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Charting India’s Foreign Policy Course: Challenges and Prospects Under Modi 3.0

Coalition Politics and The Rise of the Opposition With a coalition government steering foreign policy, questions have arisen about its coherence and impact. History offers some insights. In 2008, the Manmohan Singh government faced challenges due to a coalition partner's opposition to the US nuclear deal. However, experts believe the current situation might be different. Ambassador Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary of India, has emphasised that a coalition's success in foreign…

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Mother’s gut microbiome during pregnancy shapes baby’s brain development

Researchers have compared the development of the fetal brain in mice whose mothers had no bacteria in their gut, to those whose mothers were given Bifidobacterium breve orally during pregnancy, but had no other bacteria in their gut.Nutrient transport to the brain increased in fetuses of mothers given Bifidobacterium breve, and beneficial changes were also seen in other cell processes relating to growth. Bifidobacterium breve is a ‘good bacteria’ that…

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PAGA Paraphrased – Stone v. Alameda Health System

By: Phillip J. Ebsworth and Brian B. Gillis Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court held that PAGA does not apply to public entity employers. The California Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal and prior appellate court decisions to conclude that the PAGA statute, legislative history, and public policy support the conclusion public entity employers are not subject to PAGA actions for civil penalties. In doing so, the Supreme Court…

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Red and processed meat consumption associated with higher type 2 diabetes risk

The findings are published today in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.Global meat production has increased rapidly in recent decades and meat consumption exceeds dietary guidelines in many countries.  Earlier research indicated that higher intakes of processed meat and unprocessed red meat are associated with an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes, but the results have been variable and not conclusive. Poultry such as chicken, turkey, or duck is often considered…

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Why Competing With Tech Giants Requires Finding Your Own Edge

The following is an excerpt that was adapted and lightly edited from chapter nine of Smart Rivals: How Innovative Companies Play Games That Tech Giants Can't Win, written by Feng Zhu and Bonnie Yining Cao and published August 20, 2024. In today's global digital and tech business landscape, traditional businesses may struggle to adapt to the constantly changing nature of ecosystem strategies. In his book, Smart Rivals: How Innovative Companies…

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Arcadia awards over £10 million for 2 major archaeology projects

The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Department of Archaeology and University of Cambridge Development and Alumni Relations are pleased to announce that the Arcadia charitable foundation has awarded grants totalling £10.3 million to continue the work of the Mapping Africa’s Endangered Archaeological Sites and Monuments (MAEASaM) project and the Mapping Archaeological Heritage in South Asia (MAHSA) project.Archaeological sites and monuments around the world are increasingly threatened by human activities and…

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Arcadia awards over £10 million for two major archaeology projects

The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Department of Archaeology and University of Cambridge Development & Alumni Relations are pleased to announce that the Arcadia charitable foundation has awarded grants totalling £10.3 million to continue the work of the Mapping Africa’s Endangered Archaeological Sites and Monuments (MAEASaM) project and the Mapping Archaeological Heritage in South Asia (MAHSA) project.Archaeological sites and monuments around the world are increasingly threatened by human activities and…

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Semantic Technologies acquired by Samsung Electronics

Established in 2017 by three University of Oxford professors — Ian Horrocks, Boris Motik and Bernardo Cuenca Grau — Oxford Semantic Technologies (OST) holds cutting-edge technological capabilities in the areas of knowledge representation and semantic reasoning. OST’s innovative approach relies on Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KRR), a branch of AI that represents a logical and knowledge-based approach. Unlike machine learning, which finds patterns in vast datasets and draws statistical outputs,…

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INSEAD Insights: August 2024 Research Picks

This month’s selection of new research by INSEAD faculty investigates how AI (artificial intelligence) can both enhance and constrain the human experience; size penalties in bond-market trading; and whether new inventions benefit younger and older workers to the same degree. Other recently released studies look at how multitasking can have a negative impact on the performance of knowledge workers, as well as dissect global trends in productivity. Another paper examines…

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The Dark Side of Brussels’ Energy Policy: Climate Transition Primarily Serves the Nuclear Industry

Good business opportunitiesThe framework conditions for the nuclear lobby in Europe have rarely been as favourable as they are at present. The explanation is simple: if the EU wants to reduce energy imports from third countries, it must significantly increase its own energy production. In 2022, the EU's energy dependency totalled 63%, meaning that it must cover more than half of its energy needs using imports. In addition to Germany,…

