San Carlos, Oct 4 (AP/UNB) — Brandon Alexander would like to introduce you to Angus, the farmer of the future. He's heavyset, weighing in at nearly 1,000 pounds, not to mention a bit slow. But he's strong enough to hoist 800-pound pallets of maturing vegetables and can move them from place to place on his own.

Sure, Angus is a robot. But don't hold that against him, even if he looks more like a large tanning bed than C-3PO.

To Alexander, Angus and other robots are key to a new wave of local agriculture that aims to raise lettuce, basil and other produce in metropolitan areas while conserving water and sidestepping the high costs of human labor. It's a big challenge, and some earlier efforts have flopped. Even Google's "moonshot" laboratory, known as X, couldn't figure out how to make the economics work.

After raising $6 million and tinkering with autonomous robots for two years, Alexander's startup Iron Ox says it's ready to start delivering crops of its robotically grown vegetables to people's salad bowls. "And they are going to be the best salads you ever tasted," says the 33-year-old Alexander, a one-time Oklahoma farmboy turned Google engineer turned startup CEO.

In this Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018, photo bok choy is seen growing in the foreground at Iron Ox, a robotic indoor farm, in San Carlos, Calif.

Iron Ox planted its first robot farm in an 8,000-square-foot warehouse in San Carlos, California, a suburb located 25 miles south of San Francisco. Although no deals have been struck yet, Alexander says Iron Ox has been talking to San Francisco Bay area restaurants interested in buying its leafy vegetables and expects to begin selling to supermarkets next year.

The San Carlos warehouse is only a proving ground for Iron Ox's long-term goals. It plans to set up robot farms in greenhouses that will rely mostly on natural sunlight instead of high-powered indoor lighting that sucks up expensive electricity. Initially, though, the company will sell its produce at a loss in order to remain competitive.

During the next few years, Iron Ox wants to open robot farms near metropolitan areas across the U.S. to serve up fresher produce to restaurants and supermarkets. Most of the vegetables and fruit consumed in the U.S. is grown in California, Arizona, Mexico and other nations. That means many people in U.S. cities are eating lettuce that's nearly a week old by the time it's delivered.

There are bigger stakes as well. The world's population is expected to swell to 10 billion by 2050 from about 7.5 billion now, making it important to find ways to feed more people without further environmental impact, according to a report from the World Resources Institute .

Iron Ox, Alexander reasons, can be part of the solution if its system can make the leap from its small, laboratory-like setting to much larger greenhouses.

The startup relies on a hydroponic system that conserves water and automation in place of humans who seem increasingly less interested in U.S. farming jobs that pay an average of $13.32 per hour, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nearly half of U.S. farmworkers planting and picking crops aren't in the U.S. legally, based on a survey by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The heavy lifting on Iron Ox's indoor farm is done by Angus, which rolls about the indoor farm on omnidirectional wheels. Its main job is to shuttle maturing produce to another, as-yet unnamed robot, which transfers plants from smaller growing pods to larger ones, using a mechanical arm whose joints are lubricated with "food-safe" grease.

It's a tedious process to gently pick up each of the roughly 250 plants on each pallet and transfer them to their bigger pods, but the robot doesn't seem to mind the work. Iron Ox still relies on people to clip its vegetables when they are ready for harvest, but Alexander says it is working on another robot that will eventually handle that job too.

Alexander formerly worked on robotics at Google X, but worked on drones, not indoor farms. While there, he met Jon Binney, Iron Ox's co-founder and chief technology offer. The two men became friends and began to brainstorm about ways they might be able to use their engineering skills for the greater good.

"If we can feed people using robots, what could be more impactful than that?" Alexander says.

Trenton, Oct 3 (AP/UNB) — U.S. regulators on Tuesday approved a modernized version of a decades-old antibiotic used to treat a number of infections.

Paratek Pharmaceuticals' Nuzyra was designed to overcome the problem of resistance to tetracycline, an antibiotic widely used until recent years.

The company said the Food and Drug Administration approved Nuzyra for treating bacterial pneumonia and severe skin infections.

Paratek plans to launch the antibiotic early next year, initially for use in hospitals. It hasn't disclosed the price.

Boston-based Paratek estimates its drug could eventually treat nearly 900,000 hospitalized U.S. patients annually

About 2 million Americans get infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year and 23,000 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Paratek tested Nuzyra against several types of bacteria that cause pneumonia and skin infections. The drug was more effective than two standard antibiotics given to patients in comparison groups, company testing showed.

