Uber Eats has proven the great lengths it will go to complete a delivery to an unusual address — the International Space Station (ISS). On Saturday, the company successfully accomplished its first food delivery from Earth to space, bringing a meal to the astronauts on board. Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, who is also described as a "delivery superfan," served as the delivery person eight hours and 34 minutes into his 12-day orbit in space, according to the Associated Press. Traveling 248 miles, he floated into the ISS on Dec. 11 at 9:40 a.m. ET and delivered the space-appropriate meal of ready-to-eat canned Japanese food. "Thank you for coming to space," ISS commander Anton Shkaplerov said upon receiving the food in a brown Uber Eats paper bag. Upon his successful delivery, Maezawa, who was dressed in a white T-shirt, shorts, and an Uber Eats cap, said in Japanese, "I just delivered some delicious food. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to handle the first food delivery to space." The order included mackerel simmered in miso, chicken and bamboo shoots, braised pork, and a Japanese beef bowl. "One small handoff for Yusaku Maezawa, one giant delivery for Uber Eats," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. "We're over the moon to have helped make the first successful delivery to space. Our goal is to help people go anywhere and get anything, so we're proud to serve the astronauts at the International Space Station." Khosrowshahi gave Maezawa some slack for his longer-than-normal delivery time, adding that he gets a thumbs up, "even though it took a bit longer than the usual 30 minutes to arrive." To celebrate the 248-mile delivery, Uber Eats is offering $10 off orders of $20 or more to the first 24,800 customers who use the code SPACEFOOD from Dec. 13 through 19. Maezawa is one of the first self-paying space tourists to the ISS since 2009. The 46-year-old hasn't disclosed the exact sum he paid for his 12-day excursion, but hinted that it's in the $80 million range, according to the Associated Press. As for his partnership with the food delivery service, he said, "Uber Eats' initiative and sense of adventure is inspiring. I will never stop challenging myself, and I hope that everyone continues to do the same. Let's make the world a better place!" The entrepreneur's outer space delivery came on the same day as Good Morning America co-anchor and former football star Michael Strahan's trip to space on the Blue Origin.

Food delivery service Deliveroo plans to open its own restaurant, and grocers pivot to offer restaurant meals. Plus, Steph So, head of digital experience at Shake Shack, speaks with PYMNTS about the ordering channels key to restaurants’ omnichannel futures. Restaurants Compete to Make Loyalty Programs Stand Out as Consumers Join Multiple Programs Most consumers returned to dining inside restaurants in 2021, but recently developed habits and digital preferences are determining the strength of their loyalty to their favorite restaurants, according to recent PYMNTS research. Many consumers’ affinity for digital conveniences makes technical features a must for increasing customer loyalty. Bell and Howell's Bid to Help Grocery Stores and Retailers Monetize the Last Mile James Hermanowski, general manager of Bell and Howell, tells Karen Webster that if 2020 was the year of the great digital pivot, we’re now in the age where grocers (and other verticals) need to make buy online, pick up in-store self-service options and delivery more profitable. Seeing the Writing on the Wall, Major Grocers Enter the Restaurant Space Taking a tip from Walmart, Kroger is entering the ghost kitchen space. The grocer announced Friday (Jan. 7) the opening of its first pickup and delivery restaurant in partnership with ghost kitchen operator Kitchen United at a Ralphs store in Los Angeles, California’s Westwood neighborhood. Deliveroo’s Restaurant Efforts Could Spell Trouble for Merchants on the Platform United Kingdom-based food delivery company Deliveroo is entering the restaurant space, avowing that its goals are limited to this one location, but if the company’s ghost kitchen efforts are any indication, there could be more down the line. Shake Shack Head of Digital Experience: ‘Frictionless Will be Absolute Table Stakes’ “I think the bar will continue to raise in terms of guests wanting that personal experience, and then I think that the winners in five years will be those who can really differentiate their experience beyond that,” Steph So, head of digital experience at Shake Shack, tells PYMNTS in an interview.

