Thursday, April 30, 2026

Leftovers: Pringles cans Wendy’s Baconator; Hormel strives for the perfect chili dog

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Leftovers: Pringles cans Wendy’s Baconator; Hormel strives for the perfect chili dog

Leftovers is our look at a few of the product ideas popping up everywhere. Some are intriguing, some sound amazing and some are the kinds of ideas we would never dream of. We can’t write about everything that we get pitched, so here are some leftovers pulled from our inboxes.

Pringles cans Wendy’s Baconator

If you’re craving a Baconator while shopping in the grocery store, Pringles has a solution. 

The Kellogg-owned brand partnered with Wendy’s to launch Baconator Pringles. The companies said that each bite of these potato crisps packs in all the flavors of the burger, including beef, American cheese, smoked bacon, ketchup and mayo.

Pringles Baconator is available for a limited time in snack aisles nationwide starting this month. Each can also comes with a code that can be used to get a free Wendy’s Baconator, Son of Baconator or Breakfast Baconator when ordering through the chain’s app.

Pringles hasn’t shied away from replicating more out-of-the-box savory flavors. From rotisserie chicken-flavored chips to Thanksgiving Turducken Pringles, the brand has amped up its flavor innovation in recent years.

For this launch, the company is working with Wendy’s, which could be beneficial for both brands. There are already bacon-flavored chips on the market from brands like Kettle Chips and PigOut, but having the Baconator branding could make these new Pringles stand out. 

The Baconator has been one of Wendy’s most popular items through the years. Carl Loredo, Wendy’s U.S. chief marketing officer, said in the release that its “fanatics will be in for quite a treat.”

Brands are increasingly working on limited-edition partnerships and product promotions to drum up more consumer interest. Pringles also recently partnered with animated series “Rick and Morty” for a limited-edition Pickle Rick flavor-inspired can of chips around the Super Bowl. 

More big food companies have also turned to restaurant chains to add to their own portfolios in recent years. From Conagra’s P.F. Chang’s frozen meals to Nestlé’s California Pizza Kitchen line, partnerships between the two spaces have produced more permanent products as well as limited-time ones. If this launch from Wendy’s and Kellogg works out, more could be on the way. 

— Lillianna Byington

Optional Caption

Courtesy of Hormel

 

Hormel reaches peak ‘Pour On’

Just in time for summer, Hormel has improved the chili dog, no beans about it.

The canned chili king is launching two new varieties that are designed for pouring over a hot dog. They’re thicker, bean-free and formulated to accentuate the taste and feeling of hot dogs. The new varieties exemplify Hormel’s “Pour On” ad campaign from the start of the year, which shows how pouring on a bit of Hormel chili makes everything more exciting.

“Consumers love chili dogs,” Sarah Johnson, Hormel Chili brand manager, said in a press release. “While usage spikes in the summer, we know consumers enjoy chili dogs year-round. Our new pour over chilis provide consumers a convenient, exciting and great tasting option to upgrade their daily meal routine.”

The cans on both varieties proclaim, “Perfect for chili dogs” and feature a photo of one, but there’s no chili dog-specific branding. The Chili Cheese variety is made with American cheese, while the Coney Island variety has mustard and onions.

If any food personifies the United States, it’s the chili dog. Born out of the melding of immigrant traditions and comfort foods, chili dogs are enjoyed by millions of people from sea to shining sea. And even without chili on top, hot dogs are an all-American favorite. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, between Memorial Day and Labor Day last year, Americans ate 7 billion hot dogs — the equivalent of 818 per second.

With its new chili, Hormel is making a small shift to an already successful product to create a summertime essential. And not only is the nation clamoring for chili dogs, but this summer, everyone is hungry for comfort food. Hormel is working to deliver.

— Megan Poinski

Optional Caption

Permission granted by Kevin McCann

 

Vending machine meat

If you can’t get your favorite sirloin or ground beef at the grocery store, a butcher in upstate New York has a solution.

Kevin McCann, the owner and head butcher at McCann’s Local Meats, told Fox News the “24-hour meat machine” at the front of his store in Rochester has been hugely popular with consumers who can purchase his products with minimal person-to-person contact. The meat machine is located in an area of the shop that has been cordoned off.

