most sustainable and eco-friendly gift is one you already have, so get creative about reusing materials already in or around your home (raid the recycling bin, find nice pieces of wood outside, wash out and reuse glass jars) to fashion them into new, thoughtful goods. Similarly, think vintage and secondhand—what items can you give a second life to by passing them along to someone who will find new meaning in them? Some of the most thoughtful gifts are small heirlooms—pieces of jewelry or a beloved ceramic dish—passed along to the next generation that will appreciate them. Green technology offers ways to reduce our carbon footprint in everyday life, and smart thermostats, solar lights, smart sprinklers, and smart plugs all make great gifts, saving people money and conserving our valuable resources. For those looking into home renovations or updating decor, try a new light fixture paired with smart blubs, or a new window treatment with smart shades. Even something as simple as a rain barrel can reduce energy use—and while the technology for that isn't very sophisticated, it certainly is, like composting, "smart." Integrated outdoor living is the ultimate gift, allowing us to bring the natural world into our homes. However, doing so sustainably takes a little more effort than simply leaving the doors to the deck open all the time. First, find eco-friendly and sustainable outdoor furniture, perhaps thrifting it or buying it used and fixing it up for a one-of-a-kind gift. If you can't go secondhand, choose furniture made of sustainable materials such as reclaimed wood, recycled plastic (great for outdoor rugs), or bamboo. For smaller gifts, consider solar lights, a water feature that recycles water, a rain barrel, or even a set of handmade wind chimes made from seashells. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on Made Trade and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.

Ducks limp into Columbus with 5-game losing streak

NoneNone

No secrets as Bucs visit Dave Canales, Panthers for NFC South showdownDependency and plight of Islamabad Police The picture shows Islamabad police personnel in this undated photo. — AFP/File Islamabad : The capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad, presents a sobering example of administrative inefficiency, neglect, and under-resourced law enforcement. Despite being the nation’s seat of power, the Islamabad police struggle to manage crime, maintain law and order, and combat terrorism, largely due to their glaring dependence on borrowed forces from provinces like Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); This unusual dependency starkly contrasts with international norms, where federal capitals are typically fortified with well-staffed and well-equipped police forces capable of addressing their unique security needs. Islamabad’s situation highlights a crisis that undermines the city’s safety and national prestige. For a city of Islamabad’s stature, a police force of at least 30,000 personnel is needed to ensure comprehensive security and effective law enforcement. Yet, the city operates with only 10,000 officers, of which a significant portion is dedicated to VIP protocols and security for government officials and diplomats, protection of foreign missions and high-profile installations. This leaves a mere 2,000 to 2,500 officers to perform core policing duties such as crime prevention, anti-terrorism operations, and addressing everyday safety concerns for the city’s residents. Such an imbalance leaves vast areas of the city vulnerable, emboldening criminal activities and exposing glaring gaps in law enforcement. The Islamabad police often find themselves outmatched, battling heavily armed criminals and dealing with unruly mobs using outdated equipment. This mismatch is glaring in situations requiring rapid mobilisation and technological support, such as surveillance or intelligence-driven operations. Behind the veneer of Islamabad’s polished roads and pristine government offices lies the grim reality of its police force-overworked, underpaid, and severely underappreciated. The plight of Islamabad’s police highlights the neglect of law enforcement in Pakistan’s capital, with inadequate resources, outdated equipment, and deplorable working conditions taking a heavy toll on the morale and effectiveness of the force. The allowances they receive are shockingly meagre, making it almost impossible for them to make ends meet in a city with one of the highest costs of living in the country. The allowances for Islamabad police officers include, washing allowance: Rs150/month, Federal Police allowance: Rs125/month, ration allowance (including family): Rs1,038/month and medical allowance (including dependents): Rs1,500/month. Such figures are not just inadequate but humiliating for individuals who put their lives on the line daily to maintain law and order. When compared to the facilities and allowances provided to police officials in other countries or even other provinces within Pakistan, the disparity is staggering. While provincial police officers in areas like Punjab and Sindh receive Risk Allowance, Capital Allowance, and Big City Allowance, Islamabad police are excluded from these critical benefits. This unequal treatment further deepens the frustration among the