‘Where will I get my burger’: Delhi wonders as 43 McDonald’s outlets shut

Agencies
June 30, 2017

New Delhi, Jun 30: If you are a glutton for McDonald’s burgers, get ready for some serious heartburn.

mc

As many as 43 of the 55 outlets belonging to the American fast food chain in Delhi temporarily suspended operations from Thursday, after its North and East India licensee failed to renew eating-house permits.

As soon as news of the development spread, Delhiites rushed to their nearest McDonald’s outlets in the hope of landing one last burger before they downed shutters. Only a few emerged successful.

“I have been eating at McDonald’s for several years now. Their sudden decision to suspend operations is shocking. Where will I get them now?” asked Rohit Sharma, a 29-year-old IT professional working in Connaught Place.

McDonald’s burgers have been the most sought-after meal for many, from college-goers to corporate employees. “I logged on to the McDonald’s website to get a burger delivered at my home. I had barely typed in my address and order details when a message that read – ‘Sorry, the assigned store(s) is not able to make deliveries now’ – flashed before my eyes,” bemoaned 20-year-old Pooja Dubey, a first-year BTech student. “This is the final nail in the coffin. Where can I get my favourite burger now?”

Experts believe the temporary closure of these outlets will further hit the reputation of the American food chain, which had already lost its tag of being the largest fast-food restaurant chain to Dominos Pizza about four years ago.

The licensee – Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRL) – is a joint venture between entrepreneur Vikram Bakshi and McDonald’s India Pvt Ltd (MIPL).

“The eating-house licenses of a number of McDonald’s restaurants in Delhi have expired. The CPRL board is working towards obtaining the required permits. Pending this, the CPRL is temporarily suspending operations at the affected restaurants,” a statement issued by the MIPL read. However, it did not specify the reason or the likely duration of the suspension.

“Though unfortunate, it is correct that around 40 McDonald’s restaurants have temporarily suspended operations in Delhi from today morning,” Bakshi, who is on the CPRL board, said.

Bakshi and McDonald’s have been at loggerheads over control of the CPRL, and the matter is being pursued at the London Court of International Arbitration. The legal scuffle began after Bakshi was removed from the post of CPRL managing director in August 2013.

A highly placed source told PTI that more outlets in the Capital could be shut due to the CRPL’s failure to renew licences.

McDonald’s India spokesperson Barry Sum downplayed reports of possible job losses due to the closure. “We understand that the CPRL is retaining employees of the affected restaurants and will pay them their salary during the period of suspension,” he said.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Facebook on Monday launched a new consumer marketing campaign in India titled 'More Together'. India is the first country in the Asia Pacific region where such a campaign is being rolled out.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

"India is at the heart of Facebook and one of our focus areas this year is to tell the exciting story of a service that is deeply embedded in the fabric of India," said Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director, Facebook India.

The campaign would have multiple campaigns over the next few weeks in eight languages and the one will be set in the context of Holi.

Facebook in 2019 introduced a new company logo to further distinguish the company from the Facebook app.

The company recently announced the appointment of Avinash Pant as the Marketing Director for India operations, to drive the consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps.

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Agencies
June 13,2020

The Brazilian government said that the Amazon rainforest witnessed deforestation of a record 829 sq km in May, the highest monthly level since 2015.

On Friday, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said that deforestation in the Amazon increased by 91 sq km compared to the same period last year, reports Xinhua news agency.

Between January and April, destruction of the forest by illegal loggers and ranchers rose 55 per cent, or a total of 1,202 sq km was wiped out, it said.

The Real-time Deforestation Detection system, a federal project created to monitor human activity in the Amazon, alerted authorities to the increase in the rate of destruction of the rainforest.

A recent study by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) warned that deforestation in 2020 could reach 11,900 sq km if the pace of May, June, and July follows the historical average.

Deforestation in the region has soared since President Jair Bolsonaro took office last year, according to conservation groups.

He has argued that more farming and mining in protected areas of the forest were the only way to lift the region out of poverty.

Bolsonaro's environmental policies have been widely condemned but he has rejected the criticism, saying Brazil remains an example for conservation.

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Agencies
March 15,2020

Cybercriminals continue to exploit public fear of rising coronavirus cases through malware and phishing emails in the guise of content coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US and World Health Organisation (WHO), says cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.

In the APAC region, Kaspersky has detected 93 coronavirus-related malware in Bangladesh, 53 in the Philippines, 40 in China, 23 in Vietnam, 22 in India and 20 in Malaysia. 

Single-digit detections were monitored in Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Myanmar, and Thailand. 

Along with the consistent increase of 2019 coronavirus cases comes the incessant techniques cybercriminals are using to prey on public panic amidst the global epidemic, the company said in a statement. 

Kaspersky also detected emails offering products such as masks, and then the topic became more commonly used in Nigerian spam emails. Researchers also found scam emails with phishing links and malicious attachments.

One of the latest spam campaigns mimics the World Health Organisation (WHO), showing how cybercriminals recognise and are capitalising on the important role WHO has in providing trustworthy information about the coronavirus.

"We would encourage companies to be particularly vigilant at this time, and ensure employees who are working at home exercise caution. 

"Businesses should communicate clearly with workers to ensure they are aware of the risks, and do everything they can to secure remote access for those self-isolating or working from home," commented David Emm, principal security researcher.

Some malicious files are spread via email. 

For example, an Excel file distributed via email under the guise of a list of coronavirus victims allegedly sent from the World Health Organisation (WHO) was, in fact, a Trojan-Downloader, which secretly downloads and installs another malicious file. 

This second file was a Trojan-Spy designed to gather various data, including passwords, from the infected device and send it to the attacker.

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