“The response has been unbelievable,” McCann told the news outlet. “On Saturday, I was cutting and restocking the machine four or five times.”

McCann said he got the idea from a friend in New York who has been using a refrigerated meat vending machine. In addition to social distancing, he said the concept helps local healthcare workers who have unpredictable hours and may not have a lot of time to go grocery shopping.

Vending machines have been around for decades offering candy, soda, crackers, prepared sandwiches, mini-pizzas and a host of other products. But as consumers have changed their consumption habits, so have these convenient machines.

A Hong Kong-based food entrepreneur created vending machines that offer a variety of healthy, ready-to-eat boxed meals under 550 calories each. Another company in California sells caviar and truffles from vending machines. And Farmer’s Fridge focuses on nutritious ready-for-market meals that contain “chef-curated, restaurant quality meals” and snacks. 

In recent weeks, meat and poultry have come under fire as coronavirus quickly spread among meat processing employees. While a meat vending machine won’t address these issues, it does respond to other concerns by giving shoppers afraid of going out to the store or hesitant to deal with another person a convenient way to buy their next T-bone or pork chop. 

— Christopher Doering

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Nestlé contemplates selling its North American Waters division

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Nestlé contemplates selling its North American Waters division

Dive Brief:

  • Nestlé announced it is considering the sale of the majority of the North American Nestlé Waters business unit. Brands within this portfolio include Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills and Arrowhead.
  • The Swiss company said it remains committed to its iconic international brands Perrier, S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. It will also focus on further building these brands as well as investing in functional water with health-enhancing ingredients.
  • Bloomberg reported that the sales figures from Nestlé’s bottled water unit had their worst performance in a decade. The global umbrella of Nestlé Waters contains 48 brands, which last year had sales of 7.8 billion Swiss francs ($8.3 billion). The North American business unit had sales of 3.4 billion Swiss francs ($3.6 billion) last year. 

Dive Insight:

Nestlé has been struggling for years to turn its water business around, and this contemplated divestiture is the company’s latest attempt to reinvigorate the category. Although bottled water remains the most popular beverage in the United States, The Wall Street Journal said Nestlé has been gradually watching its market share in bottled water slip as competition increases and consumers wrestle with questions of sustainability surrounding plastic bottles.

Not only is sustainability a growing concern, but flat water from a bottle is not the hot segment it once was. Today’s consumers have shifted toward functional beverages and sparkling water. The International Bottled Water Association estimated recently that nearly two-thirds of adults rank still or sparkling bottled water among their most preferred beverages. Nestlé has not been unaware of this trend, but the company has been slow to respond to the bubbly trend as competitors Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have lapped up other sparkling brands such as Topo Chico and SodaStream, respectively.

Two years ago, Nestlé rolled out a line of regional sparkling spring water products, but not much innovation has transpired in the space since then. This move to a focus on modern trends through a regional lens pushed the company to further explore localized control of its brands. Last fall, the multinational company restructured from a globally managed business to one that is managed locally in each of the company’s three geographic regions. However, it is clear from this contemplated divestiture of regional North American brands that this move was not sufficient to turn the tide of sagging sales.

Still, the company has not given up on trying to bring its water offerings more in line with trends today. In December, the company said it will introduce two new lines of bottled water in 2020: Poland Spring energy water and Nestlé Pure Life Plus. Poland Spring energy water will contain the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, but the stimulant will be derived from green tea extract. Nestlé Pure Life Plus will be the brand’s initial foray into functional water. This most recent effort is in line with what Nestlé’s CEO Mark Schneider said in a statement regarding the possible divestiture.

“The creation of a more focused business enables us to more aggressively pursue emerging consumer trends, such as functional water,” he said in the statement. “This strategy offers the best opportunity for long-term profitable growth in the category, while appealing to environmentally and health-conscious consumers.”

Schneider has been aggressively adding and subtracting business units from Nestlé’s portfolio since he stepped into the role of CEO in 2017. He is working to reposition the company’s portfolio into faster-growing sectors including coffee and plant-based meats while divesting U.S. operations posting minimal growth, including ice cream and candy.