Many antibiotics no longer work well, if at all, against some bacterial infections, due to their overuse in medicine and livestock production.

Paratek's drug, also known as omadacycline, is the first in a new class of antibiotics. It's an updated version of tetracycline, a 65-year-old antibiotic that was a workhorse against skin, respiratory and other infections until increasing resistance limited its use. Paratek created its drug by tweaking tetracycline to block two common ways bacteria use to resist it.

The FDA approved both an IV version and a daily pill that patients can switch to when they leave the hospital, the company said. It will eventually market the drug for patients treated at doctors' offices and clinics.

Last week, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced at the United Nations General Assembly a new global effort to fight antibiotic resistance and develop new treatments. The 106 initial participants included drugmakers, government agencies, medical groups and animal food producers.

Paris, Oct 1 (AP/UNB) — As Paris Fashion Week heads toward the finish line, Sunday's shows went up a gear as L'Oreal Paris claimed to have staged the first runway show in history on the Seine River.

The star-filled extravaganza that drew crowds and halted traffic was held on a 60-meter floating podium.

Uninvited guests clambered around barriers to get a free glimpse at Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and actress Eva Longoria who took turns as models, alongside Andie MacDowell who talked ageism to AP.

Here are some of the day's highlights:

L'OREAL GOES IN-SEINE

The clothes were designed by some of the great houses of Paris fashion including Balmain, AMI, Off-White, Giambattista Valli, Elie Saab.

Yet this fashion show, much like L'Oreal's display on the Champs-Elysees last year, was always more about the show than the fashion.

A giant floating board was this season's runway — flanked by hundreds of champagne-sipping VIP guests on the river bank and others peering out from the deck of a specially-hired boat.

Drones, meanwhile, buzzed overhead to stream the action via social media to 30 different countries, and traffic along the Seine was halted for the duration of the spectacle.

The display began to cheers as a speedboat that splashed down the Seine docked some glamorous freight: out stepped model Doutzen Kroes.

L'Oreal ambassadors then flooded the runway.

British signer Cheryl appeared in provocative thigh-high boots and a one-shoulder split-leg minidress with reflective paillettes that sparkled in the blazing sun.

Elle Fanning smiled sweetly as she walked in a pastel shoulderless embroidered gown and bright red heels.

Meanwhile, American actress Aja Naomi King made her L'Oreal modeling debut in a draped pink number.

But the king and queen of the show had to be Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Eva Longoria.

The "Desperate Housewives" star stepped out in a regal, layered gunmetal mini-gown — with 2-meter-long train.

Coster-Waldau, meanwhile, was all smiles but looked slightly nervous to be there modeling to the crowds in a long-tailored coat and white shoes.

"I was surprised to be doing a catwalk. I never thought I would see the day — neither did my children!" Coster-Waldau said.

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ANDIE MACDOWELL TALKS AGEISM

Ahead of the L'Oreal show, Andie MacDowell, 60, spoke to AP about ageism and her longevity in being a L'Oreal ambassador, a post she'd held for some three decades, and counting.

"I think the timing right now is really fiery as far as acceptance. And ageism is part of that acceptance," the American actress said.

"I have to say you have to give L'Oréal credit for being one of the first people to take on all ages and to take on mature people like Jane Fonda, Helen Mirren and Diane Keaton ... and keeping me," she added, humbly. (Fonda and Mirren modeled in last year's Champs-Elysees show.)

MacDowell praised the Paris cosmetics giant for being a trail-blazer when it came to "recognizing that there is no expiration date on beauty."

In "how we treat women as they get older, I think it's important to be inclusive and also have a deep respect for them," MacDowell added.

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VALENTINO DELIGHTS

"A work in substraction," so said the house, was the spirit behind Pierpaolo Piccioli's accomplished — and pared down — display for Valentino.

Cactuses and cleanly shaped plants lined the foot of the runway, presumably in reference to the clean lines and minimalist styles that opened the show.

Deceptively simple black looks began the collection: a shoulderless baggy jumpsuit with cape and Elizabethan-style sleeves and a gown with an exaggerated peplum hem.

Their beauty lay in the subtlety of detail.

An unstructured minidress with giant flounce looked beautifully off-kilter as it hung delicately from the model's shoulder, as if it could fall off at any given point.

White looks then came, and were, alongside black, a dominant theme — speaking to the ubiquitous spring-summer trend.

Artistry was plentiful in some of these white looks: gowns with delicately-pressed pleats that seemed to fan around the belly button.

