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[gioro27]

πως καταντησαμε ετσι μεσα σε 2 χρονια !!!!!!!!!!

[halfway inn]

UDON THANI

26 February 2013

L.P.N. Development Public Company Limited is getting ready to launch a 2-billion-baht condo project in Udon Thani and develop a 200-million-baht shopping centre in the border province through a joint venture with CP All.

Udon Thani was chosen for its first Northeastern condo project because the province has the highest potential in the region and is a link between Thailand and Laos.

Lumpini Place UD-Phosri project will be built on 17 rai opposite UD Town shopping centre on Pho Sri Road.
 
It will comprise three 14-storey buildings and 1,400 units sized 30-32 sq m with prices starting at 1.5 million baht.

The first phase of 500 units will be launched in the second quarter to test the market.

Target buyers will be local people, Foreigners - Western sons-in-law and Laotians.

"Udon Thani can link to neighbouring countries, so its potential will be higher when Asean integration comes into effect in 2016," Mr Opas said.

The lifestyle of people in Thailand's sixth most populous province is similar to that of Bangkok, while the purchasing power of people in the Northeast has increased due to good prices for rubber, he said.

A high-speed train link is planned between Bangkok and Udon Thani, while three airlines fly daily to the province with mostly foreign passengers.

According to the company's market research, property demand in Udon Thani is in the budget segment, as land prices in the city centre have risen so high that single houses and townhouses are not feasible to develop.

Land prices in Udon Thani were about 200,000 baht per rai last year.

By the end of next year, L.P.N. Development Public Company Limited will develop a shopping centre within the Udon Thani project.
It is working with partner CP All on the project concept and design.

Shares of LPN on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 21.50 baht, down 20 satang, in trade worth 47.2 million baht.

[halfway inn]

BURI RAM

Newin now constructing Buriram Circuit

Costing at least Bt2 billion, the German-designed project will stage top world racing events and include an auto test centre

BURIRAM: -- Throughout his political career, Newin Chidchob has been able to make headlines.

Now, the president of Buriram United is in the headlines once again, this time after announcing the construction of the Buriram International Circuit, which will cost at least Bt2 billion.

However, interest in this project does not lie only with the construction of the circuit. During a press conference held at the i-Mobile Thunder Castle stadium belonging to Buriram United, Newin announced that the complex would not only serve motor racing purposes, but would also include an auto and auto-parts testing centre.

"If I build only the circuit, it will cater only to motorsports. But Thailand is known as the 'Detroit of Asia' and is the centre for automobile as well as auto-parts production in this region. I can visualise the opportunity of building a testing centre along with this circuit," he said.

"Each year automobile and auto-parts companies spend a great deal of money sending their products for testing to Japan and many other countries.
I think it's time that I use this opportunity to make it happen in Thailand as we prepare for the AEC (Asean Economic Community) that will take off in the near future," he added.

According to Newin, the exact amount of investment is still unknown, but it would cost at least Bt2 billion since it has to include various systems and technologies needed for automotive testing.

"If we have to invest in construction of a wind tunnel, testing tracks and laboratories, I will do it in order to have the equipment necessary for complete testing. However, the total budget may not reach Bt10 billion because today advancements mean that they may not have to be as costly as in the past - it depends on management. In the meantime, our working group must study how far we can go, and whether the project is worth the investment. But what we see today is that it is worthwhile and we will have foreign partners who will be responsible for 40 per cent of the total investment, while the rest will come from our family and partners in Thailand. We are confident of reaching the break-even point within five years of the official opening," Newin revealed.

The automotive testing centre will be built alongside the circuit.The project is expected to be completed in less than two years from now.

"The investment is targeted at turning Buriram into the country's top 5 tourist and sports destinations that is able to attract both local and foreign tourists," he added.

Important racing events will be staged at the circuit, and Buriram - as well as Thailand - is expected to get a considerable boost within the first five years. Newin said that as many as 1 million people are expected to visit and use the Buriram circuit.

"This will bring about as much as 300 per cent GDP growth for Buriram," he reckoned.

Newin said that apart from being a football fan, he is also a motorsport lover, especially motorcycle racing. However, there are no circuits in Thailand that are able to cater to world-class events, and this led him to decide to construct the new racing circuit.

Newin said he started talking with people who have knowledge in this area and searched for sponsors. He also contacted the world's No 1 circuit designer, Herman Tilke, who has designed many of the globe's top circuits, such as the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dabi, the Bahrain International Circuit and Spain's Catalunya Circuit.

"In terms of the circuit, the cost is approximately Bt2 billion [including Tilke's fee], which will come from sponsors and friends. The circuit will be built on a 796-rai plot of land behind the i-Mobile stadium. What I want to see most is for the Buriram International Circuit to become Asean's No 1 circuit that is certified by the FIA [Federation International de I'Automobile] and the FIM [Federation International de Motocyclisme], which are the governing bodies for automobile and motorcycle racing, and the main highlight is that spectators can see the whole circuit from the grandstand. The tickets must also be cheaper than other circuits in the world," he said, adding that the circuit will be capable of staging Moto GP, Superbike, Formula 3 or World Series events.

Newin expects that the circuit will be completed and ready for use by October 4 next year.

F1 NOT CONSIDERED

The Buriram United boss has made it clear that there are no plans to use this circuit for Fomula 1 racing "since it is not worthwhile". There are 40 Formula 1 circuits in the world, but only 19 are used each season, he pointed out.

