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Europe quietly adopting the Swedish approach

hwt — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 00:27:40 +0800

Vilified early over lax coronavirus strategy, Sweden seems to have scourge controlled

Published
Sep 30, 2020, 8:11 am SGT

QUOTE

STOCKHOLM (NYTIMES) - The scene at Norrsken House Stockholm, a coworking space, oozed with radical normalcy: Young, turtleneck-wearing hipsters schmoozed in the coffee corner. Others chatted freely, at times quite near one another, in cozy conference rooms. Face masks were nowhere to be seen.

It seemed like January, before the spread of the coronavirus in Europe, but it was actually last week, as many European nations were tightening restrictions amid a surge of new cases.

In Sweden, new infections, if tipping upward slightly, still remained surprisingly low.

"I have potentially hundreds of tiny interactions when working here," said Thom Feeney, a Briton who manages the coworking space. "Our work lives should not be reduced to just the screen in front of us. Ultimately, we are social animals."

Normalcy has never been more contentious than now in Sweden. Almost alone in the Western world, the Swedes refused to impose a coronavirus lockdown in the spring, as the country's leading health officials argued that limited restrictions were sufficient and would better protect against economic collapse.

It was an approach that transformed Sweden into an unlikely ideological lightning rod. Many scientists blamed it for a spike in deaths, even as many libertarians critical of lockdowns portrayed Sweden as a model.

During a recent Senate hearing in Washington, Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading US infectious disease specialist, and Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., angrily clashed over Sweden.

For their part, the Swedes admit to making some mistakes, particularly in nursing homes, where the death toll was staggering. Indeed, comparative analyses show that Sweden's death rate at the height of the pandemic in the spring far surpassed the rates in neighbouring countries and was more protracted. (Others point out that Sweden's overall death rate is comparable to that of the United States.)

Now, though, the question is whether the country's current low caseload, compared with sharp increases elsewhere, shows that it has found a sustainable balance, something that all Western countries are seeking eight months into the pandemic - or whether the recent numbers are just a temporary aberration.

"It looks positive," said Anders Tegnell, Sweden's state epidemiologist, who gained global fame and notoriety for having kept Sweden out of lockdown in March.

With a population of 10.1 million, Sweden averaged a little more than 200 new cases a day for several weeks, although in recent days that number has jumped to about 380. The per capita rate is far lower than nearby Denmark or the Netherlands (if higher than the negligible rates in Norway and Finland).

Sweden is also doing far better, for the moment, than Spain, with 10,000 cases a day, and France, with 12,000.

Critics say Sweden does not test for the virus as thoroughly as many other nations - with 142,000 tests for the week ending Sept 13.

Britain, with about six times the population, tested only 587,000 people in the most recent week, far fewer per capita than Sweden. And Britain conducted far more tests than France, Germany or Spain in that period.

In early September, 1.2 per cent of tests in Sweden were positive, compared with about 7% currently in Northwest England, Britain's hardest-hit area.

In response to the recent outbreaks, many European countries are imposing new restrictions. But political leaders, anxious to avoid unpopular and economically disastrous lockdowns, are relying mostly on social-distancing measures, while trying to preserve a degree of normalcy, with schools, shops, restaurants and even bars open.

In essence, some experts say, they are quietly adopting the Swedish approach.

"Today, all of the European countries are more or less following the Swedish model, combined with the testing, tracing and quarantine procedures the Germans have introduced, but none will admit it," said Antoine Flahault, director of the Institute of Global Health, in Geneva.

"Instead, they made a caricature out of the Swedish strategy. Almost everyone has called it inhumane and a failure."

Back in the spring, when other nations were clamping down, Sweden was often vilified for having gone its own way. Its borders stayed open, as did bars, restaurants and schools. Hairdressers, yoga studios, gyms and even some cinemas remained open, as did public transportation and parks.

Gatherings of more than 50 people were banned, museums closed and sporting events cancelled. But that was the extent of the measures, with officials saying they would trust in the good sense of Swedes to keep their distance and wash their hands.