It’s been a busy week on the M&A front for Nestlé, which in the past few days has also announced the sale of the North American segment of Buitoni Pasta to Brynwood Partners and the acquisition of a majority stake in collagen-infused food and drink producer Vital Proteins.

Flat bottled water has relatively slow growth, so it is no surprise that Schneider has put the segment on the chopping block. Water makes up about 8% of Nestlé’s overall sales and less than 5% of profit, according to Jefferies data highlighted by The Wall Street Journal. A continued decline in the category could have substantial effects on Nestlé’s bottom line.

If the largest food company in the world decides to shed its less-than-standout brands, it could have a substantial sum with which it can reinvest into developing a new brand of sparkling water or further developing its functional water portfolio. Based on the divestments of other segments of the company — Nestlé Skin Health netted $10.8 billion and the U.S. confectionery business fetched $2.8 billion — Nestlé could expect a healthy sum from the sale of its North American Waters division.

By pivoting to focus on higher-growth areas of water with the sale of a slower-performing segment, Nestlé could find itself flush with cash that it can use to experiment with new innovations and on-trend offerings to entice consumers to keep hydrated.

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Stocks Go Down, Too

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Stocks Go Down, Too

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The stock market had its worst day in months yesterday, with the S&P 500 index dropping nearly 6 percent. Or, as The Times’s Matt Phillips put it, “At least for a day, reality triumphed over hope on Wall Street.”

Back in the red for the year: At the beginning of this week, a heady stock rally erased all of the market’s losses for the year, even as pandemic lockdowns curtailed activity and companies reported ugly quarterly earnings. Yesterday’s plunge pushed the S&P 500 back below where it began the year (and more than 10 percent off its all-time high, set in February).

• That said, futures suggest a pretty big bounce at the open, regaining about a third of yesterday’s fall.

Blip or bear market? Broadly speaking, there are two schools of thought:

📈 The steep decline during the early stages of the pandemic was a short-term, virus-induced stumble during a rally that began more than 10 years ago.

📉 The sharp rise in recent months was a momentary rally masking a bear market that could roar back if there’s a second wave of infections or long-term economic damage from the lockdowns.

Looking at history as a guide is tricky, because it’s been more than a century since investors had to reckon with a pandemic. If you plot the market from its peak versus other bear markets in recent history, the bullish case is that stocks could behave as they did in 1990 after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. That would mean another three or four months before stocks set a new high; other market downturns took a lot longer to regain lost ground.

• Bloomberg’s John Authers notes the 1990 analogy, pointing out that the market reached a new peak after Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait. But, he asks: “Is there any way to achieve a comparably clear victory over the coronavirus?”

Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection last month. But as investors improbably piled into its shares this week, the car rental pioneer is trying to take advantage of this unexpected turn of events.

The company wants to sell up to $1 billion in new stock. “The recent market prices of and the trading volumes in Hertz’s common stock potentially present a unique opportunity,” lawyers for the company said in a bankruptcy court hearing yesterday.

• Even after falling to $2.06 yesterday, the company’s shares are still way above the 56 cents they traded at after the Chapter 11 filing.

• Some company insiders took advantage of the rally by unloading their shares this week.

The move is exceedingly rare for a bankrupt company, since most Chapter 11 restructurings result in stockholders — who are last in line to recover financial assets — being wiped out.

It’s possible that stockholders could get some money after Hertz restructures. After all, the hedge fund mogul Bill Ackman made a fortune from owning stock in the bankrupt real-estate business General Growth Properties nearly a decade ago. But in a sign of Hertz’s dire financial straits, the company has asked for permission to end leases for more than 144,000 vehicles that it says it can no longer afford.

Amid the protests set off by the police killing of George Floyd, corporate America is making more promises to combat racism and discrimination.

Some of the latest moves:

• Apple and YouTube each pledged $100 million for race initiatives. Apple will donate money toward education and criminal justice reform, though it gave few details about what that will entail. YouTube will create a fund to highlight black creators on its platform, and in some cases directly fund black-focused content.