"Although I think that when we do something we should go the fullest and even though I am crazy about F1, I am not stupid enough to organise the race because it is not worth the investment. I must also bear in mind my partners. For me, F1 is just something that Thais would want to see once in their lifetime. Another thing is that these days Formula 1 is adopting more and more street circuits, and large circuits are no longer required. So I will not invest in something that is not worth the investment.

"Meanwhile, the organisers of many events have approached us to use the circuit, but I have not given them any answers. I want the construction to be completed with FIA and FIM certification first before moving ahead with staging events," Newin clarified.

ONLY CIRCUIT IN THE WORLD WITH 100% VISIBLE TRACK

"The Buriram International Circuit will become the most complete racing circuit," project director Danaisiri Charnwittayarom said.

"We have already signed a contract for the design and development of the circuit, and have appointed the adviser for the construction. We chose Mr Tilke as he has vast experience in designing circuits for Formula 1 as well as Moto GP. He has designed more than 60 circuits around the world, 15 of which host Formula 1 races. One of our requirements is that you should be able to see the whole circuit from the grandstand," he said.

The Buriram Circuit will be the only circuit in Thailand to receive FIA Category 2 certification, which means that it will be able to host F3, GT1, GT2 and GT3 events. It is also expected to be approved by the FIM for staging Moto GP or Superbike World Championship events.

"We will continue to work with Tilke GmbH & Co in order to attract major events as much

as possible. In addition, the facility will be able to cater to the Thai auto industry, and in future we can serve the whole Asean auto industry by having an integrated testing service for automobiles, motorcycles and other products relating to the automobile sector," he said.

The Buriram Circuit has a track length of approximately 4 kilometres with 16 corners and is a modern high-speed circuit that is suitable for racing vehicles, Danaisiri said, adding that it has a capacity for 50,000 spectators.

While Buriram hadn't in the past been a major city for tourism or sports, serving only as a "pass-through" city, Newin has turned it into a major attraction, first with the football stadium and now moving on into motorsports and the auto industry.

The Nation 2013-03-08

[halfway inn]

Smog blankets northern Thailand
 
CHIANG MAI, March 14 - Health-threatening smog, rising levels of airborne dust particles, is now threatening the northern provinces of Thailand, which could affect the health of local residents.



 Prayat Ananthapradit from the centre to prevent smog in the upper North reported today that yesterday the level of dust particles in the region was reported at a level which could impact residents' health.

 Three provinces are at risk with dust particle levels measured higher than 120 micrograms per cubic metre which is the upper limit for Thailand’s acceptable level of dust particles.

 In Lampang, the particulate matter was measured at 159mg per cubic metre at the provincial weather station and 142mg at the provincial natural resources and environment office in Mae Hong Son. The highest level was found at Phrae provincial weather service office at 205mg.

 Mr Prayat said the centre has instructed all upper northern provinces to keeps monitoring the air quality as for other provinces. He said although the dust particle level remains below safety standard, it keeps increasing, such as 112 micrograms measured in Phayao, 99 micrograms in Nan and 82-99 micrograms in Chiang Mai provincial seat.

 Meanwhile, in the northeastern province of Loei, forest fire occurred in Phu Sawan Forest Park in Phu Ruea district, covering a 5 kilometre radius.

 Forest fire workers rushed to combat the fire and prevent it from expanding to other areas.

 The initial damage assessment found that the fire quickly burned 500 rai of parkland mainly due to leaves, grasses and underbrush which are quite inflammable when dry.

MCOT online news


























 

[halfway inn]

Squat toilets to be scrapped in a bid to end knee-arthritis, boost tourism

BANGKOK, 19 March 2013 (NNT) 

The government has planned to launch a campaign to discourage squat toilets, in a pledge to end knee-related arthritis and boost tourism.



The Public Health Ministry has planned to discourage the use of squat toilets and to replace them with sit-down ones, in a country where over six million people are suffering from knee-related arthritis.

Deputy Public Health Minister Cholanan Srikaew said that squat toilets are a major contributor to osteoarthritis in the knee.

Osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis, typically found in people of age over 40.

It results from heavy usage of joints over the years, and can cause joint pain.

Those with osteoarthritis to the knee may have a difficulty walking up stairs, straighten their legs, or walk at all.

About 85 per cent of the country's toilets are squat toilets, most of which are in the countryside, according to the ministry.

The ministry also hopes that the campaign will also make it easier for tourists to conduct their personal business in Thailand's countryside.

Tourism accounts for about 7 per cent of Thailand's GDP.

[halfway inn]

Posted today 20 March 2013

Danish businessman attacked and robbed in Thailand


PATTAYA: -- A businessman from Denmark was Monday last week severely injured and hospitalized in Pattaya with two broken heal bones and severe back injury.
According to his own account of the incident, the injuries were sustained when he tried to flee a business meeting in Pattaya where he was also robbed of 420.000 Thai baht.

The Dane explains that the attack was ordered by the owner of a property that he was leasing from her and carried out by her staff and her husband.
The money was brought into the meeting to pay for a renewal of the lease.

Talking to ScandAsia, the Dane explains that he had already been leasing the Pattaya property for the past two years and that the signing should have been a formality. In fact the contract was agreed upon before the meeting where he was attacked.

The Dane has written a long post on his Facebook profile explaining the incident to friends and family identifying his attackers but does not wish to appear by name in this article. Recalling the dramatic events that morning, the Dane adds that the woman is the daughter of a very wealthy family from Pattaya who owns several hotels, including the LK Metropole where the attack and robbery allegedly took place. The Dane says that this only adds to his confusion and anger seeing as the money they took from him must be a small amount to them.