But Valentino is a couture house at heart, and despite this being a ready-to-wear show, the work of the "petites mains," or seamstresses of the age-old atelier, was on display.

An oversize, veiny wicker hat composed of billowing feather possessed a delicate organic feel, and had guests understandably reaching for their cameras.

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FREIDA PINTO FINDS TIME TO STEP OUT

Indian actress Freida Pinto rocked a beautifully tailored menswear jacket look on the Valentino front row — the first time she's been seen at one of the couture house's displays.

"I'm super excited. This is really my style. It makes me feel really comfortable," she said.

"This is my first ever Valentino show... We've been trying for some time to make it work but with my schedule it's been hard," she added.

Pinto, who shot to fame with "Slumdog Millionaire," blamed her busy schedule on several "exciting" films she's starring in.

It includes the British-American fantasy adventure "Mowgli," based on the Rudyard Kipling fable set in India, in which she plays Messua, who decides to adopt the wild Mowgli, believing that he is their long-lost son Nathoo. It also features Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett.

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GIVENCHY'S SLIGHT GEOMETRY

An unfathomably long laser beam led cautious guests through the pitch black to the Givenchy show inside Paris' storied Palace of Justice.

The historic stone building that housed Marie Antoinette in the last days before her execution still possesses an eerie quality that designer Clare Waight Keller nicely exploited in her nighttime show.

Thumping and gritty bass music creative a hard atmosphere, alongside the raw warehouse curtain decor.

The clothes themselves weren't quite so eerie.

There was a slight hardness to the graphic quality of some geometric bodice straps, or in the interlocking V-motif on a high collared, ankle-length gown in black.

But there was much more softness among the 59 men's and women's styles, owing to the frequent fluttering of full silk skirts, sometimes in optical print, and the soft colors.

It's hard to be gritty, after all, if you're wearing a spring-like palette of light sky blue, bluebonnet, pigment and cadmium green, and corn yellow, (balanced with off-white and on-trend black).

Some of the simpler looks — such as a series of one shoulder gowns — didn't feel like the talented British designer, alas, was pushing the envelope much this season.

But the styles ended on a high note when Waight Keller got her disco on and served up a silver, Art-Deco style column dress with armor-like shoulders.

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COMMOTION AT VALENTINO

When fashion insiders tried to leave the Valentino venue at the Army Museum inside Les Invalides around 6:00 p.m., a commotion beyond the metal barriers on the street forced the security to close off the exit.

As the crowd of fashion guests swelled into the hundreds, one French editor muttering she was too important to wait pushed past angrily.

After vocal protests over being squashed, an employee of KCD PR agency explained that the police had given them instructions to stop the guests exiting the show, after someone in a vehicle had tried unsuccessfully to swerve into people on the street.

Two police officers on the scene who wouldn't give their names said an unknown person in a vehicle had tried "to ram" police officers outside the Valentino show, but didn't hurt anyone and was detained.

The fashion crowd was directed to exit via the south entrance, past the big Celine show venue with the rival house's name in huge lettering — in what was unfortunately bad optics.

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ANDREAS KRONTHALER HITS THE STREET

Celebrity drag queen Violet Chachki and Milk from "Ru Paul's Drag Race" held court in a warehouse at Andreas Kronthaler x Vivienne Westwood's show.

The warehouse was an appropriate setting for an eclectic assortment of styles that riffed on the "street" in streetwear. The models, both men and women, rode skateboards and scooters.

Prints sometimes resembled graffiti, and there were sneakers, sweatpants and even the odd dog collar.

Andreas Kronthaler, 52, who took over the creative reins from his 77-year-old wife and design partner some years ago, mixed the draped gowns that are a Westwood signature with thigh-length menswear shirts, prints and text.

One of the best looks was a giant pile of fabric bags that were wrapped around the torso of a female model, perhaps a statement about the hectic pace of daily life.

 

Paris, Sep 30 (AP/UNB) — Hermes galvanized its links with the equestrian Saturday by holding its Paris Fashion Week runway show at the French capital's celebrated Longchamp Racecourse. Vivienne Westwood, meanwhile, went street, Elie Saab got playful and the runways in general got a lot of models dressed in black and white.

Here are some highlights from the Spring 2019 shows at Paris Fashion Week:

HERMES GOES TO THE RACES

Hermes — the fashion house named after the speedy, messenger god — has long been associated with horse racing and affirmed its heritage by launching the show-jumping competition Saut Hermes in 2009.