force, fostering feelings of neglect and resentment. The lack of proper financial rewards is just one aspect of the problem. Islamabad police are also forced to operate with outdated equipment and minimal training, putting them at a disadvantage against well-armed criminal gangs and organized syndicates. With rising inflation, stagnant wages, and overwhelming responsibilities, officers are left feeling undervalued and unsupported. The inadequacies of Islamabad’s police are emblematic of the federal government’s neglect. Despite the city’s critical importance as the nation’s capital, funding and strategic planning for law enforcement have been insufficient. The disproportionate allocation of resources toward VIP protocols further compromises the safety of ordinary citizens. The current state of the Islamabad police requires urgent intervention, including increasing the force’s strength to at least 30,000 personnel to match the city’s growing security needs, enhancing financial incentives, including introducing risk, capital, and big-city allowances to boost morale, equipping the police with modern tools such as advanced surveillance systems, vehicles, and weaponry and reducing the focus on VIP and protocol duties, reallocating resources toward public safety and crime prevention. The ongoing neglect of Islamabad’s police administration exposes the city to escalating threats from criminal gangs and terrorist elements. The federal government’s reluctance to invest in its police force is not just a matter of inefficiency but a direct threat to the city’s residents and national security. The security of Islamabad cannot remain dependent on borrowed forces. A capital city that represents the heart of Pakistan deserves a modern, well-equipped, and adequately staffed police force. But the question remains unanswered, when will the federal government recognise the urgency of investing in the capital’s safety and its police force? Until then, the Islamabad police will remain an overworked and underappreciated force, struggling to safeguard a city that should be its pride.

Micron introduces Crucial DDR5 memory modules with integrated clock drivers

MILAN — Shoppers laden with bags from Fendi, Loewe, Prada and other designer labels clog the narrow sidewalks of Milan's swankiest shopping street, bringing joy to the purveyors of high-end luxury goods this, and every, holiday season. There's even more to celebrate this year: a commercial real estate company crowned Via MonteNapoleone as the world's most expensive retail destination, displacing New York's Fifth Avenue. The latest version of American firm Cushman & Wakefield's annual global index, which ranks shopping areas based on the rent prices they command, is a sign of Via MonteNapoleone's desirability as an address for luxury ready-to-wear, jewelry and even pastry brands. A man walks past a shop Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. The average rent on the Milan street surged to $2,047 per square foot, compared with $2,000 per square foot on an 11-block stretch of upper Fifth Avenue. Via MonteNapoleone's small size — less than a quarter-mile long — and walking distance to services and top cultural sites are among the street's key advantages, according to Guglielmo Miani, president of the MonteNapoleone District association. "Not everything can fit, which is a benefit," since the limited space makes the street even more exclusive and dynamic, said Miani, whose group also represents businesses on the intersecting side streets that together with Via MonteNapoleone form an area known as Milan's Fashion Quadrilateral. Women look a shop Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. The biggest brands on the street make 50 million euros to 100 million euros in annual sales, Miani said, which goes a long way to paying the rent. Tiffany & Co. is preparing to take up residence on Via Montenapoleone, and longtime tenant Fendi is expanding. The MonteNapoleone District says 11 million people visited the area this year through November, but there's no way to say how many were big spenders vs. window shoppers. The average shopper on Via MonteNapoleone spent 2,500 euros per purchase between August and November — the highest average receipt in the world, according to the tax-free shopping firm Global Blue. The street is a magnet for holiday shoppers who arrive in Maseratis, Porsches and even Ferraris, the sports car's limited trunk space notwithstanding. A mannequin is seen Dec. 12 in a shop in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. Lights twinkle overhead, boutique windows feature mannequins engaged in warm scenes of holiday fun, and passersby snap photos of expertly decorated cakes in pastry shop displays. A visitor from China, Chen Xinghan, waited for a taxi with a half-dozen shopping bags lined up next to him on the sidewalk. He said he paid half the price for a luxury Fendi coat that he purchased in Milan than he would have at home. "I got a lot," Chen acknowledged. "It's a fantastic place, a good place for shopping." A man waits for a taxi Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleon street in Milan, Italy. A few store windows down, Franca Da Rold, who was visiting Milan from Belluno, an Italian city in the Dolomites mountain range, marveled at a chunky, yardslong knit