• A founder of The Wing, Audrey Gelman, resigned as C.E.O. of the women-focused co-working company. She faced criticism for what current and former workers said was mistreatment of minority workers.

• Hasbro removed cards from “Magic: The Gathering,” a popular fantasy card game, that featured offensive characters.

But the gap remains wide. The Financial Times notes that management teams and corporate boards still have few black and other minority members, despite years of companies’ pledging to improve diversity.

• Kemi Role, a top official at the National Employment Law Project, told The Wall Street Journal that improvements need to be made throughout companies: “How are their cafeteria workers being treated? How are their people in factories being treated?”

• Ultimately, companies will be judged on their results, Stephanie Creary of the Wharton business school notes in a list of tips for making meaningful corporate statements: “If you do nothing after saying something, your words will not matter.”

The European Union is preparing an antitrust case against Amazon. Regulators plan to argue that the e-commerce giant has unfairly used third-party merchant data to promote its own products, The Times’s Adam Satariano reports.

Goldman Sachs wants to settle the 1MDB scandal without admitting guilt, The Times’s Matt Goldstein reports. The Wall Street firm is pushing back against federal prosecutors who want the bank to pay over $2 billion in fines and plead guilty to a felony.

Who are Joe Biden’s economic advisers? It’s unclear who has the ear of the Democratic presidential candidate, and a recently formed economic policy committee urged participants to stay silent on what is discussed. That said, here’s Mr. Biden’s plan for reopening the economy, released yesterday.

Yesterday we highlighted a study about positive effects of small talk in the office, which the researchers called “uplifting yet distracting.” With so many offices and other workplaces now closed, there are fewer opportunities for superficial chitchat, which could be a good thing for efficiency. But judging by readers’ response, you (mostly) miss it:

• Everhard: “Small talk is an essential part of the informal organization, and without any informal organization a company will never work efficiently.”

• Karen: “Personally, I probably abused the time talking to fellow employees about non-work subjects and gossiping, but it was wonderful to be able to converse about things going on in the world outside. I give it a 70 percent good use of time.”

• Larry: “Asking somebody how their weekend was, or how the kid’s baseball game or school play went, is all part of how an organization grows.”

• Jasmin: “I have enjoyed my solitude during this season of confinement. I have maintained contact with some of my favorite colleagues and continue to run away from the chatterbox always trying to initiate a conversation.”

• Alan: “Companies can’t force those kinds of interactions with Zoom happy hours.”

Deals

• The food delivery service DoorDash is reportedly near a deal to raise money from investors including T. Rowe Price and Fidelity at a $15 billion valuation. (WSJ)

• Palantir, the data consultancy, reportedly plans to file for a public market listing within weeks, with an eye to begin trading in the fall. (Bloomberg)

• The private equity giant KKR is said to have asked outside advisers to cut their fees at least 15 percent to “share in the economic pain” of the pandemic. (FT)

Politics and policy

• The Trump administration abandoned an earlier commitment to disclosing which companies received federal coronavirus rescue loans. (WaPo)

• Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Harriet Tubman would not replace Andrew Jackson as the face of the $20 bill until at least 2030. (NYT)

Tech

• Chris Cox, who quit as Facebook’s chief product officer last year amid a disagreement with Mark Zuckerberg, will return to that position. Separately, the company plans to create a new fund to invest in start-ups. (NYT, Axios)

• Zoom apologized for following a Chinese government request to take down the account of a U.S.-based humanitarian group that commemorated the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. (CNBC)

• An ad tech company secretly used facial-recognition software on 30,000 people who attended this year’s Rose Bowl. (OneZero)

Best of the rest

• The economics of harvesting frozen water on the Moon. (Quartz)

• Nintendo’s “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” looks increasingly like a pixelated Wall Street. (WaPo)

We’d love your feedback. Please email thoughts and suggestions to dealbook@nytimes.com.

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Seth Meyers Gives Trump A History Lesson On Confederate Leader ‘Dips**ts’

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Seth Meyers Gives Trump A History Lesson On Confederate Leader ‘Dips**ts’

Seth Meyers turned into a history teacher for President Donald Trump on Thursday’s broadcast of “Late Night,” the 1,000th episode of the NBC show.

