Best stops on great ocean road

BEIJING: Starting on Monday, a commercial autonomous bus called Apollo, produced by Chinese internet search giant Baidu Inc, opened to the public in the mall atrium of Shin Kong Place in Chongqing’s Yubei district. The entire journey takes about 3km without stopping. It takes 20 minutes and costs 25 yuan (RM15). Apollo can carry 14 passengers and has a battery life of 100km. The driverless travel route is set by a small touch screen. It is China’s first commercial autonomous bus entering a commercial route, according to Baidu. Apollo was launched in April 2017 in collaboration with major global carmakers, including Volkswagen, BMW and Ford. Slated to enter mass production in July 2018, Apollo has started operations in Beijing, Jiangsu, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, with a total operating distance of more than 100,000km and safe transport of more than 110,000 people.In 2018, Baidu passed Chongqing’s automatic driving road test licence requirements. At the Smart China ... » Learn More about Driverless buses hit the road in Chongqing

Animal rights activists are urging PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to stop the practice of soldiers drinking snake blood and killing live animals during the Cobra Gold multinational training exercises which are held in Thailand and co-sponsored by the United States. PETA, or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also filed a petition with the US government to stop the “frat-like party masquerading as training in Thailand known as Cobra Gold.” They say the training violates the US Department of Defense’s policy on using non-animal methods. “During Cobra Gold, marines and training instructors in Thailand kill chickens with their bare hands, skin and eat live geckos, consume live scorpions and tarantulas, and decapitate king cobras – a species vulnerable to extinction – in order to drink their blood as part of purported training in food procurement.” PETA referred to video footage of US Marines learning jungle survival skills at last year’s Cobra Gold training at Sattahip Navy Base ... » Learn More about PETA calls for Thai and US militaries to stop killing animals in Cobra Gold training

voices in unison: Pheu Thai Party members participate in the opening day of 'Red shirt Village for Democracy' set up in Udon Thani province in September 2011. There is a lot riding on veteran activist Jatuporn Prompan kick-starting a mass protest targeting Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's ouster. But if Mr Jatuporn thought that because he chairs the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) he could count on the support of the red shirts to solidify the campaign against the government, he may be heading for disappointment. For one thing, the intensity of the red shirt movement's activism that served as a dominant force in politics a decade ago has paled against the evolving political situation of today, according to academics. Also, some leading red shirt figures are keen to know what Mr Jatuporn's intentions are in waging the anti-government campaign this time around under the banner of "Sammakhi prachachon pheu prathet thai" (People's Unity for Thailand). The ... » Learn More about Jatuporn’s best days may be behind him

HAVANA: During some summers, as the Caribbean water temperatures climb, the luminous coral colonies of gold, green and blue that ring the island nation of Cuba give way to patches of skeletal white. The technicolor streaks of darting tropical fish flash less frequently. The rasping sounds of lobsters go quiet. While Cuba’s marine life has suffered from overfishing and pollution, there is mounting evidence that the warming of waters due to climate change may be taking a large toll as well - both off the island's coast and globally. Research published on Monday (Apr 5) finds that the total number of open-water species declined by about half in the 40 years up to 2010 in tropical marine zones worldwide. During that time, sea surface temperatures in the tropics rose nearly 0.2 degree Celsius. "Climate change is already impacting marine species diversity distribution," with changes being more dramatic in the Northern Hemisphere where waters have warmed faster, said study co-author ... » Learn More about Climate change shrinks marine life richness near equator: Study

JAKARTA - A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Java island on Saturday, killing seven people, severely wounding two and damaging hundreds of buildings in several cities, the country’s disaster mitigation agency BNPB said. The quake, which struck at 2 p.m. (0700 GMT) local time, was felt across East Java, home to 40.7 million people, and nearby provinces, including the resort island of Bali, Indonesian media reported. Ten people were lightly injured, while an unspecified number of people in several villages were moved to evacuation centres as some houses have been destroyed, the BNPB said. More than 300 homes and dozens of other buildings, including schools, hospitals, government offices and places of worship, were damaged, the agency said. The numbers could change as authorities collect more information about the extent of casualties and damage. Images in media showed flattened houses in towns near the southern coast of East Java, the closest area to the ... » Learn More about Indonesia’s Java hit by magnitude 5.9 quake, 7 killed