Food delivery startup HungryPanda announced Sunday (Jan. 9) that it is growing its footprint with the acquisitions of food delivery firm EASI and New Zealand Asian food delivery platform BUY@HOME. Headquartered in London and founded in 2017 by Eric Liu, who serves as CEO, HungryPanda is the largest overseas Asian food delivery platform, operating across more than 60 cities in 10 countries, including the U.S., U.K. and Australia. The acquisitions will assist HungryPanda in bettering local administration of its services while also moving restaurants towards boosting business success and customer experience by offering a bigger selection of authentic Asian restaurants. See also: Asian Food Delivery Startup HungryPanda Closes $130M Funding Deal HungryPanda raised $130 million last month in a Series D funding deal led by Perwyn, with additional participation by Kinnevik, 83North, Felix Capital, Piton Capital, Vintage, Burda Principal Investments and Kreos Capital. The new acquisitions make HungryPanda the Asian food delivery leader in Australia and New Zealand. “These acquisitions are an important milestone for HungryPanda in continuing to build the leading overseas Asian food delivery platform,” Liu said in the announcement. “By combining our world-class technology and delivery network with the wider coverage of restaurants we can now offer consumers, I am hugely excited about the future potential for our business in these important markets.” “Improving the local Asian food delivery service is only the first step for us,” Liu added. “We are dedicated to introducing a complete Asian fresh food and grocery delivery service, and adding local merchants’ activities and targeted discounts for our consumers with our aim to establish a comprehensive one-stop lifestyle service for overseas Chinese and local residents who have an interest in Asian food culture.” HungryPanda rolled out new business models last year, including PandaFresh, a platform for Asian fresh food and grocery eCommerce, and VouchersPanda, which offers discounted online and offline lifestyle services for overseas Chinese. “This is a strategic alliance that will increase our effectiveness and reach in a busy marketplace, both regionally and internationally,” said Kitty Lu, national operations manager at EASI.

Containers are loaded at Nanning International Railway Port in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Dec 31. [Photo/Xinhua] BEIJING－Soon after midnight on New Year's Day, a freight train departed from South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region for Vietnam, a member country of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The RCEP－the world's largest free trade deal－came into force on Jan 1. The X9101 train carried electronics, daily necessities and chemical products worth more than $10 million. It was expected to reach Hanoi in 28 hours after leaving Nanning, the regional capital of Guangxi. Also on Jan 1, some 5.6 metric tons of imported reflective films from Japan arrived at a port in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The reflective films will be used for the production of mobile phones, digital cameras and other electronic products. The implementation of the RCEP agreement has helped lower the cost of customs duties by 6,000 yuan ($942.6) for the films worth 1.33 million yuan, said Chen Guogang, a director from a Shenzhen-based supply chain service provider called Jiuli. The RCEP was signed on Nov 15,2020, by 15 Asia-Pacific countries－the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand－after eight years of negotiations that started in 2012. With optimized trade rules among the signatories, streamlined procedures and wider opening-up in the sectors of services trade and investment, it will bring tangible benefits to the companies of all member countries. "The company and overseas partners both benefit a lot from following the trend of regional economic integration in East Asia, and I believe the RCEP will further promote this process," said Li Dongchun, a manager of Guangxi Liugong Machinery Co Ltd, a machinery manufacturer based in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the first 11 months of 2021 saw the company's exports increase by 70 percent year-on-year to reach 15,000 units, of which 3,000 units were sold to ASEAN countries, said Li. In Central China's Hunan province, customs authorities issued RCEP certificates of origin to companies including Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Works Imp& Exp Co on Jan 1. "With the RCEP in effect, tariffs will be gradually reduced to zero. We will further expand our overseas market," said Li Yuhong, a manager of the company that exports products to ASEAN countries, Japan and the ROK. Experts said that under the RCEP, a higher level of opening-up, a larger market and better policies will bring new development opportunities and potential, and this will inject sustained momentum into the recovery of the global economy. Xinhua

Aerial photo taken on Nov 3, 2021 shows the container dock of Yangshan Port in Shanghai, East China. [Photo/Xinhua] SHANGHAI -- The container throughput of Shanghai Port exceeded 47 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2021, ranking first globally for 12 consecutive years despite the COVID-19 impact on the shipping industry, port data showed Saturday. Last year, the port handled 32 million TEUs in foreign trade and 6.3 million TEUs in domestic trade. The throughput of international transit containers at the port exceeded 6 million TEUs for the first time, or a year-on-year increase of 13.4 percent, according to the Shanghai International Port Group Co Ltd. Technological support such as automatic terminals and intelligent heavy trucks has played an important role in achieving the growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a port source said. The port is speeding up its digital transformation and production mode transformation to improve the operation potential and ensure the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain, the source added.