They asked for cash payment

Before the meeting he had been asked to bring cash payment of THB 300.000 for the lease.
He explains to ScandAsia that as he had been leasing the property for the last two years and knowing who he was dealing with, he did not suspect anything.

When he showed up at the meeting, the woman asked for an additional THB 120.000 before she would sign the contract.
Eager to renew the lease, the businessman agreed and went to the bank where he withdrew the amount and then brought it back to the meeting.

At some point during the meeting he noticed that something seemed off.

“Her hands were shaking but I moved on, as I thought she just had too much coffee.
In hindsight I know it was because she knew what was about to happen,” he writes on his Facebook.

“I signed all the contracts as agreed and started putting cash on the table, but she did not sign the contracts.
They reached for the money and started counting it and I explained that I wanted them to sign before they could have the money.”

Caught the attack on video

Sensing that he was about to be robbed as they became threatening, he started filming the incident with his iPhone but only had the chance to film a little while before the woman sent her guards after him.

“I tried to escape but in the process I got pushed and fell down a ledge where I broke both my heel bones and a toe.
After I fell down two-three meters on concrete floor, one of her guards jumped from the same height and landed on my back, causing further injury.
Then two guards and the husband held me down while they stole the rest of my money and my iPhone.”

“There were 15-20 witnesses overseeing the whole incident, and luckily one of them called for the police.”

When the police arrived he managed to get his phone back in exchange for the husband’s watch which he had dropped when putting the Dane in a headlock. The phone was smashed up and the sim-card removed but he managed to retrieve the video after hooking it up to his laptop.

“The most important part of the video is of (the name of the woman) ordering her guards to chase me down – giving very clear evidence of who’s behind the assault. The video and the case is at the police station and the Danish Embassy and I hope for a quick resolution.”

He explains that his lawyer is handling the case feeling that he himself needs some distance from the incident, and that he actually does not know how far investigations are.

When asked if the incident has scarred him from doing business in Thailand he replies:

“I live in Bangkok, this is my home. But I will seriously consider how I do my business in the future and who I do them with.”

He has now been discharged from the hospital but will be spending the next six to eight weeks in a wheelchair.

Still investigating

The Pattaya police confirms to ScandAsia that there was an incident last Monday involving the Dane and several persons on the location where the assault took place and that they are investigation the case.
 
ScandAsia has not been able to get in touch with the Police Officer in charge of preparing the case for prosecution to ask for more details.

[halfway inn]

Τα πιτσιρίκια που βγάζουν περισσότερα και από τους γονείς τους μέσω Ίντερνετ

Σάββατο, 30 Μάρτιος 2013     

Ξημεροβραδιάζεται πάνω από μια οθόνη; Ισως... δουλεύει για να φέρει στο σπίτι λεφτά!

Την επόμενη φορά που θα πιάσετε το παιδί σας να ξημεροβραδιάζεται πάνω από μια οθόνη, μην του βάλετε τις φωνές. Μπορεί να μην παίζει PlayStation, ούτε να κάνει «like» στις αναρτήσεις των συμμαθητών του στο facebook. Ισως... δουλεύει για να φέρει στο σπίτι λεφτά.

Πριν βάλετε τα γέλια, ρίξτε μια ματιά στην ιστορία του Αυστραλοβρετανού Νικ Ντ' Αλοΐσιο, ο οποίος την περασμένη εβδομάδα έγινε ίσως ο πρώτος εκατομμυριούχος που έχει... ακμή στο πρόσωπό του.

Είναι μόλις 17 ετών κι όμως έχει στον προσωπικό τραπεζικό του λογαριασμό 30 εκατ. δολάρια!

Του τα κατέθεσε η Yahoo! για να αγοράσει την εφαρμογή που είχε αναπτύξει ξοδεύοντας μερόνυχτα μπροστά στον υπολογιστή του, την ώρα που οι περισσότεροι συνομήλικοί του έπιναν μπίρες στις λονδρέζικες παμπ.

Σήμερα, πριν ακόμη τελειώσει το λύκειο, είναι ένας από τους νεότερους εκατομμυριούχους στον κόσμο και ο πιο μικρός σε ηλικία υπάλληλος της Yahoo!.

Οταν οι ιδρυτές του τεχνολογικού κολοσσού Τζέρι Τζανγκ και Ντέιβιντ Φίλο ίδρυαν την εταιρεία τον Μάρτιο του 1995, ο Νικ ήταν ακόμη αγέννητος.

Ηρθε στη ζωή έναν χρόνο αργότερα στο Λονδίνο, δείχνοντας από μικρός ότι μια μέρα θα γινόταν... μεγάλος: στα 15 του έλαβε χρηματοδότηση ενός εκατ. δολαρίων για μια εφαρμογή (app) που έφτιαξε ενώ διάβαζε για τις σχολικές του εξετάσεις.

Η Summly, όπως ονομάζεται, δημιουργεί περιλήψεις για τις ειδήσεις που διαβάζουν οι χρήστες έξυπνων κινητών τηλεφώνων.

ΓΕΝΝΗΜΕΝΟΣ ΕΦΕΥΡΕΤΗΣ. Ο Νικ απέκτησε τον πρώτο του υπολογιστή όταν ήταν 9 ετών. Στα 12 του, όταν οι περισσότεροι αρχίζουν να εξοικειώνονται με τις λειτουργίες των κινητών, εκείνος είχε δημιουργήσει την πρώτη του εφαρμογή για smartphones.