“Since when do we name military bases after people who lost wars against America?” Meyers asked. “Is there a naval base named after King George III? Would you make American soldiers train at Fort Il Duce?”

“Not only were Confederate leaders slavers, traitors and white supremacists, they were also dipshits,” he said, noting the “notoriously bad temper” of General Braxton Bragg.

“No wonder Trump likes him,” Meyers added. “He was a racist psycho who liked to fight with people. They didn’t have Twitter back then, but I’m guessing Bragg’s telegrams would have been right up Trump’s alley.”

Watch Meyers’ monologue above and the celebration of his landmark episode below:



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Images show how coronavirus is overrunning Rio’s hospitals – CNN Video

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Images show how coronavirus is overrunning Rio’s hospitals – CNN Video

CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh reports from Rio de Janeiro where coronavirus is overwhelming the hospitals and healthcare workers as Brazil nears the peak of its curve.



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Watch: Security guard tackled at Garden Route Mall to open case

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Watch: Security guard tackled at Garden Route Mall to open case

An unsavoury altercation unfolded at the Garden Route Mall in George, Western Cape on Thursday 11 June when a couple being ejected from the premises because they weren’t wearing face masks allegedly assaulted an assisting security guard. 

Accusations have emerged that the incident was racially motivated. 

The incident was captured on camera, and one woman can be seen kicking the security guard, who was engaged in a shouting match with the supposedly aggrieved couple before a man launched himself at the guard with a spear tackle. 

Watch: Security guard tackled by customer: 

The security guard can be seen being pushed and shoved with a crowd forming around him and those accused of the assault. 

He is understood to have been trying to escort the couple out of the mall when the fracas ensued. 

The South African has reached out to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for comment and will update this story when it lands. 

Second incident in a month at Garden Route Mall 

Garden Route Mall issued a statement on Twitter on Thursday 12 June in which they said that the security guard had faced no repercussion and in fact would be filing a case of assault against the couple. 

“We are aware of the incident that took place on the 11th of June 2020,” they wrote. 

“Kindly note that the security guard was not fired and charges were laid earlier this morning by our security firm and himself.”

“The police will conduct their investigation as per the case.”

They said that another incident involving a customer who was unhappy about being denied entry due to the fact that he was not wearing a mask had occurred in May too. 

“Approximately a month ago where a member of the public was arrested for assault and being in contravention of the COVID-19 Act, for not wearing a mask,” they said. 

There have been a number of incidents involving people who refuse to wear masks in public spaces, with a man arrested in Richards Bay after starting a fight with a security guard at a Tops outlet earlier in June.



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Coronavirus: the week explained

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Coronavirus: the week explained

Welcome to this week’s roundup of developments from the coronavirus pandemic. As more countries eased out of lockdown, scientists shed light on how the virus attacks and raised questions over wastewater that drains from sinks and bathrooms.

Lockdowns work

Substantial lockdowns around the world have taken their toll on millions of lives and dented economies globally. So it was a relief to hear that the bluntest tool of all in the outbreak management toolbox worked. Lockdowns in Europe spared more than 3 million lives, including an estimated 470,000 in the UK, 690,000 in France, and 630,000 in Italy, according to researchers at Imperial College London.

Outbreak modellers found that lockdown slashed the average number of people that contagious individuals infected by 81%. In the UK, that amounted to lowering the all-important reproduction number of the virus, R, from 3.8 to 0.63, they reported in Nature. In 11 countries from France and Germany to Spain and Italy, lockdown pushed the R value below one, meaning the epidemics went into decline.

The modelling showed that by 4 May between 12 million and 15 million people in those countries had been infected by coronavirus but “attack rates” varied dramatically, from 0.46% of Norwegians infected to 8% of Belgians. In the UK an estimated 5.1% were infected. Prof Axel Gandy, a statistician on the team, said the model suggested “we are very far away from herd immunity”, where at least two-thirds of the population have acquired protective immunity to the disease. “We need to tread very carefully,” he added.