Flahault lauded Sweden's government for that part of its approach.

"The Swedes went into self-lockdown," he said. "They trusted in their people to self-apply social distancing measures without punishing them."

But Flahault also warned about what he called a major flaw in the Swedish approach.

"They continue not to wear masks," he said. "That can be a big drawback in the Swedish strategy if masks prove effective and key in fighting the pandemic."

Sweden might also just be enjoying a lull between peaks of infection. The public face of the country's coronavirus policies, Tegnell, agrees, saying the numbers can always go up, as they just have.

That said, however, "Sweden has gone from being one of the countries in Europe with the most spread to one that has some of the fewest cases in Europe," he said in a recent interview.

Some experts believe that Sweden is now almost fully in control of the virus.

"There are indications that the Swedes have gained an element of immunity to the disease, which, together with everything else they are doing to prevent the infection from spreading, is enough to keep the disease down," Kim Sneppen, professor of biocomplexity at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, said in an interview.

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/v...urge-controlled

A flying iRobot / security camera

hwt — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 14:31:13 +0800

[YOUTUBE]kUx3I0wqnhQ[/YOUTUBE]

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/24/tech/ama...rone/index.html

Another way to sell your house or find a tenant...... Beats the static cameras.

Tollway booths to be scrapped next year

hwt — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 19:06:32 +0800

Tollway booths to be scrapped next year

16 Sep 2020 at 08:56

QUOTE

The Ministry of Transport will remove tollway booths and remodel billing systems to incorporate vehicle recognition next year.

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob on Tuesday told reporters that the ministry's vehicle registration database will be shared with the Department of Land Transport, Department of Highways and Expressway Authority of Thailand under a memorandum of understanding to track vehicles using tollways and expressways when barriers and toll booths are taken away next year.

He said a toll system without barriers and toll booths is being developed.

According to the new system, called M-Flow, licence plate detectors will be used to later match the vehicle information in the licence registration database and bill motorists every month to post-pay without the assistance of barriers and toll booths, the minister said.

All tollway and expressway gates will be modified by next year, he said.

"This system has another benefit ... we can check for illegal vehicles," he said referring to the linked database and the licence detection system.

Laws will be amended so that failure to pay road tolls will be considered an offence, he said.

Current users of M-Pass will be able to link their pass with their vehicle licence and pay the tolls automatically.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/easy/1...apped-next-year

Carpark captures plate numbers and bills users

hwt — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 06:08:42 +0800

No gantries: Smart carpark launched at NTU automatically captures plate numbers and bills users

QUOTE

SINGAPORE - After registering on an app, visitors to Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) Jurong campus will no longer have to think about where or how to pay their parking fees.

Even without parking gantries, their car plates are captured upon entry and exit by video technology. The correct fee is then automatically calculated and billed to their credit or debit card, without the need for additional input of information in an app or a CashCard in the in-vehicle unit.

The vision is of a more seamless and hassle-free parking experience than currently offered elsewhere. Launched on Monday (Sept 14), Singapore's "first barrier-free smart" carpark is now operational at three locations in the university. All 59 of NTU's carparks, covering more than 4,000 parking spaces, are set to turn "smart" by the end of 2021.

"Smart carparks are integral to the smart cities of the future," said Mr Ravinder Singh, president of ST Engineering's electronics arm, which developed the new system.

The smart carpark system works with an app called GoParkin which, in addition to tapping technology such as automatic number plate recognition, also gives users real-time information on the closest available parking spots and their rates.

Apart from the convenience, the system also helps to reduce operational and maintenance costs.

For instance, the system has a cloud-based platform which can identify equipment in the carpark that requires preventive maintenance, saving the university costs that would have been incurred later if the equipment had broken down.

With remote paying, the university is also able to do away with physical payment stations or gantries at the carparks.

The smart system is also equipped to collect data, which can be analysed to give operators a better sense of how the carparks are used and where improvements can be made.

