A man was fined $123,000 for renting out his central London apartment to tourists on Airbnb

A man has been fined £100,000 ($123,000) for renting out his central London council apartment to tourists on Airbnb.

In the UK, council properties are managed by the government and distributed to people in need. Most are gifted, or rented at a subsidized rate, so it's illegal to sublet them.

Westminster City Council said that Toby Harman, 37, had made £100,974 ($124,302) in profits from 300 bookings at his Victoria apartment since 2013.

Harman wrote on Airbnb that his "cozy studio apartment in Victoria" also had a hot-tub.

Council member Andrew Smith said: "Social housing is there to provide much-needed homes for our residents, not to generate illicit profits for dishonest tenants."


A British man has been fined £100,000 ($123,000) for renting out his government-owned apartment in central London to tourists on Airbnb.

In the UK, council houses are owned by the government and distributed to people in need. Some are handed out free of charge, but most are rented at a subsidized rate. It's illegal for council tenants to sublet their homes.

Westminster City Council said in a statement on July 19 that Toby Harman, 37, accepted 300 bookings at his apartment in Victoria since 2013, making £100,974 ($124,302).

source:- https://www.insider.com/london-airbnb-fined-for-renting-out-government-apartment-2019-7

Shopping for Raksha Bandhan? This is your ultimate gift guide

Raksha Bandhan is right around the corner, which means you can look forward to a day where you can get over the longstanding rivalry with your sibling in the name of love. If you've been on the lookout for the perfect present but have been unsuccessful till now, fret not. We've put together a gift guide to make your task a tad bit easier, and it comes packed with some of the best rakhi gifts you can get your hands on from the online retail space. The best part? All 15 products are accessible (under Rs 10,000), meaning your sibling will definitely adore them, but you won't have to burn a hole in your pocket to make them happy.

Best rakhi gifts for your sister
Picking out the perfect rakhi gift for your sister is no easy feat. For the younger sibling who has put up with your temper tantrums through those rebellious teen years, a metallic liquid eyeliner from M.A.C can be a welcome payback. If your sister leans towards quirky things, we recommend a colourful crossbody bag from Zara's Raksha Bandhan edit. And while you may think that nothing will ever seem good enough for your older sister, a limited edition eye palette from Bobbi Brown on Nykaa might just do the trick.

Best rakhi gifts for your brother

Raksha Bandhan is not all about receiving gifts. Earn brownie points with your brother this festive season by gifting him something in return, when he hands you your rakhi present. Invest in JBL's noise-cancelling headphones or get him those wireless speakers with Bluetooth by Sony. If your brother is a jet-setter, treat him to a handy grooming travel set, or give him EUME's trendy backpack, which comes with an in-built massager too.

Scroll onwards for our edit of the best rakhi gifts for your sibling, all under Rs 10k.

source: https://www.vogue.in/content/raksha-bandhan-rakhi-gifts-for-brothers-and-sisters

Top 5 Rakhi Gift Ideas to Celebrate Siblinghood

Having a sibling with the same mental disorder is a blessing! Isn’t it? Siblings are the one with whom you can share everything without any hesitation. You are always beside your sibling, no matter how much you fight with them. This is the beauty of the bro-sis relationship. That’s why Raksha Bandhan is commemorated with immense joy all over the world. To give an excellent start to this special occasion, it is good to go ahead with the best Rakhi gift. Thinking what to gift your sibling this Raksha Bandhan? Here, are some fantastic Rakhi gift ideas that will assist you to celebrate siblinghood with high spirits.

Deodorant

Planning to gift something that can refresh the soul of your sibling? If yes, then go ahead with deodorant. Deodorant plays a crucial role in day-to-day life as it exposes the persona of an individual. You can’t go wrong with this gift. If you know the favorite deodorant of your sibling, then without giving a second thought, buy it. It will surely amaze them. If you are away from your sibling, then you can also send it through best gift sites in India. Your order will be delivered in a trouble-free way.

Sunglasses

This Raksha Bandhan festive, break the trend of only presenting money envelope. Present a gift that can be used daily. Delight your loving sister by giving sunglasses. Sunglasses have the power to alter the look of any attire. Hence, when you present shades to your sister, she will jump in joy for sure. When you have such kind of great options, then online Rakhi shopping becomes much more comfortable. Isn’t it? Yes, of course. Select a pair of cool glasses for your sister.