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Unlocking the future of innovation: the Microsoft AI Tour

Innovation isn’t just a buzzword — it’s the heartbeat of thought leadership and a catalyst for growth. And in the past year, no innovation has changed the business landscape quite like AI. At Microsoft, we’re always looking for ways to harness emerging technology for the greater good, and it’s that desire that led to the creation of the Microsoft AI Tour. Last year’s AI Tour gave senior business leaders and…

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What Enterprise Anxieties over Generative AI Implementation Mean for Sellers

Since generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) became a household phrase in the last year, enterprise technology leaders have experienced incredible pressure to deploy the technology, between a groundswell of user requests and top-down mandates from boards. However, actual enterprise implementation of AI is proving to be more complicated, something that could adversely impact the fortunes of software companies selling into the enterprise, at least in the near term. Specifically, many…

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The versatile leader: How learning to adapt makes CEOs better

Some of the most innovative and creative people in history succeeded because they were versatile. They were able to master more than one discipline and then combine them to forge new ideas and inventions. Benjamin Franklin, for instance, the quintessential Renaissance man, was a writer, printer, scientist, and politician. He played a key role in drafting the Declaration of Independence, helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris to end the American…

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Has Starbucks Finally Found the Right Leader?

This commentary originally appeared in Fortune. Starbucks became a global brand as strong as the likes of McDonalds, Coke, Pepsi, Google, Apple, and Levi Strauss in a record time—but its value as an enterprise has been plummeting in recent years. So, the man who built the brand, Howard Schultz, intervened even though he no longer held any official position in management or on the board. Schultz remains the largest shareholder—and…

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How the Right Team Can Outshine Star Power

In the pursuit of breakthrough innovation, it is easy to be dazzled by star performers, from successful CEOs and prominent lawyers to award-winning scientists. Mention electric vehicles, and Elon Musk springs to mind; radioactivity research, and Marie Curie comes to the fore. However, this fixation can overshadow the crucial role played by the constellation of collaborators – most of us mere mortals – that surround the star.In a new study published in Management…

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SCO, NATO and the Fate of International Cooperation. Part 1

In July 2024, we witnessed two international summits which were of fundamental importance regarding how the space around Russia and throughout Eurasia will develop: that of the North Atlantic Alliance in Washington (July 9-11) and that of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Astana (July 3-4). These organisations are almost total opposites: NATO is an old military alliance created in the very first years of the Cold War, while the SCO…

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Strengthening financial institutions in their battle against financial crime

The role of gatekeeper in combating financial crime is crucial for banks to maintain regulatory compliance, uphold public trust, and safeguard the integrity of the financial system. Failure to fulfil this role can have severe consequences, both financially and reputational, for banks (e.g. fines totalling over 1 billion EUR in the Netherlands over the past 5 years). Valcon is committed to safeguarding financial institutions by offering distinctive value through efficient, scalable, and…

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FTC Continues Aggressive Enforcement Actions To Deter Deceptive Pricing Practices By Car Dealers

On Thursday, August 15, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Arizona Attorney General announced a $2.6 million settlement to resolve claims that Coulter Motor Company used deceptive online advertising to lure customers into its two Arizona dealerships; duped consumers into paying for unwanted “add-on” products; and engaged in discriminatory practices by charging Latino customers more in financing charges and for these “add-ons” than non-Latino white customers. The complaint, filed…

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History for Decades: The Present and Future of Sanctions Against Russia

On August 16, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion, “Sanctions against Russia – from here to eternity?” Moderator Ivan Timofeev noted that despite the legal possibility of lifting unilateral restrictive measures, the reasons for their introduction against Russia remain and are getting worse. Accordingly, he added, Russia will probably live under sanctions for decades.Dmitry Birichevsky, Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry, emphasised that…

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From promising to productive: Real results from gen AI in services

Generative AI (gen AI) could provide the productivity boost operations leaders have hoped for, as well as a means to fight cost pressures—if only leaders could get going. McKinsey’s latest tech trends research finds that only 11 percent of companies worldwide are using gen AI at scale.Operations is a major gap: in a February 2024 survey of 150 executives at large North American and European companies, only 3 percent of respondents…