Mr Singh, whose company is managing all NTU carparks, said the data collected on carpark usage could "potentially generate new value-added services for motorists and transform business models for carpark operators".

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/no-g...mbers-and-bills

Did Sweden do the right thing?

hwt — Sun, 13 Sep 2020 18:05:55 +0800

QUOTE

The study looked at 314 adults who had showed symptoms of COVID-19 and had sought testing at one of 11 facilities across 10 states in July. Of the participants, 154 tested positive for COVID-19, while 160 tested negative and served as a control group.

Participants were asked questions such as how often they had worn face coverings in public and where they had gone two weeks prior to having shown symptoms.

Seventy-one percent of people who tested positive said they had always worn face coverings in public, compared with 74% of the control group.

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-li...rants-cdc-study

Gargling solution - possible anti-virus effect

hwt — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 15:27:00 +0800

Gargling solution flies off Japan's shelves after governor touts anti-coronavirus effect

QUOTE

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japanese drugstores were stripped bare of gargling solution by Wednesday (Aug 5), a day after the governor of the western prefecture of Osaka suggested it could help fight coronavirus, triggering panicked buying reminiscent of the early days of mask shortages.

Hundreds of thousands of people posted pictures of emptied shelves on Twitter, accompanied by handwritten "Out of Stock" notices, as they canvassed suggestions on how to acquire the coveted anti-septic.

"Anyone else having trouble buying gargling medicine? I'm coming to four misses now," wrote one user, @shotaro-1117, who posted images of four cleaned-out shelves.

On Tuesday, Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said a study showed a smaller viral load in the saliva of 41 patients with mild symptoms after regular gargling with a medicine infused with povidone-iodine solution than in those who had not....

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia...nti-coronavirus

So, doctors in this case should learn from those who recovered or somehow do not fall sick, rather than treating them as patients and locking them up in quarantine centers. Because it is widely believed recovery rates are very high for people not under conventional medical care. "Crowd wisdom" may be a reason why a lot of people in some regions have not died, or have not got seriously sick. Efforts should be made to learn from them, to see if any effective and easy "cure" may have been missed.

Poorna, Bep Tren Dinh Doi, Li ziqi

hwt — Sun, 26 Jul 2020 23:59:33 +0800

[YOUTUBE]_uScLyWGdLs[/YOUTUBE]

Coronavirus immunity can last 6 months

hwt — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 15:21:21 +0800

Sweden says coronavirus immunity can last 6 months after infection

QUOTE

STOCKHOLM (BLOOMBERG) - Sweden's top health authority says people who have had the novel coronavirus are likely to be immune for at least six months after being infected, whether they have developed antibodies or not.

In new guidance published on Tuesday (July 21), the Swedish Public Health Agency said it's now considered safe for individuals who've been infected to come into contact with people in high-risk groups.

"We don't see cases of people falling ill twice from Covid-19," state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said during a press conference in Stockholm. "Hence, our assessment is that if you do get Covid-19 you are immune, even if you don't develop antibodies."

But the agency also said that people deemed to be immune can still act as carriers of the virus in society, and must therefore continue to observe social distancing and hygiene guidelines.

The antibody response to Covid-19 is being closely studied by scientists around the world for indications of how long-lasting immunity may be. While there is little evidence to suggest reinfections are occurring, health experts have yet to pin down exactly how long immunity might last.

A recent study from King's College London showed that the level of antibodies may drop to a degree that makes them undetectable as soon as three months after infection. However, the body also mounts other forms of immunity responses, including from so-called T-cells, which appear to play an important role in protecting against reinfection with Covid-19.

Research from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet has indicated that about twice as many people infected by Covid-19 have developed a T-cell mediated immunity response as those who have a detectable level of antibodies.

"The risk of being reinfected and of transmitting the disease to other people is probably very close to zero," Dr Tegnell said. "Therefore, we think that you can meet other people, even if they are in a high-risk group."