Chocolates

As you know that Indian festivals can’t wind up without eating something sweet, hence you have to buy something sweet for Raksha Bandhan celebration. Infuse more sweetness to the bond of siblinghood by presenting chocolates to your sibling. You can get chocolates delivered to your favorite place with the help of online gifts delivery in India. Apart from sending rakhi with chocolates, you can also include a personal note that describes the love for your sibling.

Designer Rakhi

Give a break to usual Rakhi, and bring Designer Rakhi online to celebrate siblinghood. Nowadays, you can discover Rakhis in different designs, patterns, colors, and much more. You can even personalize your Rakhi by engraving the name or photo of your brother. Surprise your brother by presenting designer Rakhi this Raksha Bandhan.

source:- https://www.indiagift.in/blog/top-5-rakhi-gift-ideas-to-celebrate-siblinghood/2230

On 73rd birthday, businessman gifts freedom to 17 jail inmates

Businessman Motilal Yadav deposited ₹32,380 as the penalty amount of inmates who could not afford to do so and were languishing in prison for an extended period after being booked in petty offences.

The 73rd birthday of a city businessman here on Saturday became liberation day for 17 jail birds, as he decided to ‘gift’ bail money for prisoners who could not afford it.

Businessman Motilal Yadav deposited ₹32,380 as the penalty amount of inmates who could not afford to do so and were languishing in prison for an extended period after being booked in petty offences. Superintendent of the district jail Shashikant Mishra said, “Today, on the occasion of his 73rd birthday, local businessman Moti Lal Yadav came with the offer that he wanted to pay the penalty amount of the inmates who were unable to do so and were forced to stay in jail.”

He said, “These inmates were arrested for various offences and were in prison for different periods. They were unable to pay the penalty amount.”

“A convict Sagar was arrested on August 17 in 2016 and his term ended a year ago. His conduct was good but as he could not pay Rs. 1,089 as penalty, he was forced to stay here,” Mishra said, citing an example. Businessman Motilal Yadav said, “After reading an article in a newspaper about a businessman who donated steel glasses for the inmates, my son suggested I should also do something for the inmates. After that I asked my younger son to approach the jail officials.”

“My younger son is an advocate and he suggested I should pay the penalty amount of the inmates who were unable to pay it themselves and were languishing behind the bars,” he said.

“Today, on the occasion of my 73rd birthday, I went to the district jail and after the formalities, 17 inmates from Agra and other districts were released,” Yadav said. “Besides, I also paid some money for the fare and food of about 8 inmates who were from other districts, so that they should not have to travel without a ticket and on an empty stomach,” Yadav said.

“Earlier too, I used to organise such things for needy people on my birthday. I also organised a ‘bhandara’ for visually impaired students of ‘Soorkuti’ in the past but this time I got the idea to do something for hapless jail inmates,” he said. His son Vijay said,“ Every year, he does something for needy people. So this time when he wished to do something for the inmates, we supported him wholeheartedly.”

source:- https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/on-73rd-birthday-businessman-gifts-freedom-to-17-jail-inmates/story-RPPWDe4ZwSOiWI4mq7G7YP.html

Ryan Gifts Tanya the Coolest Birthday Present: Watch!

This is so cool! Ryan Seacrest gifted Tanya Rad a unique and thoughtful birthday gift. On Friday, July 19, Seacrest shared that he changed his gift last minute after Sisanie presented Tanya Rad with the ultimate “modern woman” gift box on her birthday.

“I actually changed my gift,” Ryan admitted on-air. “[Sisanie] put together a pink toolbox kit, a real starter kit for life for you, and … I was driving home and thinking 'That was really great.' … So I racked by brain and I called what I had sent you and I stopped delivery … I was going to do some nice flowers, like an orchid, but it’s so typical,” Ryan explained. “I felt like it was so typical … so I started thinking, ‘Who is influencing Tanya right now? Dr. Screen Time! What could they do together?’”

Leave it to Ryan to involve Tanya’s latest crush, but, honestly the gift is seriously neat!

“It’s a beach experience!” Tanya shared. “They put chairs down for you and you get to pick fun games that you play on the beach and they bring you lunch — it’s like a full six hour day at the beach! … I’d never heard about it! I had never seen it before. It literally even took me a few minutes to understand what it was. I was like, ‘This is really cool.’”