The Glaston Tower is located at the 16-ha Ortigas East. It’s been more than a year into the pandemic and by this time, we all know how important it is to prioritize our health and well-being in this new normal. Even businesses will need to step up to make sure their employees are working in modern, healthy, and safe workspaces. So what kind of workspace should we have? Nowadays, conversations are dominated by emerging trends, new priorities and work-from-home arrangements. As such, offices are being reimagined and retooled to fit anticipated needs amid and beyond this pandemic. Ultimately, the goal is to find ways for employees to become more productive while still ensuring their health, safety and well-being. Scores of surveys and researches now highlight the need for sophisticated technologies, bigger spaces for community building among employees and sustainable, green measures that ensure better air quality, access to natural lighting and ventilation, among others. For ... » Learn More about The Glaston Tower: My kind of workspace

LONDON: Jose Mourinho said Friday that he does not believe Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be using Manchester United's 6-1 humbling by Spurs in October as motivation for their Premier League clash on Sunday (Apr 11). Spurs dished out United's joint heaviest Premier League defeat at Old Trafford thanks to a fine attacking display and a defensive horror show from the home side. Former United manager Mourinho, now in charge of Tottenham, believes the match early in the season, in which United's Anthony Martial was sent off, produced a freak result. "I believe that 6-1 doesn't reflect the reality," he said on Friday. "I go much more in the direction of the other two previous matches between us and United. "We lost 2-1 at Old Trafford, with the penalty, and we draw 1-1 at home last season, also with a penalty. I think this is more the reality. "If Solskjaer is going to use that result I don't know. If it was my team losing 6-1 to them I would just say to my guys that it happened once ... » Learn More about Football: Spurs’ 6-1 win at Man Utd was freak result, says Mourinho

YANGON: An information blackout under Myanmar's military government worsened on Thursday (Apr 8) as fibre broadband service, the last legal way for ordinary people to access the Internet, became intermittently inaccessible on several networks. Authorities in some areas have also started confiscating satellite dishes used to access international news broadcasts. Protests against the the Feb 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi continued Thursday despite the killing of 11 people by security forces a day earlier. It was unclear if the Internet interruptions for at least two service providers, MBT and Infinite Networks, were temporary. MBT said its service was halted by a break in the line between Yangon and Mandalay, the country’s two biggest cities. But internet users had been complaining for the past week of major slowdowns in the services. The military government has gradually throttled down Internet service since the coup. It initially imposed a ... » Learn More about Myanmar military government limits Internet, seizes satellite TV dishes

SINGAPORE - Any change in the tudung policy for nurses is a sensitive issue that needs to take into account the views of other communities in Singapore, said dialogue participants who met government leaders to discuss the topic on Saturday (April 10). Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir said that the issue of wearing the tudung with the uniform is about balancing the needs of Muslim nurses who choose to put on the tudung, "while maintaining a high level of trust and confidence between communities". "I think it is very important that on such matters, we should not make a move that can undermine our social cohesion, but instead continue to strengthen it and to enlarge our common spaces. This is something very unique in Singapore," he said. Asked how asatizahs, or religious teachers, can play a bigger role to help the community better understand the issue, Dr Nazirudin - who is the highest Islamic authority here - said they will continue to provide guidance to the Muslim community while ... » Learn More about Any change in tudung stance should be sensitive to views of other communities: Dialogue participants

PARIS: Lille climbed six points clear of title rivals Paris Saint-Germain in France's Ligue 1 on Friday (Apr 9) with a tight 2-0 win at Metz. They now lead the French top flight with 69 points from 32 games while PSG have 63, Monaco 62 and Lyon 61 ahead of their catch up games this weekend. Turkish veteran striker Burak Yilmaz got the opener on the hour and compatriot Zeki Celik scrambled home a second at the death after Lille 'keeper Mike Maignan had saved an early Metz penalty. "We had a very sluggish start to the match," admitted Lille coach Christophe Galtier. "We struggled to get the ball out. The desire to do well made us rush and we were wasteful. Mike kept us in the game by stopping the penalty." Yilmaz showed great experience, wrong footing the Metz 'keeper and shooting hard and low inside the near post to score. And as they dug deep Celik scrambled home a corner on 89 minutes to provide a harsh scoreline for the hosts. Maignan saved a 17th-minute penalty, ... » Learn More about Football: Lille go six points clear in Ligue 1 thanks to Turkish double