Dr Tegnell said he expects a vaccine to be ready for distribution in Sweden "sometime during the first half of 2021", barring setbacks in the development process.

AstraZeneca has signed an agreement to supply up to 400 million doses to European countries from the end of 2020. The company's joint efforts with the University of Oxford to develop a vaccine showed promising results this week.

But Dr Tegnell said that "anything else would have been a disaster for AstraZeneca".

Dr Tegnell remains a controversial figure for his decision to advise against imposing a proper lockdown in Sweden. The country currently has one of the highest death rates in the world, measured per 100,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

But there are also signs that the contagion rate in Sweden is slowing, and Dr Tegnell insists his strategy will ultimately be proven a success. That is as he comes under attack from academics and scientists in his own country, who say he has mishandled the crisis.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that people who have recovered from Covid-19 should follow quarantine recommendations if they are identified as a contact of a new case when more than 3 months have passed since the onset of the disease.

On Tuesday, Dr Tegnell said Sweden "probably" has achieved a fairly high rate of immunity, which he predicts will protect his country from new outbreaks.

"The upshot is that the epidemic is now slowing down very drastically, in a way that I think few of us would have thought a few weeks ago," he said. "I am very happy about that. It makes it easier for health care services, and we have fewer fatalities."

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/s...after-infection

Predictive policing

hwt — Sun, 28 Jun 2020 02:35:21 +0800

QUOTE

Location-based Proactive Policing

PredPol uses a machine-learning algorithm to calculate predictions

3 data points – crime type, crime location and crime date/time- are used in prediction calculation

Create your own Custom Boxes using Risk Terrain Modeling or your agency’s unique intelligence

Predpol uses a data-driven approach to direct patrol operations

Predict where and when specific crimes are most likely to occur

Proactively patrol to help reduce crime rates and victimization

QUOTE

Predictive Policing Technology
The PredPol Algorithm

PredPol is based on a decade of detailed academic research into the causes of crime pattern formation. That research successfully linked several key aspects of offender behavior to a mathematical structure that is used predict how crime patterns will evolve from day-to-day, from moment-to-moment.

The mathematics looks complicated, but the behaviors upon which the math is based are very understandable. There are three aspects of offender behavior that make their way into our model.

Repeat victimization, which describes – taking burglary as an example – that if a house is broken into today, the risk that it is broken into tomorrow actually goes up. This is because it is “rational” for offenders to return to the places where they have been successful before. It makes less sense to go to some other unknown house where they don’t know if the house is empty of people, they don’t know how hard it is to break in, and they don’t know what there is to be stolen. The house they broke into two or three days ago is much less risky.

Near-repeat victimization, which recognizes that not only is your own house at greater risk of being broken into again, but your neighbor’s house is also at greater risk. Your neighbor is a lot like you: they they have similar socio-economic status, work similar hours, have a house a lot like yours and are going to have much the same stuff to steal. The offending ‘script’ the offender used to break into your house maps to your neighbor’s house almost perfectly.

Local search ties it all together. We know that offenders rarely travel very far from their key activity points such as their home, work and play locations, meaning that crimes tend to cluster together.

The actual patented algorithm used by PredPol is displayed below:

https://www.predpol.com/

WHO says symptomless spread is rare

hwt — Tue, 09 Jun 2020 17:36:40 +0800

QUOTE

"It still appears to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual," Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO's emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said at a briefing in Geneva.

She said her comment is based on detailed reports of contact tracing from various countries.

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/w...navirus-efforts

Moderna’s vaccine showed early signs of success

hwt — Mon, 18 May 2020 23:05:48 +0800

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine just showed early signs of success in an early study in people

Business Insider

May 18, 2020

QUOTE

Moderna released the first human results from its coronavirus vaccine candidate on Monday.

In a small number of healthy volunteers, Moderna’s vaccine helped create immune responses that may help protect people from being infected with the novel coronavirus.

The biotech is planning to start additional trials immediately and is aiming to be ready this fall for potential emergency use of its vaccine.