More work on lockdowns came from the University of California, Berkeley. Scientists there estimated that lockdowns in the US, France, China, South Korea and Iran had prevented about 530m infections. The research came as New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, declared the country virus-free and scrapped all coronavirus restrictions, except strict border controls.


 ‘I did a little dance’: PM Ardern declares New Zealand Covid-19 free – video

Enter the virus

Scientists worked out early on how the virus invades human cells and establishes infections. Spikes on the virus bind to so-called ACE-2 receptors that pepper the surfaces of many human cells, most importantly those in the respiratory tract. Once latched on, the virus gains entry and replicates over and over, until millions burst out to infect more cells.

But that might not be the only way in. Separate teams led by the Technical University of Munich and Bristol University found that the virus attaches to a second human cell receptor called NRP1. Like ACE-2, it peppers cells in the respiratory tract, but it is also abundant in olfactory tissues, those that are used to smell.

Both groups found that blocking the receptor prevented the virus from infecting human cells in the lab, adding weight to the idea that it is important. What is most intriguing about the receptor is that it may be a gateway to the brain, and in particular allow the virus to reach olfactory centres and potentially disrupt the sense of smell.

The two papers are tentative for now and have yet to be published in scientific journals. But if the results are sound, they might explain some of the disease’s stranger symptoms and help to steer future vaccine design.

Keep your distance

Politicians on either sides of the Atlantic became embroiled in debates over safe distancing. The US vice president, Mike Pence, posted – and then swiftly deleted – a photo of President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign staff displaying zero physical distancing. Meanwhile in the UK, the Tories piled pressure on Boris Johnson to reduce the 2m distancing guideline to 1m, amid concerns for the economy, in particular pubs, cafes and restaurants. Johnson made clear he wants to ease the rule, but uncertainty around whether the advice will be changed caused chaos for councils and retailers, who may have wasted millions of pounds on signs and other preparations for reopening the high streets.

Prof Susan Michie, who sits on the behavioural science subgroup of the government’s Sage committee of experts, said reducing the distance to 1m would undermine messages of how the virus is transmitted. “It seems to me that now is not the time to be lifting restrictions unless there’s a very good argument. The risks will be higher and more people will get ill,” she said.

This Science Weekly podcast looks at the psychology of physical distancing. As the world begins to unlock, many of us will be seeing friends and family again – albeit with guidelines on how close you can get to one another. But why is it more difficult to stay physically apart from friends and family than a stranger in a supermarket queue? Nicola Davis speaks to Prof John Drury about the psychology of physical distancing and why we like to be near those we feel emotionally close with

Science Weekly

Covid-19: the psychology of physical distancing

Watch the wastewater

With so many people in lockdown, scientists turned their attention away from the most common route of spreading the disease – inhalation of virus-laden droplets from an infected person – to the domestic risk of contaminated surfaces and wastewater. Previous research has shown that the virus can survive for anything from four hours on a copper surface to five days on glass, with cardboard, plastic and wood all lying somewhere between. What was less clear was how often domestic objects and surfaces are contaminated with the virus.

A team of virologists at the University of Bonn hunted for the virus in air samples, wastewater and on surfaces in 21 randomly-selected households. All were in quarantine after at least one member tested positive for the virus. None of the air samples tested positive for the virus, but among the water samples taken from sinks, showers and toilets, 15.5% did contain the virus. Strikingly, tests on 119 surfaces, including door knobs, handles, electronic gadgets, furnishings, food and drink items, clothes, plants and pets, yielded only four positives. These came from one TV remote control, two metal doorknobs and one wooden stove overlay. The scientists could not grow infectious virus from any of the samples they collected.

The researchers are not suggesting that people ease up on hand-washing or cleaning surfaces, particularly when sharing a home with an infected person. But the work, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, suggests that while wastewater deserves more attention, surfaces may not be a major source of infection.

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Vikram Solanki appointed Surrey head coach

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Vikram Solanki appointed Surrey head coach

Last Updated: 12/06/20 11:59am


Vikram Solanki has been part of Surrey’s backroom staff since 2016

Former England batsman Vikram Solanki has been named as Surrey’s next head coach.

