LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Friday, June 27th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Subsidiaries of Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE/Euronext Paris: PM) today filed papers seeking review of the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

Commenting on the matter, Marc Firestone, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Philip Morris International, said:

"We believe that the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive disrupts the balance that the EU treaties establish between the Union and the Member States.

“The Directive claims to improve the internal market in tobacco products, but its provisions go in the opposite direction. The Directive includes a mix of product bans, mandates, and delegations of authority that raise serious questions under the EU Treaties about consumer choice, the free movement of goods, and competition.

“There is no disagreement that th ... Read more »

ME NewsWire/Business Wire

SAPPORO, Japan. - Friday, June 27th 2014

"Sekai Menu", a smartphone-based service targeted at restaurants and accommodations with foreign customers, began trial service in April 2014. The service, which allows customers to display translated menus and place orders directly from their smartphones, is developed bySekai Menu, Inc. (Main Office: Sapporo, Japan; Representative Director: Nobuyasu Fukunishi), and will be provided worldwide along with a new "Self Plan" starting June 27, 2014.

With the "Self Plan", restaurant and accommodation owners can provide business information, menu details and photos through an online form, after which a printable QR code image will be provided for free use. By reading the QR code with a smartphone, patrons will be sent to a smartphone web page, where they can view a translated menu and place orders directly to the business. In order to provide multilingual service, the bu ... Read more »

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Thursday, June 26th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

Abu Dhabi Police celebrated the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking under the theme “They Fooled Me.” The celebration included a number of events to raise awareness regarding the dangers and nefarious health, mental and psychological effects of drugs, on the abuser, his family and society. This event was held in Delma Mall in the Al Musafah area.

The celebration, held on the sidelines of the awareness exhibition about the dangers of drugs, was attended by Brigadier Omair Al Muhairi, Deputy Director of Police Operations at Abu Dhabi Police; Colonel Dr. Rashid Mohammad Borshid, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ; Colonel Sultan Suwayeh Al Darmaki, Chief of the Anti-Drug Section at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and a number of other officers.

The celebration started with the national anthem, and ... Read more »

ME NewsWire/Business Wire

SAPPORO, Japon - Samedi 28 Juin 2014

« Sekai Menu », un service basé smartphone qui cible les restaurants et les hôtels qui accueillent des clients étrangers, a lancé un service test en avril 2014. Ce service, qui permet aux clients d'afficher des menus traduits et placer des commandes sur leurs smartphones, est développé par Sekai Menu, Inc. (Bureau principal : Sapporo, Japon ; Administrateur délégué : Nobuyasu Fukunishi), et sera offert à l'échelle mondiale avec un nouveau « Plan personnel » à compter du 27 juin 2014.

Ce « Plan personnel » permettra aux restaurateurs et aux hôteliers de fournir des informations commerciales, des détails sur les menus et des photos via un formulaire en ligne, suite à quoi une image code QR imprimable sera fournie à titre gratuit. En lisant le code QR avec un smartphone, les clients seront acheminés vers une page Web sur laquelle ils pourront visualiser un ... Read more »