QUOTE

In a milestone moment in the race for a coronavirus vaccine, the first results in humans showed Moderna’s vaccine candidate led to antibody responses in a handful of healthy volunteers.

The Massachusetts biotech described Monday the immune system responses to the vaccine from this first, small study that was primarily focused on safety. The results don’t yet show whether the vaccine would prevent people from being infected with the novel coronavirus.

The trial was conducted by the US National Institutes of Health. Moderna is planning to soon start a mid-stage study and then begin a late-stage trial in July. The company is aiming to be ready for potential emergency use of its vaccine this fall, a timeline with no precedent in the history of vaccine development.

This trial enrolled 45 healthy volunteers to start, ages between 18 and 55 years old and randomly given one of three dose strengths for two shots: 25 micrograms, 100 micrograms and 250 micrograms.

All participants developed detectable antibodies, and Moderna said there were “dose dependent increases in immunogenicity” across the three potencies.

The 15 volunteers at the weakest dose strength also had antibodies in their blood at similar levels to people who recovered from COVID-19, after receiving both doses.

Follow-up data was more limited for the higher doses, as the volunteers are still being tracked. Ten people given both 100-microgram doses with sufficient follow-up had antibody levels that “exceeded the levels seen in convalescent sera.”

Moderna also said they had data on neutralizing antibodies for eight people. All these volunteers showed neutralizing antibodies “at or above levels generally seen in convalescent sera.”

The company also said the NIH has helped test the vaccine in mice. After being vaccinated, mice were exposed to the novel coronavirus. Moderna said the vaccine “prevented viral replication in the lungs” of these mice. Additionally, these early human data on levels of neutralizing antibodies were consisent with the mice data.

The vaccine was “generally safe and well tolerated,” Moderna said. The company noted that at the highest dose level, 250 micrograms, three people have had severe but not life-threatening side effects. “All adverse events have been transient and self-resolving,” the company noted, without further describing these side effects in the high-dose arm.

https://www.businessinsider.my/moderna-coro...-results-2020-5

Chat moderators wanted

hwt — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 23:56:16 +0800

Saw this ad on Facebook. In case anyone here is interested.

QUOTE

Cloudworkers
Sponsored ·

Chat moderators wanted

We are hiring - Apply as a chat moderator now!

About us: Cloudworkers has been one of the largest, most successful and respected chat moderation companies in the world since 2015. Apply now as a chat moderator and become part of our fantastic team!

For more information please visit our website https://cloudworkers.company/en

We are looking forward to your application!

Your Cloudworkers Team

https://cloudworkers.company

QUOTE

Job description

As a chat moderator you would be tasked with taking part in, and maintaining, online text-based chat conversations on one or more online social community platforms. The aim of the game is to create a fantasy experience designed to entertain the customers, cultivate a rapport, make them feel good about themselves and make them want to come back for more fulfilling fantasy experiences. All of the chat platforms our moderators work on are accessed via an online chat interface that allows you to communicate with customers no matter where you happen to be.

To keep up with growth, we are constantly on the look out for reliable and highly motivated chat moderators to be a part of the various chat platforms for which we are responsible.

Moderators should be mature and open-minded enough to engage with adult dialogues and provide high quality written content on the chat platforms.

You do not need to make a commute to an office to take part as the job can be performed from the comfort of your own living-room, or wherever you choose to logon. All that is required is an internet connection and a computer.

As a Cloudworkers moderator you are given the flexibility to choose your own working hours providing you with the freedom to plan work around your life, rather than vice-versa.

As a Cloudworkers moderator you are hereby afforded a degree of freedom absent in other jobs, allowing you to earn an income while remaining “on the go”. Addtionally, you would benefit from our years of experience as one of the most successful and respected chat moderation companies worldwide. Moderators receive regular training by qualified trainers and have a reliable point of contact in their allocated team leader - contactable via phone, email or Skype. This approach has enabled us to provide and maintain high-level services and high-quality content for our clients, their customers, and the agents with whom we work.