Solanki, who played 51 one-day internationals and three Twenty20s for his country, has been part of the Brown Caps’ backroom staff since retiring as a player in 2016.

He replaces Australian Michael Di Venuto, who was in the last year of his contract and had already announced he would not be returning to the Kia Oval following the suspension of the season.

“I am now really excited to be taking over as head coach,” said Solanki. “We have a very talented group of players at Surrey CCC and will be looking to compete in all formats – both in any competitions that are able to be staged this summer and in the future.”

Solanki brings a wide range of experience to the role, having also worked as an assistant coach to the likes of Gary Kirsten in the Indian Premier League and Tom Moody in Dubai’s T10 competition.

In an administrative capacity Solanki has worked widely representing players, acting as both chairman and interim chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association and now as president of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations.



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2,003 Covid-19 cases reported in Punjab, taking tally to 45,463

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2,003 Covid-19 cases reported in Punjab, taking tally to 45,463

LAHORE – Opposition leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif was amongst 2,003 new COVID-19 patients reported in Punjab on Thursday, taking the number of confirmed cases to 45,463.

The PML-N president tested positive for novel coronavirus from a private laboratory last night. He has quarantined himself at his Model Town residence.

With 37 more healthcare workers getting infection, the number of affected doctors, nurses and paramedics has now reached 836.

Thirty four more succumbed to COVID-19 in Punjab on Thursday, taking the death toll to 841.

So far 300 casualties have been reported from Lahore, 171 Rawalpindi, 83 Faisalabad, 79 Multan, 41 Gujranwala, 31 Sialkot, 19 Gujrat, 18 each from Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur, 12 Sargodha, nine Sahiwal, seven each from Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib, six Kasur, five each from Toba Tek Singh, Attock and Dera Ghazi Khan, four Muzafargarh, three each from Jhang and Mianwali, two each from Hafizabad, Jhelum, Rajanpur, Bahawalnagar and Narowal and one each from Khushab, Bhakkar, Khanewal, Okara and Lodhran.

Out of 2,003 new cases, 1,168 have been reported from Lahore, 169 Multan, 121 Faisalabad, 81 Rawalpindi, 54 Chiniot, 50 Bahawalpur, 44 Layyah, 39 Muzafargarh, 36 Gujranwala, 27 Sheikhupura, 23 Toba Tek Singh, 21 Sialkot, 19 Hafizabad, 13 Gujrat, 12 Vehari, 11 Nankana Sahib, 10 each from Rahim Yar Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan, nine Kasur, eight Khanewal, seven Sahiwal, five each from Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin and Bhakkar, four Pakpattan, three each from Attock and Lodhran, two each from Bahawalnagar, Jhang, Mianwali and Narowal and one from Rajanpur.

So far 22,749 Covid-19 patients have been reported from Lahore, 3,561 Rawalpindi, 3,166 Faisalabad, 3,160 Multan, 1,885 Gujranwala, 1,281 Sialkot, 1,109 Gujrat, 888 Dera Ghazi Khan, 680 Bahawalpur, 646 Sheikhupura, 627 Sargodha, 591 Muzafargarh, 509 Rahim Yar Khan, 480 Hafizabad, 402 Kasur, 318 Jhelum, 274 Vehari, 248 Sahiwal, 234 Layyah, 232 Nankana Sahib, 229 each Bahawalnagar and Toba Tek Singh, 219 Mandi Bahauddin, 213 Lodhran, 174 Attock, 167 Khushab, 155 Jhang, 154 Chiniot, 144 each Narowal and Bhakkar, 131 Okara, 109 Khanewal, 103 Mianwali, 85 Pakpattan, 82 Rajanpur and 49 Chakwal.

Out of total COVID-19 patients in Punjab so far, as many as 1,926 are preachers of Tableeghi Jamaat, 768 pilgrims, who returned from Iran, 86 prisoners in nine districts and 42,593 citizens who mostly have fallen prey to local transmission. As per spokesperson of Corona Monitoring Room at Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, so far 3,17,893 tests have been performed in the province.

