2:43 am, Friday, 10 October 2025
BREAKING NEWS
Reviving the Rural Economy: $100 Million ADB–Bangladesh Agreement The Journey Begins for Cox’s Bazar’s First Plastic Recycling Plant Why the world’s biggest food company is stepping back Nestlé has withdrawn from a high-profile international alliance to cut methane from dairy supply chains, a move that instantly sharpened debate over how fast and by what methods the sector should decarbonize; the company says it will keep pursuing on-farm emissions cuts through its own programs while reassessing the group’s approach and governance, but the exit deprives the coalition of its most recognizable member and risks slowing peer benchmarking, shared pilot data, and pooled purchasing that can bring down costs for farmers. Methane from cattle is a potent, short-lived climate pollutant, and many governments have leaned on voluntary industry compacts to accelerate adoption of feed additives, manure management, and breeding strategies; critics of Nestlé’s decision warn that a fragmentation of efforts could reduce transparency and make it harder for buyers, lenders, and regulators to compare progress across brands, whereas supporters counter that company-led projects tied to local agronomy and subsidies often deliver faster, measurable gains than broad global charters. The policy backdrop is shifting as well: several markets are moving from pure carrots to a mix of incentives and performance-based conditions on grants and export supports, and that pivot raises stakes for how milk processors document emissions baselines and third-party verification, because the credibility of Scope 3 targets rests on comparable methodologies rather than marketing claims alone. Practically, much of the abatement economics hinge on who pays for early-stage inputs like methane-reducing feed supplements and slurry lids; with farm margins tight, a coordinated model—blending buyer premiums, public cost-shares, and green-finance instruments—is usually needed to avoid penalizing smaller producers, and Nestlé’s departure complicates the coalition’s ability to aggregate demand and negotiate lower unit costs at scale. What changes on the farm, for financiers, and across supply chains For producers, the near-term signal is mixed: one major buyer is still funding on-farm pilots but no longer inside the alliance’s shared roadmap, which could slow knowledge transfer between regions that differ on climate, feed, and herd structure, even as individual Nestlé programs continue to trial seaweed-based additives, nitrification inhibitors, covered lagoons with biogas capture, and pasture rotations to improve enteric and manure outcomes; in parallel, veterinarians and breeders stress that fertility and animal health gains can cut emissions intensity without shrinking output, though activists argue absolute reductions are needed if national targets are to be met. Financiers and insurers will keep pressing for comparable disclosures because the cost of capital increasingly reflects climate-risk metrics: banks baking “sustainability-linked” terms into dairy loans need clear, auditable KPIs, and exporters eyeing tariff-free access to markets with carbon-border rules will face tougher paperwork if standards splinter, which is why industry groups are urging a minimum common MRV (measurement-reporting-verification) framework even when brand strategies differ. For consumers—and for downstream brands in chocolate, infant formula, and ice cream—the implications will show up more in labels and price architecture than in the taste of products: if buyers pay farmers for verified methane abatement while feed and equipment remain pricey, some costs may pass through, but over time biogas revenue, fertilizer substitution, and efficiency gains can offset outlays and stabilize retail pricing. The political risk is that today’s corporate exit becomes tomorrow’s cultural flashpoint, especially in countries where farmer protests have already shaped election cycles; to avoid backlash, climate policy designers are experimenting with “pay for performance” that rewards measured reductions rather than prescribing a single technology path. The bottom line is not that dairy decarbonization stalls, but that governance gets messier: Nestlé’s solo track keeps momentum on pilots yet raises coordination costs for everyone else, and the outcome to watch is whether competing alliances converge on interoperable data, verification, and crediting rules so that farmers can sell a ton of avoided methane once—and get recognized for it across buyers, banks, and border regimes. SOFTBANK BUYS ABB’S ROBOTICS UNIT FOR $5.4B, BETTING ON A NEW WAVE OF FACTORY AUTOMATION Nurul Majid Humayun’s Death and the Placement of Prisons under the International Red Cross IEA TRIMS U.S. RENEWABLES OUTLOOK AS FEDERAL POLICIES SHIFT; GLOBAL SOLAR STILL SURGES GAZA TALKS ENTER DAY THREE IN EGYPT AS MEDIATORS TEST PATH TO FULL CEASE-FIRE OCTOBER PRIME DAY 2025: THE TECH DEALS THAT ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY PRIME DAY, AGAIN: WIRED’S BIG LIST SHOWS HOW TO SHOP SMART AND SKIP THE DUDS TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET TEASES ‘MARTY SUPREME’ AFTER NYFF PREMIERE, KEEPING PLOT UNDER WRAPS