If you are considering applying, having experience in the industry would be advantageous but is not a mandatory requirement. Even those with no prior experience can apply for a position! Both our experienced moderators, as well as those with less experience, are trained extensively by the team leads and trainers.The most important factors to success as a chat moderator are imagination, open-mindedness and motivation. If you possess all three factors, we very much hope to hear from you soon!

Cruise Origin

hwt — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 17:50:31 +0800

[YOUTUBE]TGe4sOHYiXc[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]bjTGEHYO-5s[/YOUTUBE]

https://venturebeat.com/2020/01/21/gms-crui...steering-wheel/

Impact on aviation sector will be worse than SARS

hwt — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 18:35:16 +0800

Coronavirus: Impact of outbreak on aviation sector will be worse than that of Sars, says Khaw Boon Wan

QUOTE

SINGAPORE - The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the aviation sector will be worse than that of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2003, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Thursday (Feb 6).

This is because China is now a much larger market and a much larger source of tourism for Singapore and the region, he said during a visit to Changi Airport.

In terms of retail spending, they make up one-third of Changi Airport's retail sales.

With this in mind, the Government is working on a Budget that will help support the sector and measures are set to be announced later this month.

Of particular concern is the retail side at Changi Airport, with about 7,000 to 8,000 staff employed there, said Mr Khaw.

Companies would have to retrench and cut back on their workforce if they are not doing well, and this would affect many families, he noted.

He said: "During Sars, China travellers accounted for 5 per cent of Changi Airport's traffic. Now they account for 11 per cent, so it's double in terms of percentage and even more by absolute numbers.

"But the purchasing power has increased even more... They account for one-third of retail sales in Changi, and the one-third has evaporated."

He said local airlines - Singapore Airlines, Scoot and SilkAir - are also suffering along with retail shops.

"The traffic between China and Singapore has come down significantly because flights have shrunk 70 to 80 per cent, traffic volume has come down by 60 to 70 per cent.

"The loading of our own carriers to China has come down a lot. Some flights are below 20 to 30 per cent."

During his visit, many shops told Mr Khaw that the drop in Chinese tourists had hit them hard.

In response, Mr Khaw said shops could take this time to send their staff for retraining to help prepare them for when the situation improves. He also encouraged staff to practise good hygiene habits.

Businesses at Jewel Changi Airport told The Straits Times that the crowd at the complex has noticeably thinned with travel restrictions kicking in and the growing severity of the virus' spread.

On Sunday, a staff member at a baby clothes shop in Jewel said: "We haven't seen a single Chinese (customer) today and they usually make up quite a lot of our business. There are also much fewer locals bringing their children and having lunch here.

"It is the first time the mall was so quiet on the weekend that just passed."

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/coro...t-for-sars-says

Visitors with recent travel to China barred

hwt — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 18:19:24 +0800

Wuhan virus: Visitors with recent travel history to China not allowed entry or transit to Singapore

QUOTE

SINGAPORE - All travellers arriving from mainland China who had been there in the past 14 days, as well as anyone with a China passport, will be barred from entry or transit in Singapore, as the nation ramps up measures to keep the Wuhan virus at bay.

The new measures will kick in at 11.59pm on Saturday (Feb 1).

Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term-pass holders can return, subject to a leave of absence of 14 days, said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong on Friday (Jan 31).

"On top of everything we've already introduced, this will enable us to limit the number of new imported cases here and reduce risk of community spread in Singapore," he said at a press conference on Friday.

"The situation remains fluid, it's constantly changing, and we do not rule out taking further measures," added Mr Wong, who is co-chair of the multi-ministry task force tackling the spread of the Wuhan virus here.