Ryan joked that he added a few extra chairs so that he could find out who Tanya would invite.

source:- https://onairwithryan.iheart.com/featured/ryan-seacrest/content/2019-07-19-ryan-gifts-tanya-the-coolest-birthday-present-watch/

Shopping On Amazon Prime Day? Keep An Eye Out For Phishing Scams

Amazon's annual Prime Day sale has turned into one of the biggest shopping days of the year. According to the company, it saw more than 100 million items fly off its virtual shelves, racking up more than $1 billion in sales. This year, the company expects that more than one million items will be marked down on July 15 and 16, ready for bargain shoppers to buy. But if you're shopping for deals during this year's Prime Day, be careful. While you're looking for deals, malicious actors will be looking to separate you from your money with scams.

Cybersecurity firm McAfee reported that a popular phishing kit, called 16Shop, has recently turned its attention to Amazon. While the kit has been designed to scam Apple customers, a modified version is now targeting Amazon shoppers just in time for one of the biggest shopping days of the year. 16Shop enables malicious actors to send out emails disguised to look like they come straight from Amazon itself. The emails have PDFs attached that contain links that direct victims to a website that looks essentially identical to the Amazon login page. Of course, it's not really an Amazon site. Instead, it's a site designed to harvest information from unsuspecting victims who find themselves on the page.

If you fall victim to this scam, the effects can be pretty devastating. If you enter your login information and password, it is relayed to the malicious actor behind the scheme via Telegram message. Once they are in possession of those login credentials, they can access a considerable amount of your private information. Your Amazon account likely contains your full name, home address, birthday, credit card information and, in some cases, even your Social Security number. That's all the information an attacker would need to commit a considerable amount of identity fraud or rack up charges on your card without your permission. If you use the same login information for other accounts, the attacker could also gain access to those, and any personal information that may be stored by or linked to those accounts.

According to McAfee, the Amazon-focused 16Shop phishing kit has already been deployed more than 200 times, and that figure will likely only increase as Prime Day starts. McAfee found evidence that the people behind the kit have been promoting it on social media, which may result in more widespread attacks as the kit is made more accessible. This likely won't be the only attack, either. Attackers will also attempt to trick victims into clicking on malicious links with emails promising gift cards or pretending to need confirmation on an order.

While these attacks are something to watch out for during Prime Day—and, frankly, year-round—remaining vigilant and being cautious can help you avoid falling victim to these phishing schemes. One of the easiest methods to avoid scammers is to simply never click on a link in an email. If you receive a message that purports to be from Amazon—or any other company or service for that matter—simply visit the site manually. If the alert is real, it will be available to you when you log in.

source:- https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajdellinger/2019/07/15/shopping-on-amazon-prime-day-keep-an-eye-out-for-phishing-scams/#58b5b74c1f4b

Where to shop online that isn’t Amazon

There’s been a huge amount of publicity generated by Amazon Prime Day (publicity that, in all honesty, The Verge has contributed to, covering both Prime Day Deals and Prime Day boycotts). However, there are obviously other places to buy from out there in the wilds of the web. We took a quick poll of The Verge’s staff, and came up with a few favorite sources for books, gifts and other products that you might want to try if you’re not a member of Prime, want to do some comparison shopping, or just want to see something a bit different.

This is by no means a complete list. In fact, it’s only a beginning — there is an incredible variety of stores outside of the Amazon ecosystem (many of which also sell via Amazon). But we thought we’d offer a few alternatives, just to get you started.

(Keep in mind that not all of these vendors will ship to every country outside the US, if they ship outside the US at all.)

source:- https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/16/20696127/amazon-alternatives-online-shopping-books-clothing-electronics-sports-google-ebay-target-prime-day

Delhi and Bengaluru customs stop clearing 'gifts': Report Aditi Agrawal

In a bid to stem e-commerce shipments from Southeast Asia and China which are wrongly declared as ‘gifts’ to evade duties, courier terminals at Bengaluru and Delhi have stopped clearing parcels under the CB-12 (gifts and samples) route, according to an Economic Times report. Mumbai Customs took a similar action in January 2019, while Chennai is considering it.

What is the CB-12 rule?