scarf priced at 980 euros. "I could knit that in one hour, using 12-gauge knitting needles as thick as my fingers, and thick wool. Maximum two hours," Da Rold said, but acknowledged the brand appeal. Buildings are decorated Dec. 12 in Monte Napoleone street in Milan, Italy. Despite upper Fifth Avenue getting bumped to the No. 2 spot on the Cushman & Wakefield list, the organization that serves as the Manhattan street's guardian and chief promoter had praise for MonteNapoleone's achievement. "Milan's investment in its public realm is paying off, which is a win for their shoppers, businesses and city as a whole," said Madelyn Wils, interim president of the Fifth Avenue Association. She also expressed confidence that with new investments and a record year for sales on Fifth Avenue, "we'll be back on top in no time." The holiday season feels a little less jolly considering the amount of waste generated by gift-giving. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the amount of household garbage in the U.S. increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year's. After the decorations come down, all that waste heads to landfills, producing a significant contributor to climate change: methane gas. "Greening" the holidays is essential, and one simple tip is to think more about how sustainable the materials are in your decorations, decor, and, of course, gifts. Instead of plastics, you could opt for items that can be reused, are made of renewable materials or natural fibers that boast a smaller environmental impact in both production and durability. Due to consumers' desires for more eco-friendly goods, sustainable materials are among the biggest trends in home decor. Fortunately, there are plenty of affordable—and earth-conscious—home goods that make perfect holiday gifts. Made Trade rounded up a list of sustainable home decor trends in 2025 that offer dozens of creative options for holiday gift-giving. Each trend includes examples of great gifts for the home and advice for ensuring items are sustainably produced or can help create a more eco-friendly space. In the depths of winter's gray days, it's a real gift to see a little green, which is why indoor gardening gifts are a wonderful idea. Not only are they eco-friendly and promote sustainability—the more food you can grow yourself, the less you have to buy—they also foster an appreciation of nature and bring the natural world indoors to enjoy. Sprouting kits and microgreens require minimal amounts of space and sunlight, but a sunny, south-facing window will permit a small herb garden or leafy greens for salads. If you're not sure what kind of light your recipient has access to, go with gifting indoor grow lamps along with the plants, or pick a hardy, low-water houseplant—some can act as natural air purifiers too. When buying gifts for the home, consider what materials the items are made from and how far away they come from—not only are natural materials like rattan, jute, palm leaves, clay, organic cotton and linen, and ceramics more sustainable, but if they are being used by a local craftsperson, gifters are also saving on fossil fuels for the transportation. Plus, you're helping the local economy by supporting local craftspeople, so it's a win-win. Natural fiber pillows, sheets, blankets, and even doormats offer comfort and consideration of the environment. The most sustainable and eco-friendly gift is one you already have, so get creative about reusing materials already in or around your home (raid the recycling bin, find nice pieces of wood outside, wash out and reuse glass jars) to fashion them into new, thoughtful goods. Similarly, think vintage and secondhand—what items can you give a second life to by passing them along to someone who will find new meaning in them? Some of the most thoughtful gifts are small heirlooms—pieces of jewelry or a beloved ceramic dish—passed along to the next generation that will appreciate them. Green technology offers ways to reduce our carbon footprint in everyday life, and smart thermostats, solar lights, smart sprinklers, and smart plugs all make great gifts, saving people money and conserving our valuable resources. For those looking into home renovations or updating decor, try a new light fixture paired with smart blubs, or a new window treatment with smart shades. Even something as simple as a rain barrel can reduce energy use—and while the technology for that isn't very sophisticated, it certainly is, like composting, "smart." Integrated outdoor living is the ultimate gift, allowing us to bring the natural world into our homes. However, doing so sustainably takes a little more effort than simply leaving the doors to the deck open all the time. First, find eco-friendly and sustainable outdoor furniture, perhaps thrifting it or buying it used and fixing it up for a one-of-a-kind gift. If you can't go secondhand, choose furniture made of sustainable materials such as reclaimed wood, recycled plastic (great for outdoor rugs), or bamboo. For smaller gifts, consider solar lights, a water feature that recycles water, a rain barrel, or even a set of handmade wind chimes made from seashells. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on Made Trade and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.The role of cities in combating illegal wildlife trade