The tough new measures come on the heels of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) announcement on Thursday that the coronavirus epidemic in China now constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

The virus has now infected over 9,000 people - surpassing Sars, which had over 8,000 infections. It has killed over 200, with China's Wuhan city at the epicentre of the crisis.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/wuha...y-or-transit-to

Thaksin, Yingluck in Vegas flogging DNA gadget

hwt — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 15:59:31 +0800

QUOTE

Thailand’s sibling self-exiled former prime ministers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra are at the world’s biggest tech fair in Las Vegas this week touting a gizmo in which they’ve both invested.

Yingluck posted photos on Facebook showing her and her elder brother at the Consumer Electronics Show continuing through Friday (January 10) in the US gambling capital.

Yingluck explained that they had invested in a firm that combines telecommunications technology – Thaksin’s original business line – with an innovation in DNA testing.

The tech enables fast and accurate DNA testing without the need for laboratory analysis, she said. It will appeal to health-conscious consumers wishing to base their diet on their DNA and reduce their reliance on medicine in disease prevention.

Yingluck said prototype units will soon be available for testing at a place called DNA Nudge in London’s Covent Gardens, where she unveiled the product last year.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/3038031...ternal_referral

https://www.dnanudge.com/

Paradox belies Thailand-Malaysia ties

hwt — Wed, 25 Dec 2019 05:59:07 +0800

Paradox belies Thailand-Malaysia ties

Kavi Chongkittavorn COLUMNIST

published : 22 Oct 2019 at 04:01

QUOTE

This week marks one full year since Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad's much publicised visit to Thailand. During the landmark trip, he said that Malaysia under his leadership would do "whatever was possible" to achieve peace in southern Thailand. His comment gave a strong sense of deja vu to the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha that permanent peace and stability at the southern tip was close at hand.

Coming from Dr M, as he is known locally, the Thai establishment was confident that the ongoing peace process with the conflicting parties, comprising various insurgent groups, across the border would proceed with tangible results. After all, the prime minister is a man of his word. However, over the past year, Bangkok's goodwill and hope has largely evaporated, as Kuala Lumpur has yet to turn promises into actions, much to the disappointment of those who trusted Dr M's pledges.

...

A series of bombs exploded on the second and third days of Asean's annual meeting on Aug 2 and 3 in various parts of Bangkok.

Following weeks of police investigation, two suspects who had links with insurgent groups were arrested and charged with the bombings. According to an intelligence source, who asked not to be identified, another 20 accomplices in the attacks escaped across the southern border. The source also pointed out that once they were inside Malaysia, these collaborators live freely, ignoring Bangkok's repeated requests for them to be extradited.

...

Under these murky conditions, Thai army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong decided to suspend the upcoming 29th annual Thai-Malaysian joint military exercise along the 647-kilometre common border. The Thai army wants to send a strong signal that Malaysia has not yet done what it can.

Furthermore, Kuala Lumpur has not shown sincerity and goodwill in conducting the annual joint patrol of the border areas. Time and again, the Malaysian side has refused without sufficient reason to conduct joint patrols in border areas identified and requested by the Thai side. Doubtless, Thai officials have often lamented the true intentions of their counterparts across the border, especially those veterans working inside the police Special Branch.

...

Thai and Malaysian relations are still plagued by a trust deficit. The Thai side remains enthusiastic about pursuing peace talks. However, despite repeated promises, the other concerned parties are not so sanguine.

Ironically, the peace process down south continues to be held hostage by domestic politics in Malaysia. Thailand hopes Malaysia will fulfil its longstanding promise to help resolve the southern problem. Without continued and comprehensive cooperation from the Malaysian facilitator, peace in southern Thailand will remain elusive.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion...a-ties#cxrecs_s

How will retirement look like for you

hwt — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 17:50:06 +0800

Mainly for those who are currently 30-50 years old.

Video list (3 videos) :

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPQX...h&feature=share

Actual videos :

[YOUTUBE]PTLz0boPnH4[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]ojVYZFePq2o[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]A4QejtNpt50[/YOUTUBE]

Paywave for highway toll payments next year

hwt — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 05:21:18 +0800

Expressway toll payments by 'touch' credit card next year

published : 27 Nov 2019 at 18:34

writer: Thodsapol Hongtong

QUOTE

Motorists will be able to use credit cards to pay toll fees next year, starting with the Kanchanapisek expressway in January, the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) announced on Wednesday.