The label synonymous with luxury further embraced the legacy by taking Paris Fashion Week to the renovated Longchamp for a Saturday evening display.

The guests, geared up for styles that spoke of horses, were somewhat disappointed by the scarce equestrian references. One that fit the bill was a white dress with eyelets that was inspired by a horse groomer's apron.

The 47 looks by French designer Nadege Vanhee-Cybulski in on-trend neutral colors were superlative for a host of other reasons. Most twinned the designer's signature minimalism with a sporty edge.

Clean silhouettes — crisp hems, simple geometric shapes, tight proportions and minimal accessories — set the tone.

Many of the individual items were must-haves, such as a pair of slightly flared burgundy pants that were made of crisscrossed bands of material.

And people better start placing their orders for the new two-tone Kelly bag!

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VIVIENNE WESTWOOD HITS THE STREET

Celebrity drag queen Violet Chachki and Milk from "Ru Paul's Drag Race" held court in a warehouse at Vivienne Westwood's show.

The warehouse was an appropriate setting for an eclectic assortment of styles that riffed on the "street" in streetwear. The models, both men and women, rode skateboards and scooters.

Prints sometimes resembled graffiti, and there were sneakers, sweatpants and even the odd dog collar.

Andreas Kronthaler, 66, who took over the creative reins his 77-year-old wife and design partner some years ago, mixed the draped gowns that are a Westwood signature with thigh-length menswear shirts, prints and text.

One of the best looks was a giant pile of fabric bags that were wrapped around the torso of a female model, perhaps a statement about the hectic pace of daily life.

It cut a nice image against the sculptural decor made of reams of paper.

Another notable feature was a play on hypermasculinity.

Scantily-clad muscle men wore skintight vests, and one walked in platform shoes with fluffy tulle around the ankles.

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FASHION TREND: BLACK AND WHITE

Spring is a time to get your color on. Usually.

The ready-to-wear collections in Paris have bucked this fashion rule, creating a spring and summer of white, black and other design neutrals.

Virgil Abloh's label Off-White used lots of, well, white on its runway. Hedi Slimane, making his highly-anticipated Celine debut, favored the darkest hues for his nighttime show.

Rick Owens channeled demons and witches with his black-centric show that featured a giant burning sculpture spitting out smoke. The sculpture smoldered alongside white, beige and gray designs.

The trend could reflect the polarized political discourse in West or just be an aesthetic choice; either way, it's unavoidable.

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ELIE SAAB GETS PLAYFUL

Popular Lebanese designer Elie Saab is riding high after the coup of having Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank wear a gown he designed for her wedding last month.

The ethereal wedding gown was made of 25 meters (82 feet) of Chantilly lace, eight meters (26 feet) of silk chiffon and six meters (nearly 20 feet) of organza silk and took 150 hours to create.

At Saturday's show, it may have been ready-to-wear style on the runway, but it was clear that it was the same Saab atelier that had done the work.

The devil was in the detail.

The 58 styles skipped the usual full-throttle, cinched-waist sensuality and energy of Saab's designs, an exception being thigh-high boots.

In its place was a more playful version of Saab that was willing to explore new ideas — for better and for worse.

Overpowering, dark floral prints on pants, minis and billowing skirts contrasted with angelic lace and fastidious detailing that evoked the 1970s.

A leopard print look fared badly, its single exposed shoulder looking out of balance.

But gowns such as a striped boho number showed that Saab was daring to venture out of his bread-and-butter comfort zone.

Dhaka, Sept 28 (UNB) – The three-day 7th Asian Tourism Fair-2018 (ATF) began in the city on Friday to promote tourism industry of the country.

Parjatan Bichitra in collaboration with Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation and Bangladesh Tourism Board arranged the fair at International Convention City, Bashundhara (ICCB) as part of celebrating the World Tourism Day 2018.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal inaugurated the fair as the chief guest. The fair will remain open for all from 10am to 8pm till Sunday.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry Muhammad Faruk Khan attended the function as a special guest.

BPC Chairman Akhtaruzzaman Khan Kabir, BTB CEO Jahangir Hossain, Ambassador of the Philippines Vicente Vivencio T Bandello and Ambassador of Indonesia Rina P Soemarno and convener of the Asian Tourism Fair and Editor of Parjatan Bichitra Mohiuddin Helal were also present.

Around 120 stalls of different countries like India, Nepal, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore apart from Bangladesh are taking part in the fair.

Travel-loving people of Bangladesh are offered to buy many interesting packages to visit home and abroad.