Ever since it opened at Disneyland in 1969, the Haunted Mansion has spooked and delighted millions and millions of Disney Parks guests from all over the world. Now, with the Disney Treasure's Haunted Mansion Parlor, there is a brand-new way to experience this beloved attraction while in the middle of the ocean on Disney's newest cruise ship. Welcome, Foolish Mortals The Haunted Mansion Parlor feels like the perfect extension of The Haunted Mansion itself and just screams authenticity. From the iconic ticking clock sound to a floating Madame Leota to eerily familiar paintings that hide dark secrets to hitchhiking ghosts and the always wonderful 'Grim Grinning Ghosts,' there is so much love and care put into every inch of this lounge. However, this isn't just a smaller version of the Haunted Mansion. No, this is its own wonderful place with its own story to tell that shouldn't be missed. "We built our own mythology here because we're on a cruise ship, so we wanted it to have a nautical twist to everything," Danny Handke, senior creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, said. "And we built it all around this Captain character who is currently dead but lives on in this place and even in a portrait in the lounge. "This is the Captain's lounge, and the story is he rescued his bride-to-be who is actually a murderous mermaid you can also meet in the parlor. They get engaged and things start to go wrong and that's where the real Haunted Mansion story comes into play. More of the story is then told in various ways around the space and you have the option to discover it on your own and figure out what the lore is." One of the biggest additions to this lore is the centerpiece of the Haunted Mansion Parlor - an aquarium with ghost fish. While this alone seems like a very cool concept, its history goes way back to when the original Haunted Mansion was being developed. "The Haunted Mansion was worked on and developed for 10 years before it opened in 1969 at Disneyland for the first time and there were so many things that didn't make it in," Daniel Jones, executive illusions & effects development at Walt Disney Imagineering, told me. "So, with love, we looked at all these concepts and what really popped out were the Museum of the Weird elements that Imagineer Rolly Crump had worked on. Most of all however, the team and I agreed the Ghost Fish Aquarium was a must because it's the perfect fit." The Museum of the Weird was set to be a companion walkthrough experience to the Haunted Mansion but it never saw the light of day due in part to Walt's passing. Variations of some of the planned pieces of the museum - from the 'Donald Armchair' near the Endless Hallway to the iconic wallpaper - made it into the Haunted Mansion, and now one more of Crump's designs can be celebrated. While this was an exciting prospect for the team, it also proved to be one of the parlor's most difficult challenges. "The Ghost Fish Aquarium was a call it action to my team and I because a lot of illusions and things that we like to do tend to be in the dark and from one point of view and, as you know, the aquarium is the central piece and can be seen from all sides," Joseph said. "You can look through and see other people behind it. So it is, for all intents and purposes, a real fish tank just like you'd normally have but with ghost fish." Getting this bit of "Disney Magic" came down to the wire as it wasn't quite to the standard of Walt Disney Imagineering until after it was already installed on the ship. "The aquarium is a great example of typical Disney Magic where there's a lot of technology in it but you don't see any of it or don't even question it," Joseph said. "This thing was mocked up and developed probably four years ago and since then we've been kind of tweaking on and off how it would work and what's in it. And, really to the last minute, we didn't have it fully working to what we all knew it could do until it was on the ship, which is pretty late in our process." "The aquarium is a great example of typical Disney Magic where there's a lot of technology in it but you don't see any of it or don't even question it." Grim Grinning Ghosts Galore While Joseph didn't reveal all the tricks that finally brought the aquarium to the finish line, he and Handke did share how Imagineering made the rest of the parlor feel just as real and believable as the ghost fish are. We spoke previously about the paintings that change before your eyes in the parlor, which are very much in the style of those found in the original Haunted Mansion by Marc Davis, but Imagineering once again went above and beyond to honor the past while paving a new way forward. "What we're really proud of about this paintings is a new technique that we use where you can go right up on top of them, put your face right near it, and it looks and seems like a real painting," Joseph shared. "Just like in a museum, you can go up and see the texture of the art, all the brush strokes, and even the glossiness and the matte finish of the oil paint." This is made even more impressive by the fact that these paintings do change and move, from the captain becoming a skeleton to his bride-to-be showing her true form as that murderous mermaid. However, Imagineering was careful never to go too far