Exat governor Suchart Chonsakpipat unveiled the planned use of credit cards at an event marking the 47th anniversary of the expressway agency.

Toll fee payments would be made via EMV (Euro/MasterCard and Visa) cards, simply by touching them to plates at toll booths under a system to be known as "touch&go", Mr Suchart said.

The Kanchanapisek Expressway had been chosen for the first trial, a project expected to begin in January next year. It would later be expanded to cover all expressway routes.

Exat will first accept credit cards of Krungthai Bank for toll fee payments, and later extend the scheme to other financial institutions, the governor said.

Credit card readers will be installed in the cash collection and Easy Pass channels. The use of credit cards will speed traffic flow and lessen congestion, he said.

Commuters will also be able to use EMV cards to pay fares on public transport - electric trains, buses and boats - in the future.

Exat plans to give a five-baht discount per trip for Easy Pass users between 4am and 7am on the first second and second stages of expressways for two months from Jan 6 to March at six toll plazas: Din Daeng, Dao Khanong, Bang Na, Bang Chak, inbound Prachachuen, and Asok.

Exat and TrueMoney have jointly introduced a service for motorists to apply for Easy Pass electronic toll cards via TrueMoney Wallet application. The agency will send Easy Pass cards to users’ homes without collecting card fees until Feb 13. This is expected to increase Easy Pass users by 10-15%. Currently, TrueMoney has about 8.5 million customers.

Mr Suchart said Exat will also look into expressway investment in neighbouring countries. Laos, for instance, planned to develop expressways, he added.

Exat was also eyeing expressway investment along the Thai-Lao border in the Northeast.

Over the next 10 years, Exat would extend the expressway networks by 140km, focusing on provinces and with investment of over 100 billion baht, he said.

The Kathu-Patong Expressway cost was about 14 billion baht and the 42km extension for the Udon Ratthaya Expressway required investment of 31 billion baht.

The 20km extension between Chatuchok and Lam Luk Ka for the Chalongrat Expressway required investment of 20 billion baht.

Expressway projects in Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen cost 50-60 billion baht, while the extension for Burapha Withi-Chon Buri bypass required 7 billion baht.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/genera...-card-next-year

Visa debit cardholders can now get money transfers

hwt — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 18:44:32 +0800

Visa debit cardholders in Southeast Asia can now get money transfers
Econ
Nov 23. 2019

QUOTE

Nium Pte Ltd, a digital cross-border payments platform, is enabling users to make real-time money transfers to Visa debit cardholders across Southeast Asia including Viet Nam.

It is based on Visa’s real-time push payments solution Visa Direct.

Nium is the first fintech-based money transfer service provider in Southeast Asia to offer instant money transfer services through recipients’ 16-digit Visa debit card numbers.

Now available in Singapore, it offers both peer-to-peer and business-to-business transfers.

In the first phase, remittances can be made to various Southeast Asia countries.

Prajit Nanu, co-founder and CEO of Nium said: “We understand that individuals and businesses need to receive money quickly, especially in markets where there are no instant payment solutions like FAST or IMPS. The partnership using Visa’s push payment solution and secure network will allow our consumers to transfer money in a faster, convenient and more secure way.”

According to a recent Visa survey, more than one in three respondents in Singapore make international money transfers at least once a year. Almost half of them expect their funds to be successfully transferred in less than a day.

Singapore has a Vietnamese community of around 12,000, many of them migrant workers who remit money back to their families.

Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos, Dang Tuyet Dung, said: “Remittances are incredibly important for many families here, and in fact, Viet Nam is among the top 10 receivers of remittances in the world. As such, having fast, reliable and cost-effective means of sending money isn’t just a necessity, it also helps drive the economy.” — VNS

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/303...ternal_referral

Nium

https://www.nium.com/