Τρία χρόνια αργότερα, έφτιαξε το app που έμελλε να τον κάνει εκατομμυριούχο: το Trimit, όπως αρχικά ονόμασε την εφαρμογή του, έγινε αμέσως γνωστό στον κόσμο της τεχνολογίας.

Πολύ σύντομα κέντρισε το ενδιαφέρον ενός δισεκατομμυριούχου επενδυτή από το Χονγκ Κονγκ, ο οποίος έδωσε στον νεαρό Νικ 300.000 δολάρια για να βελτιώσει το δημιούργημά του. Εξι μήνες μετά η εφαρμογή αποκτούσε νέα μορφή και όνομα: λεγόταν πια Summly και κόστιζε 30 εκατ. δολάρια - τόσο την αποτίμησε η Yahoo!, η οποία την αγόρασε την περασμένη Δευτέρα.

Ο Νικ Ντ' Αλοΐσιο είναι το πιο γνωστό - και το πιο ακριβοπληρωμένο - «παιδί-θαύμα» της τεχνολογίας, που κατάφερε να πλουτίσει αναπτύσσοντας εφαρμογές και συστήματα λογισμικού. Ωστόσο, δεν είναι το μόνο.

Πριν από αυτόν υπήρξε ο Ρόμπερτ Νέι, ο οποίος σε ηλικία 14 ετών δημιούργησε το Bubble Ball, ένα παιχνίδι που είχε κατέβει δύο εκατ. φορές μόλις 2 εβδομάδες μετά το λανσάρισμά του το 2010. Ο Νέι είναι αυτοδίδακτος: έχει περάσει ατέλειωτες ώρες διαβάζοντας βιβλία σε μια δημόσια βιβλιοθήκη στη Γιούτα, όπου έμαθε διάφορες γλώσσες προγραμματισμού. Κάπως έτσι έφτιαξε και τη δική του εφαρμογή.

Ακόμη πιο νέος ήταν ο Τόμας Σουάρεζ ο οποίος το 2011, σε ηλικία 12 ετών, δημιούργησε το Bustin Jieber, ένα παιχνίδι-πείραγμα προς τους θαυμαστές του τραγουδιστή Τζάστιν Μπίμπερ. Το βίντεο στο οποίο ο Σουάρεζ εξηγεί πώς έμαθε - ολομόναχος - Python, Java και C++ (μοιάζουν με... κινέζικα, αλλά είναι τρεις από τις πιο γνωστές γλώσσες προγραμματισμού), έχει συγκεντρώσει πάνω από δύο εκατ. κλικ.

Η πιο μικρή ιδιοφυΐα του Διαδικτύου είναι ο Ντίλαν Βιάλι, ο οποίος πέρυσι, πριν καλά καλά γίνει 10 ετών, δημιούργησε το βιντεοπαιχνίδι Quacky Quest για να παίζει με την τυφλή γιαγιά του. Στις φωτογραφίες που κυκλοφορούν, ο Ντίλαν έχει ακόμη σιδεράκια στα δόντια του, γεγονός που κάνει κάποιους να μην τον παίρνουν στα σοβαρά. «Πώς μπορεί ένας έφηβος να φτιάξει κάτι πραγματικά αξιομνημόνευτο;», αναρωτιούνται.

ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΙΣΜΟΣ. Και όμως μπορεί. Πίσω από αυτά τα παιδιά-φαινόμενα της ψηφιακής εποχής κρύβεται η ικανότητα του προγραμματισμού.

Στη γλώσσα των υπολογιστών, προγραμματισμός δεν σημαίνει οργάνωση του χρόνου αλλά δημιουργία εφαρμογών και λογισμικού - «γράφω κώδικα», όπως θα έλεγαν οι πιο μυημένοι, αναφερόμενοι στη γλώσσα την οποία «μιλά» το Ιντερνετ.

Ο κώδικας είναι το πιο σημαντικό όπλο στα χέρια μιας - συχνά αυτοδίδακτης - γενιάς που πιστεύει ότι μπορεί να τα κατακτήσει όλα. Ακόμη και αν δεν το πετύχει, βέβαιο είναι ότι η προσπάθειά της δεν θα πάει χαμένη. Ενδεχομένως, μάλιστα, να μας προσφέρει καινοτομίες όπως αυτές των τεσσάρων πιτσιρικάδων.

Πριν από λίγες ημέρες, η οργάνωση Code.org άρχισε μια παγκόσμια εκστρατεία με την οποία ζητά από τις κυβερνήσεις να εισαγάγουν σε όλα τα σχολεία το μάθημα των βασικών αρχών προγραμματισμού (όπως συμβαίνει στην Εσθονία από τον περασμένο Σεπτέμβριο). Ηδη έχει συγκεντρώσει περισσότερες από 600.000 ηλεκτρονικές υπογραφές.

ΒΙΝΤΕΟ. Κορωνίδα της εκστρατείας είναι ένα βίντεο περίπου έξι λεπτών, με τον τίτλο «What most schools don't teach» («Αυτό που δεν διδάσκουν τα περισσότερα σχολεία»), το οποίο διαδόθηκε εν ριπή οφθαλμού μέσω των κοινωνικών δικτύων.

Σε αυτό μιλούν, μεταξύ των άλλων, ο πρόεδρος του facebook Μαρκ Ζάκερμπεργκ και ο ιδρυτής της Microsoft Μπιλ Γκέιτς.