and leave what we all expect from the Haunted Mansion behind. In fact, their passion for the attraction is one of the main reasons it feels so authentic. This is perhaps seen best in the mirror behind the bar where we see the hitchhiking ghosts, Madame Leota, and more. One route the team could have taken was to update these characters and use modern-day techniques to bring them to a new audience, but they chose a different path. "For the character behind the bar, we elected to go with the original Haunted Mansion animated figures," Joseph said. "So, there's no CGI in that because we wanted it to feel like the original from 1969. Those aren't animated cartoon characters that you can see in a video game, they are very analog looking. So, we took a very high ISO camera with high resolution and filmed a whole bunch of the figures in the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and then amped up the quality and added glow and all that." I know it's cliche to say, but the Haunted Mansion Parlor truly is a love letter to the original attraction and the incredible people who made it into the iconic attraction it is and always will be. To shine a haunted light on that and bring this story to a close, I want to share one final story from Daniel Joseph that just really proves why this is more than just another lounge. "Another character we all loved from the Museum of the Weird was Rolly Crump's Candleman," Joseph said. "Sadly, Rolly passed away during the development of the Haunted Mansion Parlor and we were all saddened by that and the fact he'd never get to see it completed. "So, we knew we wanted to do a bust in there no matter what just like you'd find in the Haunted Mansion, but we then knew the perfect choice was to make it of Rolly. To make it even more special, one of our team members suggested we do Rolly partially as the Candleman and make sure the side of his head that's melting is next to the fireplace. This was a huge honor and another really detailed thought and the authenticity of the design that follows suit with everything else in the Mansion parlor." For more on the Disney Treasure, check out why The Tale of Moana is one of the best shows I've seen on land or sea and why the Plaza de Coco dining experience was one of the most emotional I've had in quite some time. Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.OpenAI's legal battle with Elon Musk reveals internal turmoil over avoiding AI 'dictatorship'

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Since the earliest days of computing, enterprises have used backups to keep their business-critical information protected. A successfully established cloud backup posture ensures the organization goes untouched during unforeseen events like natural disasters or system failure. However, even after multifold growth in the scale and complexity of enterprise tech stacks, the approach to setting up these backups has largely remained the same: static and error-prone. To fix this, Eon , an Israel and New York-based startup founded by a team of ex-AWS engineers, has come up with a new cloud-native backup solution that continuously maps and backs up resources for enterprises, depending on the type of data involved. Most importantly, once these backups are ready, it makes them usable by allowing users to retrieve specific files or records according to their needs. The year-old company is challenging the status quo in the cloud backup domain, giving enterprises an entirely new outlook on how they can back up their datasets and applications and utilize those backups when in need. According to Gartner , companies are spending $596 billion on cloud infrastructure and planning to increase their investments to over $720 billion in 2025. Out of this, about 10% goes to backup infrastructure, translating into millions per enterprise yearly. The company was founded a year ago and is already making waves with its patented back storage technology. It has roped in dozens of customers across sectors and raised nearly $200 million in funding, with the latest round of $70 million valuing the company at $1.4 billion. Traditional cloud backup doesn’t keep up Today’s enterprises heavily depend on cloud infrastructure, thanks to its ability to scale quickly and efficiently. Each cloud instance can potentially host a variety of AI and ML applications and petabytes of data, utilizing virtual machines with block storage, object storage, elastic file systems, databases, data lakes and data warehouses . In this massive, fast-moving ecosystem, creating a cloud backup becomes quite a task. First, one has to cover an endless, rapidly growing wave of cloud assets, from every active application and database to resources that have been shut down or moved. Then, after identifying the resources, they have to manually tag them with metadata labels (key-value pairs for easier organization and filtering) and create snapshots. These are point-in-time backups that can be configured with varying retention periods, allowing users to restore the assets at any given time within the retention window. Over the years, these snapshots have evolved, providing enterprises with capabilities like automation (after initial configuration) and encryption. However, on a granular level, they haven’t kept up with enterprise needs