Container ships are berthed along with the port at Singapore's Pasir Panjang Container Terminal on Aug 11, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua] As world's largest free trade deal now in force, analysts confident on gains The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which took effect on Saturday, will spur economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region as it opens up markets and counters protectionism, experts say. Consisting of 15 Asia-Pacific countries, the RCEP forms the world's largest free trade area. It is made up of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Covering about 30 percent of the world's population, as well as its gross domestic product and trade volume, the agreement ushers in greater economic integration among Asia-Pacific countries and marks a victory for multilateralism and free trade, observers said. "It will play a role in creating some degree of confidence that trade integration-at least in moderate terms-will continue," said Manu Bhaskaran, chief executive of Centennial Asia Advisors, a think tank in Singapore. "In an age of growing protectionism and inward-looking policies, this is welcome." Francis Chua, founding chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, said the RCEP is expected to consolidate the position of ASEAN members within a larger grouping built on "a modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement". The regional bloc comprises Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos; some of the ASEAN members are yet to ratify the pact. In an online report, the ASEAN Secretariat said the entry into force of the RCEP "is a manifestation of the region's resolve to keep markets open; strengthen regional economic integration; support an open, free, fair, inclusive, and rules-based multilateral trading system; and, ultimately, contribute to global post-pandemic recovery efforts". "The ASEAN Secretariat remains committed to support the RCEP process in ensuring its effective and efficient implementation," the report says. Chua said the pact will ensure the opening of markets and strengthen supply chains and, this way, support an economic rebound. Apart from requiring the trade partners to cut tariffs, he said, the RCEP will enhance the harmonization of non-tariff measures such as product standards for food safety, packaging and labeling requirements. Sanjay Mathur, chief economist for Southeast Asia and India at ANZ Bank, cited China's huge economy and how it will serve as the "pivotal market" for all RCEP members. The pact's members "will now have (increased) access to the second-largest economy in the world, so that is a huge step forward", he said. Bhaskaran said that China, as a leading nation in Asia, can nudge the RCEP members to adopt "broader and deeper integration "in the region. At the same time, some analysts have pointed o...

Chinese consumers are likely to buy more quality imported fruits and vegetables at good prices as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, took effect on Saturday, officials and experts said. Shandong Port Group, the world's largest port conglomerate in terms of cargo capacity, "will be focusing on imported consumer goods such as cold chain products and building a premium shipping route cluster for imported consumer goods that covers RCEP members," said Li Fengli, the group's general manger. "Domestic consumers, especially those from northern China, will have quicker access to imported fruit from countries such as Thailand and Vietnam," Li said at a ceremony marking RCEP's implementation in Qingdao, Shandong, on Saturday. Li said RCEP member countries have 113 services calling at the port group, and the port operator is expected to have handled 4.6 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of full containers from RCEP routes in 2021, up 11.6 percent year-on-year. A ceremony is held marking RCEP's implementation in Qingdao, Shandong, on Saturday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Nabhasporn Bhuttarichval, consul-general of the Thai consulate in Qingdao, said at least 30,000 exported commodities in Thailand will become tariff-free with the implementation of RCEP agreement. "Perishable food products are expected to go through customs clearances in shorter times, bringing convenience to the import and export of fruits and vegetables for RCEP members," she said. Chen Dehai, secretary-general of ASEAN-China Centre, said the implementation of the RCEP agreement, combined with the newly opened China-Laos Railway, will greatly promote agricultural trade between China and ASEAN countries, providing domestic consumers in China with imported fruit from ASEAN countries at reasonable prices.

Let's look at the data. According to the data queried by Google (IIHS), in 2015, about 2% of deaths in motor vehicle accidents worldwide were cyclists. Almost 5,000 riders were killed every year. This may not sound like much, but it is still a terrible Numbers, if people are more aware of the dangers, it is easy to prevent. The most serious injuries are head injuries, which can be prevented by using a properly designed helmet. In fact, if used properly, the use of the helmet reduces the chance of head injury by 50%, while the chance of face or neck injury is reduced by 33% In addition to accident protection, the helmet can also protect you when you are riding. The pebbles and stones that come from you, bees, grasshoppers and cicadas rush into your eyes, so please wear your helmet. My helmet products generally include full helmets, half helmets, and visor helmets. Among them, the best safety is the full helmet, and the best comfort is the half helmet. If I choose (full face helmet> visor face helmet> half face helmet), I will always recommend the full face helmet because it is the safest Material selection is also important, because not every helmet is made of the same material. The helmet shell can be hard plastic, carbon fiber, carbon Kevlar fiber and other woven fibers with a hard shell. Carbon Fiber = Carbon Kevlar Fiber> Woven Fiber> Hard Plastic Prices, depending on the material, range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, but they are worth it. Because this is the only thing that can protect your mind when you have a car accident Determining the size of the helmet is very simple. After getting the tape measure, wrap it around the head just above the eyebrows and ears-this is the size of your head, and finally attach the size chart. XS: 53-54 cm/20.8-21.2 inches S: 55-56 cm/21.6-22 inches M: 57-58 cm/22.4-22.8 inches Length: 59-60 cm/23.2-23.6 inches XL: 61-62 cm/24-24.4 inches XXL: 63-64 cm/24.8-25.2 inches 3XL: 65-66 cm/25.6-26 inches The above dimensions are suitable for most people, but there may be slight differences between manufacturers, so the existence of errors should be considered accordingly Your mind is the most important part of your body, please protect it.