Το μήνυμα που περνά υποσυνείδητα στον θεατή το βίντεο είναι ότι αν ξέρει πώς να φτιάχνει εφαρμογές και λογισμικό, μπορεί να γίνεις όπως αυτοί: πλούσιος και διάσημος.

Το βίντεο αρχίζει με μια δήλωση του Στιβ Τζομπς. «Ο καθένας σε αυτή τη χώρα θα πρέπει να μάθει πώς να προγραμματίζει διότι αυτό του διδάσκει πώς να σκέπτεται», είχε πει ο ιδρυτής της Apple.

«Ηθελα να κάνω κάτι διασκεδαστικό για μένα», λέει ο Ζάκερμπεργκ στο βίντεο, εξηγώντας γιατί άρχισε να πειραματίζεται με τη δημιουργία λογισμικού στο φοιτητικό του δωμάτιο στο Χάρβαρντ.

«Ημουν 13 ετών όταν απέκτησα τον πρώτο μου υπολογιστή. Δημιούργησα ένα πρόγραμμα επειδή ήθελα να φτιάξω ένα βιντεοπαιχνίδι», εμφανίζεται να λέει ο Γκέιτς.

Ακόμη πιο ενδιαφέρουσα είναι η δήλωση του δημιουργού βιντεοπαιχνιδιών Γκέιμπ Νιούελ: «Οι προγραμματιστές του αύριο είναι οι μάγοι του μέλλοντος.

Σε σύγκριση με όλους τους άλλους, θα φαίνεται ότι είναι προικισμένοι με μαγικές δυνάμεις».

Το Διαδίκτυο όμως δεν είναι μαγεία: ο κώδικας είναι τέχνη και επιστήμη μαζί, λένε όσοι γνωρίζουν τα μυστικά του.

Φτιάχνεται από ανθρώπους που ξενυχτούν, ρισκάρουν και πειραματίζονται.

Και ίσως μια μέρα δημιουργήσουν κάτι σημαντικό, όπως έκανε πριν από λίγους μήνες ο Τζακ Αντρέικα, ο οποίος στα 15 του χρόνια κέρδισε τον διεθνή διαγωνισμό Intel Science Fair, αναπτύσσοντας μια μέθοδο ανίχνευσης του καρκίνου του παγκρέατος πολύ πιο αποτελεσματική και με μικρότερο κόστος από τις έως τώρα μεθόδους. Πώς τα κατάφερε; Ψάχνοντας στο Διαδίκτυο.

Στη συνέχεια χτύπησε την πόρτα 179 καθηγητών ζητώντας τους να τον βοηθήσουν, χωρίς να βρει ανταπόκριση. Ευτυχώς, την βρήκε στον 180ό, ο οποίος του είπε: «Είναι μια καλή ιδέα. Ας προσπαθήσουμε».

Εκατομμυριούχος από μια... περίληψη

Είναι μόλις 17 ετών. Κι όμως την περασμένη εβδομάδα κέρδισε περισσότερα λεφτά από όσα, πιθανότατα, θα βγάλουν οι γονείς του σε όλη τους τη ζωή.

Ο Νικ Ντ' Αλοΐσιο είναι ο δημιουργός της εφαρμογής για κινητά τηλέφωνα Summly, την οποία αγόρασε η Yahoo! καταβάλλοντας 30 εκατ. δολάρια.

Η ιστορία του αρχίζει στην καλύτερη περίοδο ενός μαθητή: όταν τα σχολεία είναι κλειστά! Ο – 15χρονος τότε – Νικ βρισκόταν σε διακοπές με τους φίλους του όταν έλαβε ένα email από έναν όμιλο επενδύσεων στο Χονγκ Κονγκ, το οποίο λίγο έλειψε να μην ανοίξει! «Ποιοι είναι αυτοί οι τύποι;» αναρωτήθηκε.

Οπως αποδείχθηκε εκ των υστέρων, αυτοί οι «τύποι» θα επένδυαν 300.000 δολάρια στην εφαρμογή του Νικ (τότε ονομαζόταν Trimit) που ήταν διαθέσιμη στο βρετανικό App Store της Apple.

«Είχα μπει στο twitter από το κινητό. Το πρόβλημα ήταν ότι δεν μπορούσα να διαβάσω το πλήρες περιεχόμενο ενός σάιτ. Επαιρνε πολύ χρόνο για να το κατεβάσω και η εφαρμογή δεν ενδείκνυτο για φορητές συσκευές. Τότε σκέφτηκα: "Γιατί να μη φτιάξουμε περιλήψεις των κειμένων;'"», λέει στη βρετανική «Ντέιλι Τέλεγκραφ» περιγράφοντας τη γέννηση της εφαρμογής του.

Το Trimit προσέλκυσε το ενδιαφέρον πολλών επενδυτών – μεταξύ αυτών του ηθοποιού Αστον Κούτσερ και της χήρας του Τζον Λένον, Γιόκο Ονο – συγκεντρώνοντας χρηματοδότηση ενός εκατ. δολαρίων, λίγο πριν μετονομαστεί σε Summly και αγοραστεί από τη Yahoo!

Η σύλληψη είναι απλή αλλά και μεγαλοφυής: οι περισσότεροι χρήστες ταλαιπωρούνται προσπαθώντας να διαβάσουν μεγάλα κείμενα στο κινητό τους τηλέφωνο.