OCTOBER PRIME DAY 2025: THE TECH DEALS THAT ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY

Sarakhon Report

How to separate real discounts from hype—and where the best value is right now

Amazon’s October “Prime Big Deal Days” is built to overwhelm: thousands of flashing badges, crossed-out prices, and countdown timers designed to trigger impulse clicks. The way to win is to slow down. Start with a short, written list of what you actually need for the next 6–12 months—say, a living-room TV, work headphones, and a mesh router—and ignore everything else. Check a product’s recent “street price” rather than inflated list prices; if a device has been sitting at $199 for weeks, a “$299 → $189” banner is not a $110 savings, it’s a $10 drop. Favor editor-tested gear with long support windows over unvetted brands that chase specs with weak warranties. Then stack the quiet, compounding perks: card credits, trade-ins, and extended returns you can use to test at home and send back if it disappoints. This year, the real cuts concentrate in four clusters. Big-screen OLED and mini-LED TVs have slid to seasonal lows, especially 65–77-inch models that were premium last year. Noise-canceling headphones and true-wireless earbuds are down to repeatable floor prices that usually only reappear on Black Friday. Mesh routers—particularly Wi-Fi 6E and early Wi-Fi 7 kits—are at or near year lows. And everyday accessories like portable SSDs, USB-C hubs, and GaN chargers are widely discounted and rarely get cheaper later. If you’re Apple-centric, watch iPads, entry AirPods, and a handful of MagSafe-compatible chargers; Android buyers are seeing solid drops on mainstream handsets and wearables as new flagships roll in. The biggest trap is the “value” bundle that adds a low-grade cable, a questionable case, and a warranty you’ll never register. Buy the good item alone and add quality accessories separately when they’re also on sale.

Category playbooks and buyer tactics—TVs, laptops, audio, networking, and smart-home

TVs: decide your panel first (OLED for cinephiles, mini-LED for bright rooms), then size, then features like 120-Hz inputs and HDMI eARC. Don’t pay more for a wall-thin “art” frame if you never use ambient modes. Read the brightness and HDR format support; mid-range OLEDs now hit peaks that make a bigger difference than brand-name marketing. Laptops: premium ultrabooks rarely crash through back-to-school lows, but base MacBook Air and well-specced Windows machines often dip to the year’s best during this event. Focus on RAM and storage you won’t outgrow, and skip “doorbuster” configs that pair new CPUs with slow drives. Audio: ANC headphones that were flagships 12–18 months ago are terrific buys; they carry the software polish and spare parts ecosystem new models are still building. For gym or commute, choose earbuds with multipoint and water resistance instead of chasing “hi-res” codecs you’ll never notice outside a quiet room. Networking: a two- or three-node mesh beats one monster router; place nodes where you actually sit. Wi-Fi 6E is now mature, Wi-Fi 7 still early—pay for the former unless you own multiple 7-ready clients. Smart-home: stick with platforms that pledge local control and Matter support; the cheapest cameras can cost you later with required cloud plans. For cross-border buyers in South Asia, two practical filters save headaches: regional warranty participation and plug standards. A TV with no local service partner, or a robot vacuum that needs odd consumables, can erase any headline savings once freight forwarding, step-down transformers, or third-party parts enter the picture. Finally, fight FOMO. Prime Day’s psychology is urgency; your moat is a rule: buy only what’s on your pre-made list at a documented low. If a “want” is merely decent, park it for Black Friday or year-end clearance when overstocks appear. But do pounce now on genuine, editor-verified lows for TVs, routers, e-readers, and workhorse accessories—these categories often return to regular pricing next week and may not dip again until late November. Keep all receipts, unbox carefully, and test early so returns are painless. The goal isn’t to buy more; it’s to buy better, once.