and their cloud environments that spiraled out of control. Resources still have to be tagged on a massive scale, which can be time-consuming and error-prone, and the cloud backup has to be restored in the form of full servers/volumes, even when the need is just to recover a few specific files. Ofir Ehrlich, who founded CloudEndure with Gonen Stein and Ron Kimchi and later sold it to Amazon to bolster AWS’ disaster recovery and cloud migration efforts, saw this problem firsthand when working with the company’s large enterprise customers. “The challenge with these traditional snapshots is that they are costly, and act like black boxes, making it difficult to locate specific files or database records, search through them, and retrieve precise data. This complexity leads to higher costs, operational inefficiencies, and slower recovery times—issues that become critical during emergencies,” Ehrlich told VentureBeat. As a result, the trio left AWS and launched Eon in January 2024 with a mission to provide enterprises with smarter, more capable backups. How exactly Eon stand out from the crowd? While most other companies providing cloud backup solutions, including Rubrik , Cohesity , Commvault and AWS Backup, continue to rely on traditional snapshots, Eon took a different approach by developing its own Eon Snapshots, based on cloud-based storage that is optimized specifically for backups. Ehrlich says these snapshots make backup data instantly accessible and searchable, allowing users to locate specific files or database records, search through them, and retrieve precise information. At the core, Eon creates snapshots by automating resource mapping, classification and policy association. It keeps on scanning cloud resources on an ongoing basis, automatically mapping and classifying them based on environment type—whether production, development, staging, or QA—and data sensitivity, such as personally identifiable, health or financial information. Once the resources are mapped, it applies customized backup retention policies in line with the enterprise’s specific business and compliance requirements. This ensures the data is not under or over-backed up. After creating the snapshots, the company makes them accessible to users, with global search across all the backed-up data, granular restoration and seamless recovery between multiple cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP). This gives users the ability to not only locate and restore relevant data – down to specific files – but also run SQL queries directly on the backed-up databases to retrieve specific records from tables or spreadsheets. This smart restoration ability saves the hassle of restoring/provisioning full databases and can even be used by teams for running analytics, forensics and audits right on top of their backups. The snapshots use machine learning under the hood to remember which cloud application or system the data is connected to, thereby ensuring the connection is maintained as and when the information is restored/retrieved. This also prevents misconfiguration or unauthorized access to data. “Eon stands out in its ability to deliver instant access to specific data. The solution provides precise, file-level restorations across multiple cloud providers without the need to restore entire servers or databases, enabling enterprises to find individual files and database records in seconds,” Ehrlich noted. With this approach of automated tagging and instant retrieval, Eon is essentially making cloud backups smart and immediately usable — unlike what’s been the story so far. It even helps reduce costs and operational burdens by excluding unnecessary resources (during mapping) and shortening data retention periods per business requirements, achieved through context-aware backup policy management. “This work allows us to deliver a better product that replaces traditional, expensive, and black-boxed snapshots, with an alternative that is more cost-effective, autonomously managed and easily usable through instance access,” the CEO added. He did not share the specific cost benefits involved but noted that the company ​​only charges for backed-up storage on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no fees for real-time backup or instant access/lookups. As of now, Eon is working to scale its offering and actively engaging with dozens of companies across industries such as travel and hospitality, media and entertainment, food services, gaming, financial services, insurance companies, and retailers. Ehrlich noted that they already have numerous deployments in place, without sharing specific customer details. However, it will be interesting to see how the company continues to differentiate in the highly competitive cloud backup space. Currently, its smart search and retrieval ability is the differentiating factor (with dozens of patents for cloud storage and data management technologies already filed), but other backup solutions are also beginning to catch up. Commvault, for example, has already started offering capabilities like automated tagging and dependency-based restores. Stay in the know! Get the latest news in your inbox daily By subscribing, you agree to VentureBeat's Terms of Service. Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here . An error occured.