Το Summly έχει τη δυνατότητα να δημιουργεί αυτόματα περιλήψεις των άρθρων που επιλέγει ο χρήστης, καθιστώντας ευκολότερη την ανάγνωση στην οθόνη των smartphones. Από το λανσάρισμά της το 2011, η εφαρμογή έχει κατέβει ένα εκατομμύριο φορές και έχει συνοψίσει 90 εκατ. άρθρα.

Ως υπάλληλος πλέον της Yahoo!, εφευρέτης και ιδιοκτήτης της εφαρμογής, ο Νικ πρέπει τώρα να αρχίσει να ανησυχεί για πράγματα όπως οι επιχειρήσεις και οι επενδύσεις. Ωστόσο, επιμένει ότι βασικός του στόχος είναι να τελειώσει το λύκειο και να μπει στο πανεπιστήμιο.

«Πολλά παιδιά στην ηλικία μου κάνουν ό,τι κάνω κι εγώ. Φτιάχνουν τεχνολογικές εφαρμογές, αλλά πάνε ακόμη στο σχολείο. Ηταν τυχαίο το γεγονός ότι οι επενδυτές από το Χονγκ Κονγκ ήρθαν σε επαφή μαζί μου. Κατά τα άλλα, είμαι ακριβώς όπως οποιοσδήποτε άλλος νέος της ηλικίας μου», λέει.

Κι αν ακόμη αμφιβάλλετε, διαβάστε την απάντηση που έδωσε όταν τον ρώτησαν τι θα κάνει με τα λεφτά που απέκτησε: «Η αλήθεια είναι ότι χρειάζομαι μια νέα σχολική τσάντα. Η παλιά μου έχει χαλάσει».

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Extradited Dane beaten in Thai prison

COPENHAGEN:  The 37-year-old Dane who was extradited from Thailand to Denmark was relieved when he landed in Copenhagen Airport, where he was picked up by Danish police.

The Dane who is a father of two and married to a Thai only spent a week in a Thai jail cell after being arrested.

According to the Dane, the seven days were spent in a cell of eight square meters that he shared with 35 other inmates.

He claims that he was beaten by the other prisoners because he only had 40 baht on him, which was not enough to buy protection.

”He was very happy to see the Danish police,” said prosecutor Helle Giersing.

Last year he was convicted of 50 counts of fraud and sentenced to eight months of community service.

He then fled Denmark and has been hiding in Thailand since then.

Following the sentence he is suspected of more internet fraud. He is also suspected of having changed his brain damaged brother in law’s bank information to cheat him out of large sums.

If found guilty the suspended conviction will be changed to a prison sentence. In addition he risks another four-six months for his most recent crimes.

When he appeared in court on Friday he confessed the new charges.

The hearing was only a few minutes at the main objective was to have him detained as he is considered a flight risk.

After being convicted he left for Thailand with his children, an 11-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy.

After his arrest his Thai wife has been taking care of the children and the Danish Embassy will make sure that they are being cared for.

ScandAsia 2013-04-01

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Economic Crisis, Restrictive Policies, and the Population’s Health and Health Care: The Greek Case

Elias Kondilis, Stathis Giannakopoulos, Magda Gavana, and Alexis Benos are with the Laboratory of Hygiene and Social Medicine—Medical School, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Ioanna Ierodiakonou is with 3rd Psychiatry Department AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University.
Howard Waitzkin is with the Departments of Sociology and Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

The global economic crisis has affected the Greek economy with unprecedented severity, making Greece an important test of the relationship between socioeconomic determinants and a population’s well-being.

Suicide and homicide mortality rates among men increased by 22.7% and 27.6%, respectively, between 2007 and 2009, and mental disorders, substance abuse, and infectious disease morbidity showed deteriorating trends during 2010 and 2011. Utilization of public inpatient and primary care services rose by 6.2% and 21.9%, respectively, between 2010 and 2011, while the Ministry of Health’s total expenditures fell by 23.7% between 2009 and 2011.

In a time of economic turmoil, rising health care needs and increasing demand for public services collide with austerity and privatization policies, exposing Greece’s population health to further risks.

(Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print April 18, 2013: e1–e8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.301126)




Read More: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2012.301126

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Posted Yesterday 23 April 2013

Phuket dengue fever cases on the rise

PHUKET: The number of people who have died from dengue fever in Phuket this year stands at one – a young Burmese girl – but the number of confirmed cases on the island so far is more than double that of last year.

A spokesman from Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPPHO) told The Phuket News today (April 23) there had been 122 confirmed cases of the disease reported this year between January 1 and April 18.

In the same period last year, there were 50 reported cases.

Deputy Director of Vachira Phuket Hospital, Dr Nara Kingkaew, told The Phuket News the reason for the increase was that the Phuket population had grown, and there was higher humidity this year than last, which created a good breeding environment for the mosquito larvae.

Dr Nara said he was concerned about the rising number of cases, and said that children under 20 were more at risk of catching the disease.

There were also still a large number of people who did not follow advice from the health office about how to stop dengue spreading, he said.

“People should pay more attention to their houses. You can’t just depend on the government or local authorities to handle the situation – you have to take care of your own house area.”

A spokesperson from the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office Disease Control Department said she was concerned about the increasing number of cases in Phuket, but said dengue fever was common every year.

PPPHO Provincial Chief Medical Officer Dr Buncha Kakhong said medical tests on the six year old Burmese girl who died at Vachira showed she died from dengue fever. She had arrived in Phuket recently with her family.

“If you know of someone who has a cold or high fever (higher than 38.5 degrees) for more than two days, please bring them to the hospital or health office, where we can test them.”