 

04:25:15 pm, Wednesday, 8 October 2025

Why the world’s biggest food company is stepping back Nestlé has withdrawn from a high-profile international alliance to cut methane from dairy supply chains, a move that instantly sharpened debate over how fast and by what methods the sector should decarbonize; the company says it will keep pursuing on-farm emissions cuts through its own programs while reassessing the group’s approach and governance, but the exit deprives the coalition of its most recognizable member and risks slowing peer benchmarking, shared pilot data, and pooled purchasing that can bring down costs for farmers. Methane from cattle is a potent, short-lived climate pollutant, and many governments have leaned on voluntary industry compacts to accelerate adoption of feed additives, manure management, and breeding strategies; critics of Nestlé’s decision warn that a fragmentation of efforts could reduce transparency and make it harder for buyers, lenders, and regulators to compare progress across brands, whereas supporters counter that company-led projects tied to local agronomy and subsidies often deliver faster, measurable gains than broad global charters. The policy backdrop is shifting as well: several markets are moving from pure carrots to a mix of incentives and performance-based conditions on grants and export supports, and that pivot raises stakes for how milk processors document emissions baselines and third-party verification, because the credibility of Scope 3 targets rests on comparable methodologies rather than marketing claims alone. Practically, much of the abatement economics hinge on who pays for early-stage inputs like methane-reducing feed supplements and slurry lids; with farm margins tight, a coordinated model—blending buyer premiums, public cost-shares, and green-finance instruments—is usually needed to avoid penalizing smaller producers, and Nestlé’s departure complicates the coalition’s ability to aggregate demand and negotiate lower unit costs at scale. What changes on the farm, for financiers, and across supply chains For producers, the near-term signal is mixed: one major buyer is still funding on-farm pilots but no longer inside the alliance’s shared roadmap, which could slow knowledge transfer between regions that differ on climate, feed, and herd structure, even as individual Nestlé programs continue to trial seaweed-based additives, nitrification inhibitors, covered lagoons with biogas capture, and pasture rotations to improve enteric and manure outcomes; in parallel, veterinarians and breeders stress that fertility and animal health gains can cut emissions intensity without shrinking output, though activists argue absolute reductions are needed if national targets are to be met. Financiers and insurers will keep pressing for comparable disclosures because the cost of capital increasingly reflects climate-risk metrics: banks baking “sustainability-linked” terms into dairy loans need clear, auditable KPIs, and exporters eyeing tariff-free access to markets with carbon-border rules will face tougher paperwork if standards splinter, which is why industry groups are urging a minimum common MRV (measurement-reporting-verification) framework even when brand strategies differ. For consumers—and for downstream brands in chocolate, infant formula, and ice cream—the implications will show up more in labels and price architecture than in the taste of products: if buyers pay farmers for verified methane abatement while feed and equipment remain pricey, some costs may pass through, but over time biogas revenue, fertilizer substitution, and efficiency gains can offset outlays and stabilize retail pricing. The political risk is that today’s corporate exit becomes tomorrow’s cultural flashpoint, especially in countries where farmer protests have already shaped election cycles; to avoid backlash, climate policy designers are experimenting with “pay for performance” that rewards measured reductions rather than prescribing a single technology path. The bottom line is not that dairy decarbonization stalls, but that governance gets messier: Nestlé’s solo track keeps momentum on pilots yet raises coordination costs for everyone else, and the outcome to watch is whether competing alliances converge on interoperable data, verification, and crediting rules so that farmers can sell a ton of avoided methane once—and get recognized for it across buyers, banks, and border regimes.