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Beyond the 100 Mile Rule: Court of Appeal Affirms District Court’s Power to Compel Attendance of Distant Witnesses and Unveil Hidden Parties In Litigation

Beyond the 100 Mile Rule: Court of Appeal Affirms District Court’s Power to Compel Attendance of Distant Witnesses and Unveil Hidden Parties In Litigation | Consumer Class Defense Blog Skip to content

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More Bad News for the FTC: Federal Court in Florida Enjoins Enforcement of Non-Compete Ban

Yesterday, a third court weighed in on the FTC’s proposed ban on non-competes, set to go into effect on September 4, 2024. Judge Corrigan of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted the plaintiff Properties of the Villages, Inc.’s (“POV”) motion to stay the effective date of the rule and preliminarily enjoin its enforcement. Due to the looming effective date, the court opted to deliver…

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Second Circuit Ruling Clarifies Reach of EFAA Under Continuing Violation Doctrine in Sexual Harassment Cases

Quick Hits The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that for claims subject to the “continuing violation doctrine,” such as hostile work environment claims, accrual occurs with each new act that is part of the ongoing pattern of misconduct. Because the plaintiff alleged retaliatory acts occurring after March 3, 2022, her claims were found to have “accrued” after the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act’s effective…

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New Ruling Expands Trademark Owners’ Rights in Retail Space

Trademark lawyers are often asked: “What’s the difference between a trademark and a service mark?” In general, a trademark refers to a brand name used in connection with goods, while a service mark is one that is used in connection with the provision of services.  The services must be provided for the benefit of someone other than the mark owner. But the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) ruled in…

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Announcing mandatory multi-factor authentication for Azure sign-in

Learn how MFA can protect your data and identity, and get ready for the upcoming MFA requirement for Azure. Learn how multifactor authentication (MFA) can protect your data and identity and get ready for Azure’s upcoming MFA requirement.  As cyberattacks become increasingly frequent, sophisticated, and damaging, safeguarding your digital assets has never been more critical. As part of Microsoft’s $20 billion dollar investment in security over the next five years and…

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Election 2024: What’s at Stake for Business and the Workplace?

In a US presidential election year with more twists and turns than most in recent memory, many of the issues on the ballot impact business. And keeping politics in the workplace respectful is forefront on managers’ minds as a divided nation prepares for weeks of potentially rancorous discourse.Ahead of the Democratic National Convention, HBS Working Knowledge gathered insights from Harvard Business School faculty about what’s at stake for companies, and…

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The Future of Weather Forecasting, and Why It Matters

Predicting the weather—especially in this age of climate change—is big business. Today, the market for weather-forecasting services is $10 billion in the U.S., where an estimated one-third of the economy is exposed to weather and climate. Industries ranging from agriculture to commerce to the military are key consumers of weather-forecasting technology, most of which is based on information provided by large, national weather services. But today, exciting new technologies are…

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220 Seyfarth Attorneys Chosen as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2025

(August 14, 2024) - 220 individual Seyfarth attorneys were selected by their peers as leaders in their fields, covering 46 different practice areas, in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Lawyers from all 13 of Seyfarth’s US offices were honored. Two Seyfarth lawyers (William B. Hill, Jr. and Richard Morvillo) were each recognized in five separate practice areas. Three other attorneys (Jeffrey Berman, Douglas Mancino, and Gregory…

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Prudential embraces customer centricity: An interview with Priscilla Ng

As Prudential plc embraces digital transformation, the 176-year-old insurance company finds itself navigating a delicate balancing act: harmonizing the power of AI with a human touch, essential to delivering exceptional customer experiences. Prudential prioritizes data-driven insights to offer customers more-personalized, proactive, and efficient services and drive sustainable growth across global markets while preserving the personal connections that insurance customers value. Joe Ngai, chairman of McKinsey, Greater China, and a senior…

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What’s Next for the FTC’s Ban on Noncompetes?