Tomorrow (April 24), the PPPHO will launch the “3-3-3 Measure” dengue fever health campaign, which will last three months.

During the first three days of the campaign, health officers will visit people who live in at-risk areas around Phuket, and test those who they think might have the disease.

The officers then have three weeks to put together all the information for those who are infected.

Over the whole three month period, there will be mosquito repellant available free of charge from all hospitals across Phuket, plus clinics, and provincial health offices.

“Please spread the word,” Dr Buncha said.

The PPPHO advises people to use insect repellant, put mosquito screens up on doors and windows, change the water in tanks or vases regularly, and don’t leave any containers of stagnant water around.

Across Thailand there have been 22,495 confirmed cases of the disease so far this year, and the nationwide death toll stands at 25.

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Public encouraged to reduce plastic bag usage by 1 bag per person per day

BANGKOK, 25 April 2013 (NNT) 

The Department of Environmental Quality Promotion is targeting to have the public reduce usage of plastic bags by one bag perone person per day.

If successful, the number of plastic bags that go to waste will be reduced by 67 million each day.

Department chief Chatuphon Burutphat said his department is collaborating with the CP All Public Company Limited to promote the reduction of the use of plastic bags.

Shoppers will be encouraged to decline being handed a plastic bag when they purchase less than two items from shops, and also to reduce the number of plastic bags they use each time they go shopping.

Studies have found that Thais use 8 plastic bags per person per day.
This amounts to 500 million bags every single day if all 67 million people in the country are taken into account.

Mr. Chatuphon said the attempt by the department will help keep the quantity of trash from exceeding the nation’s capacity in getting rid of them.
He also added that greater efficiency in trash management can be achieved if the public helps reduce consumption and sort their garbage out into categories.

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Foreigner Beaten by Tuk-Tuk Drivers after not Paying Extortionate Fee at Karaoke Bar 

A word of warning if you ‘want to do it your way’

http://www.chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=1771

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Could You Live on a Dollar a Day?

At the age of 14, Hugh Evans spent a night with cockroaches crawling all over him.

That experience turned out to be life-changing for Evans, now 30. Far removed from his comfortable home in Australia, he traveled to the Philippines with an aid organization that set him up with a host family. Their home was in Smokey Mountain, a teeming slum in Manila. A boy in the family, Sonny Boy, was the same age as Evans. The disparity between their lives struck him hard.

“I had an epiphany that I wanted to commit my life to this,” said Evans. “I want to see an end to extreme poverty in my lifetime.”

It’s the same goal shared by global organizations and world leaders, and some remarkable progress has been made in reducing the numbers of the world’s poorest. In 1981, about half the developing world lived in extreme poverty. By 2010, it had fallen to about 20 percent. The figures were tallied by the World Bank, which defines extreme poverty as living on less than $1.25 a day. The organization has set 2030 as the goal to reduce the rate even further, to 3 percent.

Despite the low threshold in defining extreme poverty, it still means 1.2 billion people around the world scrape by on that meager amount.

The gains worldwide are uneven. China and Southeast Asia have made huge strides in lifting their populations above that line. But the opposite is true in Sub-Saharan Africa. Even though economic growth is surging across the continent, the number of extremely poor people actually increased over the last three decades.

So what does it mean to subsist on $1.25? Following his epiphany in the Manila slum, Evans founded The Global Poverty Project to raise awareness about the issue of extreme poverty.

The organization’s campaign, “Live Below the Line,” hoped for an even greater impact by actually having people eat the way that the world’s poorest must do every day. Adjusted for U.S. purchasing power, the campaign allows participants to spend $1.50 a day for five days.

“For us, it’s a lot easier, we’re doing it just for food and drink,” said Evans. “For the world’s poor, they’re doing it for food, housing, education, health care, everything they might need in life.”

Evans has taken the challenge for three years, noting, "By day five last year, I was eating rotten bananas.”

He is joined this year by 15,000 people worldwide, including celebrities such as Ben Affleck and Josh Groban, as well as other notables, such as Jill Biden and Hunter Biden, the vice president's son. He said the campaign will raise up to $4 million for various aid organizations working to help the world’s poorest.

“Extreme poverty is the sort of useless suffering where a child might die for lack of a 30-cent immunization,” said Evans.
“The world has enough food to feed everyone one-and-a-half-times over. It’s really about: How does everyone access that food?”

That lack of food can impact not only individual lives and communities, but entire nations, said Evans, citing a link between malnutrition and stunted brain development, which affects children’s abilities to learn in school.

“What we need to see, I believe, is the sort of aid that focuses on health and education that allows people to lift themselves out of poverty, coupled with access to markets and trade,” said Evans. “I was born in 1983. So in my lifetime, extreme poverty was halved.
In the rest of my life, I think we could end it altogether.”

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How I 'stole' $14 million from a bank: A security tester's tale


 
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

In early 2010, Nish Bhalla sat down at his computer with one objective: steal a huge amount of money from a bank.
It wasn't a typical heist. Bhalla is the chief executive of Security Compass, a company that tests security systems at banks, retailers, energy companies and other organizations with sensitive data. His clients -- including the bank branch in the United States that he targeted in his 2010 attack -- pay him to break into their systems.

It can be easier than most people think. The alleged thieves who made headlines last week for their $45 million bank heist used a similar type of attack that "created" money out of nowhere.

Bhalla talked CNNMoney through his caper. Here, in four easy steps, is how he made himself into a millionaire.