Out of these, he said, 45,463 have been tested positive for the virus. He said that 14,012 cases have been reported from 31-45 years age group. As many as 13,534 cases have been reported from 16-30 years age group. He said that lowest number of cases, 685, have been reported from above 75 years age group. He said that 9,005 patients have recovered and returned home, 841 died while 35,617 were isolated at homes or under treatment at different quarantine centers and health facilities.



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Over 100,000 wireless cameras in UK homes are hackable, research shows

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Over 100,000 wireless cameras in UK homes are hackable, research shows


Wireless cameras made in China pose a huge security risk, researchers have found (Getty)

More than 100,000 hackable wireless cameras are estimated to be active in homes across the UK, Which? has warned.

The consumer group says dozens of camera brands made by China-based company HiChip are affected by various flaws, including security vulnerabilities with the devices themselves and an accompanying app to access them.

They claim that the issue could be exploited by someone to pinpoint where the user lives, target other devices linked to their broadband, and even grant access to live footage and speak via the camera’s microphone.

It also believes an attacker could carry out these activities even if the owner changes their password.

A security expert tested five wireless cameras from Accfly, Elite Security, ieGeek, Genbolt and SV3C – all of which can be purchased on popular online marketplaces – and found that they were affected by the flaw.

More widely, Which? says 47 camera brands worldwide may be jeopardised, 32 of which are currently or were previously sold in the UK, and is therefore advising anyone who believes their camera could be affected to stop using it immediately.


Anyone using these cameras has been advised to stop immediately (Getty)
Anyone using these cameras has been advised to stop immediately (Getty)

The brands identified include Alptop, Besdersec, COOAU, CPVAN, Ctronics, Dericam, Jennov, LEFTEK, Luowice, QZT and Tenvis.

Any wireless camera using an app called CamHi could be compromised, experts believe.

China-based HiChip is behind many of these camera brands, as well as the CamHi app.

The company responded to the investigation, saying its devices have a ‘very low security risk’ because it encrypts all data between the camera and the app.

However, Which? says HiChip has committed to working with experts on improving safety.

The weakness revolves around the devices’s Unique Identification numbers (UID), often found on a sticker on the side of the cameras and can be easily discovered and targeted by bad actors.

Using this, hackers can prey on users of the CamHi app when they connect to their camera, thereby steal the device’s username and password, and use those details to gain full access to the camera without the user’s knowledge.

‘People may believe they are picking up a bargain wireless camera that can bring a sense of security – when in fact they could be unwittingly inviting hackers into their home or workplace,’ said Kate Bevan, Which? computing editor.

‘Anyone who has one of these cameras in their home should turn it off and stop using it immediately, while all consumers should be careful when shopping around – cheap isn’t always cheerful, especially when it comes to unknown brands.

‘The Government must push forward with its plans for legislation to require connected devices to meet certain security standards and ensure this is backed by strong enforcement.’

Around two-thirds (23) of the brands sold in the country are currently available on Amazon’s UK website.

The consumer group said Amazon has so far declined to remove any after it was approached.

More than half (19) of the brands are on sale on eBay, who said the cameras are ‘all legal to sell in the UK and comply with our existing policies’.

‘We encourage people who purchase any wireless camera product on eBay to take appropriate security precautions, in the same way they would with any smart home devices, online email or social media account,’ the firm explained.


Many of these cameras can be found for sale on sites like Ebay (Credits: Getty Images)
Many of these cameras can be found for sale on sites like Ebay (Credits: Getty Images)

The findings of the Which? report were echoed by Jake Moore, Cybersecurity Specialist at ESET.

‘The massive growth in IoT devices placed in the home and office is the perfect opportunity for cyber criminals to make money from particular types of malware,’ he told Metro.co.uk in a statement.

‘IoT devices are far too often packaged up with weak (if any) built-in security features, so the public are on the back foot from the outset. Security updates also tend to be infrequent which puts further risks on the owner.

‘Updates and 2FA are critical but you may need to ask yourself if you really need your security camera online 24/7. If the cameras still record on the premise, they may not need to be online at all, preventing the risk of an attack altogether.’



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