• Individuals can receive free samples and gifts up to ₹5,000 in value without paying any duties
• No cap on the number of gifts individual can receive; exploited by overseas e-commerce vendors

Problem with the rule

• E-commerce platforms based in China, such as Club Factory, Shein and AliExpress, misuse this rule to ship cheaper products to Indian customers as gifts, thus avoiding customs duty, and goods and services tax, LiveMint had earlier reported.
• Under a World Trade Organization moratorium, electronic transfer of services, such as e-books don’t require imposition of customs, but physical transfer of goods bought on e-commerce platforms are taxable.

https://www.medianama.com/2019/07/223-delhi-and-bengaluru-customs-stop-clearing-gifts-report/

Winni Presents an Astounding Array of Rakhi Gifts - A Nitty-Gritty of Raksha Bandhan Festival

Winni is India’s finest and trustworthy marketplace where customers are always welcomed with the startling range of gifts for every festival or celebratory moment. With Raksha Bandhan approaching, Winni announced the whole new and astounding array of Rakhi gifts at attractive prices. The launch guarantees customers access to high-quality gifts, the best savings and offers, as well as effective delivery options to send rakhi gifts online, anytime and anywhere. 
 
Raksha Bandhan is a big-o-festival of the year and it holds a great significance in a brother-sister’s life. Winni better understands the importance of the festival and its related rituals. Therefore, the company is ready to boom the Rakhi season with loads of cheers and merriment introducing an extensive range of Rakhi gifts, flowers, cakes, personalized items, hampers, combos and a lot more at a varied range of price.

The company had been a winning penchant to shop rakhi goodies for everyone on your list over the years. But this year, the company has decided not to leave any stone unturned. Gifts are always considered as the major part of the celebration and when it comes to celebrating the relentless love and care shared between a brother and sister on rakhi, then it should be remarkable enough to mark the festival fun-filled and extraordinary.

One can conclude that gifts are the nitty-gritty of Rakhi celebration. Therefore, Winni endeavor to meet the customer’s expectations with new offerings and this time, the company is stepping ahead to the new phase of growth by setting the new goals and bringing a superior shopping gift experience to customers.  

source:- https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=243349

Buying Gifts Online: Surprise People Around You

If it’s one thing a present should do is to surprise the people you love the most. Gifts are awesome ways to show your love and appreciation to the people around you. They don’t have to cost a fortune, and they don’t have to be huge. All they really need to be is awesome and useful to the people you’re buying them for.

So without further ado, let’s see how to choose the perfect online gift that will surprise the people you love the most.

Make it an Event

The first thing that comes to mind when shopping online for gifts is to make sure that they will enjoy your gift. So the best course of action would be to get creative with the gift itself and try to sell it off as an event. Handing out gifts is boring, nowadays, and you can spice things up by thinking of the gift as an event. For this, we suggest you fool around with your friend and hide the gift somewhere where he will need to search for clues in order to find it. Send him on a scavenger hunt and try to give out simple, but highly confusing, clues that he will need to follow. This way both of you are going to have so much fun and it will be a gift present that he will never forget.




Make it Useful

The internet is a place where you can virtually buy anything. A lot of useful things can be bought online that can be used in multiple ways. We mentioned how the gift you’re buying should be useful for the recipient; this is very important as no one wants a gift that he will use once in their lifestyle and then store it in the basement. Think about the sort of gift that can be purchased online that will serve your friend to the maximum. These gifts don’t necessarily have to be expensive, as there are tons of gift ideas that are practical and useful, all while being incredibly cheap. If you’re looking to buy something foreign for your friend, something exotic from Thailand, make sure to visit NippanGift.


source:- https://thefrisky.com/buying-gifts-online-surprise-people-around-you/

Gifts Novelty and Souvenirs Market to Exhibit Impressive Growth during 2018 – 2023

The Latest business intelligence report on Global Gifts Novelty and Souvenirs Market released by HTF MI aims to deliver an in-depth outline regarding the trends and market development scenario to outpace market with relevant strategies. The research is derived through primary and secondary data sources and involves both qualitative and quantitative data. The report highlights key challenges and growth opportunities available in the industry, along with the latest competitive strategies and growth plans enforced by the major players of Global Gifts Novelty and Souvenirs market , some of them are American Greetings, Card Factory, Hallmark, Spencer Gifts & Alibaba Group.

source:- https://theslapclap.com/16234/gifts-novelty-and-souvenirs-market-to-exhibit-impressive-growth-during-2018-2023/