Step one, get access. Bhalla had one big advantage on actual thieves: His client gave him access to the bank's internal network. For real-world crooks, there are some surprisingly easy ways to get in.

It's possible, Bhalla said, to gain access in some places simply by logging on to the bank's wireless network -- an amenity more and more banks are providing as a service to customers. Once you're on the bank's Wi-Fi, the internal and external networks are frequently not segregated enough. It can be possible to fool the bank's other computers into thinking that your computer is a bank computer, a process known as "arp spoofing."

Another on-ramp: Someone posing as a janitor could insert a thumb drive into a teller's system and reboot it using a new operating system, which would enable them to access the hard drive of the teller's system. From there, user names and passwords are often readable.

Because he could simply log straight into his client's network, Bhalla and his assistants skipped the "get physical access" step and dove straight into finding the money.


How to hack a bank with a laptop

Step two, start exploring. Bhalla used "sniffer" software, available online for free, to map out which of the bank's systems were connected to each other.

Then he "flooded" switches -- small boxes that direct data traffic -- to overwhelm the bank's internal network with data. That kind of attack turns the switch into a "hub" that broadcasts data out indiscriminately.

The machines that the tellers use quickly became Bhalla's prime target. Again, the sniffer software was deployed to look for login information and passwords in the data flood. Eventually, one hit. He was inside a teller's machine.

Step three, move up the ranks. Amazingly, the information being sent between the tellers' computers and the branch's main database was not encrypted. This meant passwords and bank account numbers were all out in the open.

Step four, cash in. Rather than steal money from depositors' accounts, Bhalla just invented a new account for himself.

"We went into the database where the accounts are and set up an account with $14 million," Bhalla explained. "We just created $14 million out of thin air."

If he wanted to, he could have walked into any bank branch, transferred the money to an offshore account, and never have had to work again.

Instead, he went to an ATM to print out a record of his ill-gotten wealth.

"The bank executives were extremely surprised," Bhalla said. "Their faces were shocked."

The bank promptly deleted Bhalla's bounty, he said, and took steps to shore up its network.

In the heist that came to light last week, federal officials say the thieves hacked into networks at firms that process transactions for pre-paid debt cards and manipulated accounts to create high spending limits. From there, it was just a matter of making physical debt cards for those accounts and going around to ATMs to withdraw the cash.


How hackers stole $45 million from banks

"They just updated the database with that debit-card information," Bhalla said. "That's how simple it was."

In many cyber bank heists, including the recent $45 million scam, it's hard to pin down who is ultimately liable for any losses.

It's typically not individual customers. U.S. law protects consumer checking and savings accounts from losses stemming from fraud. Business accounts, though, have fewer protections.

Bhalla said some financial institutions have insurance to cover the losses -- but he noted that insurance companies are reluctant to issue policies with high coverage limits because the risks in this area area still poorly understood.

In the end, he said the losses are likely borne by a combination of the company, insurance firms and governments. 

JUST ALWAYS BE AWARE.....IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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American Born Entrepreneur Becomes Billionaire In Thailand



American born entrepreneur William Heinecke, 64, makes his debut among the world’s billionaires, thanks to a surge in the value of his Minor International hotel and food company.

Shares of the outfit, in which he has a one third stake, were up 5% on Thursday; they have nearly doubled in the past year.

Minor, which he founded nearly five decades ago, is now the largest listed hotel operator in Thailand and manages the Four Seasons, Marriott, and its own brand, the Anantara, which has 26 properties in 6 countries.

It also operates 1,200 restaurants in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, under such brands as Swensens, Sizzler, Dairy Queen, Thai Express EXPR -0.05%, the Coffee Club and Burger King.

Heinecke has been building his fortune in Thailand and throughout Asia for nearly five decades.
The son of an American Foreign Service member and a Voice of America journalist, Heinecke grew up in cities across Asia and attended high school in Thailand. More interested in go-karting than studying, he convinced the editor of Bangkok World to run his column on go-karts in exchange for selling ads.

He earned commissions, and within months he was making more than most full-time reporters. At age 17 he became the paper’s advertising manager.

A year later, after he graduated,  he started a business selling office cleaning services and radio advertising.

He was too young to get any loans, so he came up with a clever scheme to raise money, getting sponsors to pay for him to race his car from Singapore to Bangkok.

Three years later he sold out and named his new business Minor, in a nod to his youth.

In one of the first signs of his gutsiness and resourcefulness, he turned a soured deal with Pizza Hut into a huge opportunity.

An early franchisee of the American pizza chain in Thailand, he ended up suing Pizza Hut’s owner after the relationship soured in 1999.

They eventually settled but Heinecke took his experience and turned it into a new opportunity,  opening his own competing chain, The Pizza Company, that offered middle class Thai consumers dishes, including a tom yum gung flavored pie, to better suit their tastes.

Pizza Company quickly came to dominate the country’s fast food pizza market and still holds a 70% market share.

Heinecke, who abandoned his American passport and became a Thai citizen in 1991, is a rare example of a former American who struck it rich in foreign lands.

Other examples of Americans who made fortunes abroad include Jim Thompson, who arrived in Asia in 1963 and founded Crown Worldwide, and William Connor, who took over the logistics business that his father began in Japan, later moving its headquarters to Hong Kong in 1985.

Both rank among Hong Kong’s richest.

“I still feel like a big kid,” Heinecke told Forbes a few years ago when we last profiled him.
“I’m still very passionate about [all my businesses].
You have to be.”