Topics Leadership Talent Management Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images This past April, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a rule barring most businesses from entering into and enforcing noncompete clauses against their workers, declaring such provisions to be an unfair method of competition. If the FTC has its way and the rule takes effect — which seems unlikely, in view of a recent court decision discussed below —…

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Breaking Down the Mars Kellanova Merger

The year’s largest merger is here: the Mars Kellanova Merger. If you have never heard of Kellanova, you’ve likely heard of the company it was recently formed out of – Kellogg. Kellanova was launched in 2023 (that’s right, exactly 317 days from this announcement to be precise), as a carveout from Kellogg with the aim to separate the faster growing convenience foods from the slower growth cereal business.  The legacy…

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New study shows improved scores by students using Reading Progress

Fresno Unified School District launched a literary initiative to help get students reading on grade level by the end of first grade. Learn about the results. Early literacy is the cornerstone of academic success. Researchers at the University of Chicago and other institutions highlight a crucial shift: Up to the end of third grade, most students are “learning to read” while from fourth grade on, they’re “reading to learn.” With…

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Post-CrowdStrike, Six Questions to Test Your Company’s Operational Resilience

When cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike distributed a faulty software update in July, it impacted a staggering 8.5 million devices. The crisis rippled through commercial airline operations, package delivery logistics, ecommerce, and health care, to name a few.This incident serves as a stark reminder that business disruptions are not just potential threats, but common occurrences that demand immediate attention from CEOs, C-suite teams, and boards. It's time for leaders to take stock…

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AI and the Voices Behind the Music

AI has progressed within the last several years to do remarkable things. In February of this year, OpenAI unveiled Sora, an impressive text-to-video AI generator that produces high quality videos. This new generative AI innovation uses basic text prompts to generate up to 60-second videos. Like all generative AI tools, there are concerns about how the model is trained and the composition of the training data. The potential ethical and societal…

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Shiny objects: Insurance productivity in an era of AI and automation

The emergence of AI and generative AI (gen AI) has brought new energy to the age-old conversation about productivity. In this episode of the McKinsey on Insurance podcast, McKinsey senior partner Jörg Mußhoff sits down with partners Elena Pizzocaro and Selim Sulos to discuss why revisiting insurance productivity is at the top of CEOs’ agendas, how the most successful transformations use an end-to-end redesign approach, and why CEOs shouldn’t get distracted by…

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The Genius of PostHog Marketing

Starting my career in political communication taught me a lot, but one of the most important lessons was this: Know, and never underestimate, your audience. It’s easier said than done. After my pivot into the software world, I’ve experienced firsthand how challenging it can be to explain a complex technology in accessible language or reach a niche buyer audience. Good software marketing is hard, but excellent marketing is extremely hard—to…

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New way to extend ‘shelf life’ of blood stem cells will improve gene therapy

Researchers have identified a drug already used for cancer patients, that, when applied to current gene therapy protocols can improve blood stem cell function threefold.One trillion blood cells are produced every day in humans, and blood stem cells are the only cell types in our body capable of producing all blood cell types over our lifespan, giving them immense regenerative potential. Blood stem cell gene therapy is a ground-breaking treatment…

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How to Turn Professional Services Into Products

David Plunkert/theispot.com Product management is one of the fastest-growing roles in business, having gained increased scope and importance in Silicon Valley. While product managers used to be hired almost exclusively by technology companies, they are now being recruited in growing numbers by service-oriented businesses as well, with firms such as Accenture, Chase, JPMorgan, Optum, and Vanguard adding product management functions in the past few years. Why are services companies looking…

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U.S. Department of Education Attempts to Clarify Scope of Injunctions Barring Enforcement of 2024 Title IX Regulations

Quick Hits At least six federal courts have issued injunctions barring enforcement of the U.S. Department of Education’s 2024 Title IX rule, which applies to complaints of sex discrimination occurring on or after August 1, 2024. Many of the injunctions lack clarity as to which institutions are covered. The Department issued guidance specifying the states and schools subject to the enforcement injunction due to a student or parent’s membership in…

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Khanmigo for Teachers: Free AI-powered teaching tool now available

Imagine having a teaching tool that’s always ready to help you with brainstorming, creating, and innovating. Meet Khanmigo for Teachers. Imagine having a teaching tool that’s always ready to help you with brainstorming, creating, and innovating. Meet Khanmigo for Teachers. Created by Khan Academy and powered by Azure OpenAI Service, Khanmigo for Teachers is available for free in English across 49 countries in partnership with Microsoft. Keep reading to find…

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