OCTOBER PRIME DAY 2025: THE TECH DEALS THAT ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY

04:25:15 pm, Wednesday, 8 October 2025

How to separate real discounts from hype—and where the best value is right now

Amazon’s October “Prime Big Deal Days” is built to overwhelm: thousands of flashing badges, crossed-out prices, and countdown timers designed to trigger impulse clicks. The way to win is to slow down. Start with a short, written list of what you actually need for the next 6–12 months—say, a living-room TV, work headphones, and a mesh router—and ignore everything else. Check a product’s recent “street price” rather than inflated list prices; if a device has been sitting at $199 for weeks, a “$299 → $189” banner is not a $110 savings, it’s a $10 drop. Favor editor-tested gear with long support windows over unvetted brands that chase specs with weak warranties. Then stack the quiet, compounding perks: card credits, trade-ins, and extended returns you can use to test at home and send back if it disappoints. This year, the real cuts concentrate in four clusters. Big-screen OLED and mini-LED TVs have slid to seasonal lows, especially 65–77-inch models that were premium last year. Noise-canceling headphones and true-wireless earbuds are down to repeatable floor prices that usually only reappear on Black Friday. Mesh routers—particularly Wi-Fi 6E and early Wi-Fi 7 kits—are at or near year lows. And everyday accessories like portable SSDs, USB-C hubs, and GaN chargers are widely discounted and rarely get cheaper later. If you’re Apple-centric, watch iPads, entry AirPods, and a handful of MagSafe-compatible chargers; Android buyers are seeing solid drops on mainstream handsets and wearables as new flagships roll in. The biggest trap is the “value” bundle that adds a low-grade cable, a questionable case, and a warranty you’ll never register. Buy the good item alone and add quality accessories separately when they’re also on sale.

Category playbooks and buyer tactics—TVs, laptops, audio, networking, and smart-home

TVs: decide your panel first (OLED for cinephiles, mini-LED for bright rooms), then size, then features like 120-Hz inputs and HDMI eARC. Don’t pay more for a wall-thin “art” frame if you never use ambient modes. Read the brightness and HDR format support; mid-range OLEDs now hit peaks that make a bigger difference than brand-name marketing. Laptops: premium ultrabooks rarely crash through back-to-school lows, but base MacBook Air and well-specced Windows machines often dip to the year’s best during this event. Focus on RAM and storage you won’t outgrow, and skip “doorbuster” configs that pair new CPUs with slow drives. Audio: ANC headphones that were flagships 12–18 months ago are terrific buys; they carry the software polish and spare parts ecosystem new models are still building. For gym or commute, choose earbuds with multipoint and water resistance instead of chasing “hi-res” codecs you’ll never notice outside a quiet room. Networking: a two- or three-node mesh beats one monster router; place nodes where you actually sit. Wi-Fi 6E is now mature, Wi-Fi 7 still early—pay for the former unless you own multiple 7-ready clients. Smart-home: stick with platforms that pledge local control and Matter support; the cheapest cameras can cost you later with required cloud plans. For cross-border buyers in South Asia, two practical filters save headaches: regional warranty participation and plug standards. A TV with no local service partner, or a robot vacuum that needs odd consumables, can erase any headline savings once freight forwarding, step-down transformers, or third-party parts enter the picture. Finally, fight FOMO. Prime Day’s psychology is urgency; your moat is a rule: buy only what’s on your pre-made list at a documented low. If a “want” is merely decent, park it for Black Friday or year-end clearance when overstocks appear. But do pounce now on genuine, editor-verified lows for TVs, routers, e-readers, and workhorse accessories—these categories often return to regular pricing next week and may not dip again until late November. Keep all receipts, unbox carefully, and test early so returns are painless. The goal isn’t to buy more; it’s to buy better, once.