Jim Montgomery made an immediate impact with the St. Louis Blues after replacing Drew Bannister as head coach, earning a 5-2 road victory over the New York Rangers in his debut. "It felt like something," Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. "It felt like we were having fun out there. That's the main part. It felt like we weren't sitting back and we played with energy tonight, and we played with the puck. Just wasn't a couple chances we were able to generate. Power play had a couple good looks. It was just fun to be out there." The Blues will try to keep the good times rolling Wednesday night in Newark, N.J. against the New Jersey Devils. St. Louis lost 3-1 at the New York Islanders Saturday night to fall to 9-12-1. Come Sunday morning, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong hired Montgomery to take over for Bannister. Montgomery, who was fired as head coach of the Boston Bruins last week, previously worked as an assistant coach for the Blues and forged a relationship with about half of the team's current players. "He brings a ton of energy to the rink," Schenn said. "He likes to have fun. At the same time, he's detailed and he's serious and he's respected. It's our job to bring the energy with him." When the coaching change was made, the Blues ranked 26th in the NHL standings by points percentage, 25th on the power play and 24th in penalty killing. They are scoring 2.48 goals per game, which is the league's fifth-worst average. "This is a talented roster," Montgomery said. "We've got a lot of guys with really good offensive hockey sense. If we're committed to checking like we were, the offense is going to come." The Blues will catch the Devils in the middle of a prolonged hot streak. New Jersey has won three straight games and eight of 10. After starting the season 5-4-2, the Devils have gone 10-3-0. They are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday night at home. "Every game, we have a plan," Devils captains Nico Hischier said. "If you execute it, gives ourselves a chance to win a hockey game. The plan switches, depends who you're playing." Hischier led the charge in Nashville by scoring his first NHL hat trick. "Just happy for him," Devils center Erik Haula said. "He's just such an important player for us, obviously. Eight years and first hat trick. You'd think he has five or six of them." Prior to that outburst, Hischier had gone 10 games without scoring a goal. "He starts the season on absolute fire, and then he goes cold for a while there," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. "His demeanor didn't change, his game didn't change, most importantly he didn't cheat the game. He continued to meet the tough matchups every night head on, continued to lead the way for us in the faceoff circle and penalty kill." New Jersey will be without forward Timo Meier on Wednesday after he was given a one-game suspension for cross-checking Nashville's Zachary L'Heureux and drawing blood. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

TORONTO - The Grey Cup-champion Toronto Argonauts signed American running back Kevin Brown on Friday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * TORONTO - The Grey Cup-champion Toronto Argonauts signed American running back Kevin Brown on Friday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? TORONTO – The Grey Cup-champion Toronto Argonauts signed American running back Kevin Brown on Friday. The five-foot-nine, 205-pound Brown rushed for 522 yards on 101 carries in 12 games last season with the Edmonton Elks. He added 22 catches for 138 yards before finishing the ’24 campaign on the CFL club’s practice roster. Edmonton Elks' Kevin Brown (4) carries the ball against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during first half CFL action in Edmonton, Alta., on Saturday June 8, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson. In 2023, Brown ran for 1,141 yards and four TDs with Edmonton. He also had 28 receptions for 222 yards and a touchdown. Brown, 28, spent three seasons with the Elks, running for 2,149 yards (six-yard average) and five TDs. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. He added 74 catches for 536 yards and a touchdown in 37 regular-season games. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2024. Advertisement

Dejounte Murray is rejoining the Pelicans vs. Toronto and drawing inspiration from his motherRanchi: Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has intensified its anti-encroachment efforts through targeted campaigns to ensure smooth traffic flow and reclaim public spaces. The initiative includes installing temporary bollards in no-vending zones after clearing unauthorized stalls and encroachments. Recently, approximately 50 bollards were installed along the Jail More to Karamtoli Chowk Road following an encroachment removal drive. In a significant technological upgrade, RMC has partnered with the traffic police to implement a CCTV surveillance system monitoring no-vending and no-parking zones across the city. Violators found encroaching or parking illegally will face legal action under rules pertaining to road encroachment and damage to govt property. Deputy administrator Ravindra