Ebusiness Source

The two-year e-learning training project will help small abattoirs, butchers and meat processors across the EU to add value to their products and services in an increasingly competitive market.

Rural development company IRD Duhallow is the project leader with partners in Ireland, Spain, Finland and Denmark.

The number of abattoirs in Ireland has fallen over the past 20 years from 1,000 to just over 200 today.

This trend is being repeated across Europe. But the Local Meat Supply Chains (SLMSC) project, funded by the European Commission’s Leonarda da Vinci programme, aims to halt this decline.

Research and Development Minister, Sean Sherlock, said: “It is heartening to see a project addressing some of the challenges faced by the rural meat sector in maintaining profitability and competitiveness.

“I look forward to seeing the results in two years from now.”

Project coordinator Isobel Fletcher said abattoirs play a key role in the meat supply chain; yet they have been closing down fast. M

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HONOLULU – Asia-Pacific leaders will call on countries on Sunday to do what they can to prop up economic growth, rallying around the common threat from Europe’s debt crisis despite divisions over trade and currency policies.

Fresh off a rare success in securing agreement on the outlines of a regional trade deal, the heads of the 21 nations that make up the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will turn their attention to the more immediate problem of preventing contagion from Europe.

After talks on Sunday, leaders are expected to release a statement expressing concern that Europe’s unresolved debt troubles will spill over into the Asia-Pacific region.

Unlike the United States, where the Federal Reserve has already cut interest rates to near zero, many Asian economies have room to reduce benchmark borrowing costs to try to spur faster growth. Most of them also boast healthy public finances, giving them more leeway to boost government spending.

“We’re not going to see massive growth out of Europe until the problems are solved,” U.S. President Barack Obama said.

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Siri is the new voice activated personal digital assistant on the latest iteration of the iPhone. Exactly how personal is she willing to get?

Siri, thanks for being here.

That’s nice of you to say.

So Siri, where is Steve Jobs right now?

I don’t know who Steve Jobs is. Can you try again?

Never mind. What’s your favorite color?

My favorite color is, well, I don’t know how to say it in your language. It’s sort of greenish, but with more dimensions.

Can you tell me a joke?

Nancy, I don’t really know any good jokes. None, in fact.

I love you, Siri.

Oh, I bet you say that to all your Apple products.

So how do I get to first base?

I found 25 places. Tap the one you want directions to.

Wait. What? How do I get to first base?

Here are directions to first base.

Siri, will you marry me?

My end user licensing agreement does not cover marriage.

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(BEIJING) – The head of the European bailout fund Klaus Regling said Saturday he expects the eurozone’s economic problems will last two to three years, and long-term issues will remain.

Regling’s remarks suggest Europe still faces a long road to recovery from its sovereign-debt crisis, even after a summit of European Union leaders this week set a new course to address the debacle, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

I think the European problems will be well-tackled and overcome over the next two to three years, Dow Jones quoted Regling as saying during a talk at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

But it does not mean that all problems in this world will have disappeared, the chief executive of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) said.

Longer-term challenges include: a big structure shift in financial markets caused by the damaged appeal of sovereign debt among investors, and boosting competitiveness in some countries, Regling said.

Sovereign debt, which for decades or centuries were the predominant risk-free asset, may be losing that status, not only in Europe but also in other countries, he said.

Regling arrived in China a day after EU leaders announced measures including quadrupling the firepower of the fund to one trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) from 440 billion euros.

He said he was in China to listen to potential investors and get their views on the EU effort, calling the Friday talks productive and friendly.

On Friday, China said it would seek more clarity before investing in the bailout fund, dampening expectations that the world’s second-largest economy was prepared to help Europe overcome the crisis.

Expectations for a strong commitment from Beijing had been high ahead of Regling’s visit, with the Financial Times quoting a source saying China could inject more than $100 billion (70.5 billion euros).

But publicly, Beijing has been noncommittal and Chinese state media said Europe must take responsibility for the crisis and not rely on good Samaritans to save the continent from its fiscal woes.

Markets remain on edge as they await this weekend’s summit. European leaders said they did not expect Sunday’s meeting to give an all-cure solution to the eurozone’s debt problems, with regional leaders still divided. Ratings agency Standard } document.write(‘‘); //–>