Kumar stated, "Despite strict instructions, vendors often return to roads, compelling the corporation to adopt new measures. The initiative aims to eliminate unauthorized vendors and hawkers in no-vending zones to keep main roads free from congestion and encroachment." During inspections, vendors operating in "No Vending Zones" have received warnings, with officials authorized to seize goods from non-compliant vendors. The stretch from the Vegetable Market to Mahavir Chowk has been designated as a ‘No Vending Zone,' prohibiting shops, carts, and other encroachments. The anti-encroachment drive regularly targets key areas including Main Road, Lalpur, Hinoo, Doranda, Kantatoli, Kutchery, and Birsa Chowk. Priya Singh, who commutes daily from Lalpur to Kutchery, said, "It's encouraging to see the roads clearing up. Encroachments were a major cause of daily traffic jams. This initiative was much needed, as travelling during peak hours had become unbearable due to encroachments."LONDON (AP) — Barely a month after quitting international rugby, former England prop Joe Marler has brought forward his retirement plans and will end his time in the sport completely this week. Marler’s last match will be for Harlequins, his team since 2009, at home to Bristol in the English league on Friday. The 34-year-old Marler had indicated he would continue playing club rugby until the end of the season. He has made 285 appearances for Harlequins since arriving in 2009 and retires with two English league winners medals. “The time has come to finally jump off the rollercoaster and walk away from this beautifully brutal game,” he said Wednesday. The charismatic Marler announced on Nov. 3 that his 95-cap test career was over, days after he left England’s camp ahead of the November internationals because of personal reasons. He had baited New Zealand in the build-up to England’s first autumn test match by criticizing the Haka, stating on social media that it is “ridiculous” and “needs binning.” He later apologized for the comments. ___ AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugbyNovember 21 - As the Brooklyn Nets begin a road swing on Friday with a visit to Philadelphia, the host 76ers are ending one of their own swings away from home that went poorly for the sputtering club. The 76ers into Friday's NBA Cup East: Group A matchup against the Nets on a five-game losing streak, including all three in the Sixers' just-completed three-game road trip. The journey ended on Wednesday in a 117-111 loss at Memphis, despite 2023 MVP Joel Embiid playing his best game of the season. Embiid finished with game highs of 35 points and 11 rebounds in his fourth contest since rejoining the Sixers lineup, after missing the first nine games with a lingering knee injury. Philadelphia is winless in Embiid's four appearances, have only two wins this season and none in NBA Cup action. The Sixers opened group play with a 111-99 loss to the New York Knicks on Nov. 12, followed by a 98-86 road loss to the Orlando Magic on Nov. 15. Philadelphia is now also dealing with another knee injury to a key player, as Paul George left Wednesday's game with a hyperextension. "Similar to the preseason," Sixers coach Nick Nurse said, referring to an injury George sustained in October. "We're going to find out more (Thursday) when (the medical staff) checks it out to see what the extent of it is." Nurse said George's injury may be akin to a bone bruise, which would not require a lengthy absence. Still, the team is awaiting more details ahead of Friday's return home. "You never know what happens," Nurse said. "He was actually fairly close to coming back in the game but then it stiffened up as he got out a little bit more, so we decided not to." Amid the rash of injuries and roster tumult, rookie Jared McCain is emerging as a bright spot in the Sixers' dismal start. Wednesday's 20-point performance marked the guard's sixth consecutive game scoring 20-plus points. McCain has made at least three 3-pointers in all six of those contests, while he averaged 25.5 points. The Nets ended a three-game losing streak Tuesday and improved to 1-1 in the NBA Cup, with a 116-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Cam Johnson scored 34 points, while Trendon Watford hit a jumper with 38 seconds remaining that gave the Nets necessary breathing room down the stretch. Watford finished with 10 points over 19 minutes in just his second game back from a hamstring injury sustained in training camp. "Very happy that he had the game that he had, but that to me is the definition of a team," Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. "Our medical staff worked hard to get him back healthy. We've got to trust the group, because they do a great job, and this is the result. It's a win for everybody." Nets point guard Dennis Schroder continued his run of solid two-way play at point guard in Tuesday's win. With his 14 points and 12 assists against Charlotte, Schroder is averaging 17.8 points and 6.5 assists in 15 games (all starts). --Field Level Media Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Google's search business is all about distribution. The DOJ wants to take this away, and it's freaking investors out.