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24-7 Global China Xinhua TV news in English language

As the world largest expo in Shanghai opens this weekend, the Chinese government controlled news agency Xinhua will launch China Xinhua News Network Corp. (CNC).  This is almost a similar type of America’s CNN.  The Chinese Xinhua TV broadcast in English language will cover world and local news, feature stories, weather forecast, and special coverage, as per AP News.  While the first month is on beta trial period, the official launch will be on July 1.

Shanghai World Expo "Better City, Better Life," from April 30 to October 31, 2010

After a very successful Beijing Olympics in 2008 where China had spent several billions to host the world sport event, this week the largest exhibition ever held in the planet will open in Shanghai.  This year expo's theme is "Better City, Better Life," with 189 countries will show off their pavilions.

Many experts believe the Chinese government has spent over $4.2 billion to provide buildings, pavilions, and infrastructure for this summer world's fair. 

The most populous city in China, Shanghai has its major face-lift with numerous upgrades in the city's infrastructure.  The Chinese government may have spent over $45 billion to upgrades the city's infrastructure including creating a new subway and railway system, adding two new airport terminals, adding new roads and highways, expanding local parks, and reconstructing bridges. One of the famous infrastructures is rebuilding a historic promenade with a budget of over $700 million near Huangpu River.

American president and first lady may had been poisoned at a summit in Germany

In her new book with a title "Spoken from the Heart," former first lady Laura Bush believes that she and American president George W. Bush may had been poisoned at a summit in Germany in 2007, as reported by AFP.   Excerpt from the book as published by New York Times show that the presidential team of doctors concluded that they had contracted a dangerous virus. 

The two terms first lady Laura Bush’s autobiography is scheduled to be released in early May before the Mother’s Day (May 9). 

Citing from the book, AFP quoted Laura Bush "we never learned if any other delegations became ill, or if ours, mysteriously, was the only one."

Unhappy kids’ meals, no more toys for unhealthy foods

One of the world’s most famous tech clusters in America which is also known as Silicon Valley, California, has passed a law that will ban fast-food restaurants to offer free toys with unhealthy kids' foods, as reported by reuters.com.  Lawmakers in Santa Clara County, California, agreed to push a new bill that prevents fast-food restaurants such as McDonald and Burger King to give away toys to children. 

The new bill requires restaurants to provide healthier meal options for children.  Healthier meals should follow basic nutritional guidance including less than 120 calories for drink and less than 200 calories for a single food item (i.e. burger).

America newspaper circulation continues to drop

It appears that not many people read newspaper in America during the past six months, as the latest data showing America newspaper circulation falls about 8.7%.   The data was provided by the Audit Bureau of Circulations and later published by AP News.   While circulation dropped significantly during weekdays, however, Sunday newspaper fell only 6.5% as per the data. 

According to the data from Audit Bureau of Circulations, several top newspapers fell very hard during the past six months, including San Francisco Chronicle's weekday newspaper fell about 23% and Washington Post’s weekday circulation dropped about 13%.

China’s one child limit policy may be unnecessary

As one of the most populous country in the planet, China now has about 1.3 billion people.  Many demographers have warned that China could face people shortage in the next decade and this may affecting the country economy, reported AP News. 

However, with tight family budget, many couples decided to have only one child.  Moreover, as reported by AP News, demographers are predicting that China’s one child limit policy will soon unnecessary as the country population will significantly drop after surpasses 1.4 billion people in 2026.  This assumption was based on a recent study conducted by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences which run a survey of 18,638 women in one of the state in China.  This team of researchers headed by Zheng Zhenzhen found that 69 percent of the survey respondents who are eligible to have a second child would only want one child.

The side effects of cellphones usage on human health

A research program known as Cohort Study on Mobile Communications (COSMOS) was recently founded in Britain.  The program main focus is to study the side effects of cellphones usage on human by using a large sample size of 250,000 people in Europe continent.  The source of funding is from several nations and mobile industry.  The program is currently run by independent experts including university professors.

As reported by reuters.com citing Professor Paul Elliott of the School of Public Health at London's Imperial College, the research program leader said during a press conference “The COSMOS study will be looking at long-term use, 10, 20 or 30 years. And with long-term monitoring there will be time for diseases to develop."

For now, the research team is recruiting cellphones users in Britain, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark.  Data will be collected on users’ phone bills and health records.

Deadly airborne fungus in the Northwest America

A new strain of airborne fungus which is genetically different type from regular fungus dubbed as Cryptococcus gattii, has spread out in the northwestern region of America, including state of Washington and Oregon, said a research article in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Pathogens.  Scientists believe this deadly strain of fungus will soon spread into animals and people in the neighboring region of Northern California. 

At first, researchers warned the strain only attack people with low immune systems, including transplant and AIDS patients.  However, scientists in Duke University in North Carolina now believe the deadly strain will also infect healthy people.  As per reuters.com citing Edmond Byrnes of Duke University said "This novel fungus is worrisome because it appears to be a threat to otherwise healthy people."

Click here to read the full report

 
(Map: plospathogens.org)

Food prices jumped significantly in America during the month of March 2010

Data from America’s Labor Department show food prices increased by 2.4 percent in March as consumers experienced volatile food and energy costs due to cold weather during this past winter.  This was the most prices jumped since January 1984, as reported by AP news. 

Bad weather had ruined most of tomato and vegetable crops in Florida early this year. 

In the same time, gasoline prices jumped about 2.1 percent as Labor Department reported. 

New American Dollar

In order to fight global counterfeiters, America’s Department of the Treasury has publicly shown a new American Dollar.  The new design of $100 dollar paper money will include advanced technology such as a 3-D security ribbon and a colorful bell.  The new money still shows the original look of American paper money (green color).  The new paper money will be in circulation starting February 10, 2011, as per a press release from America’s Department of the Treasury.

(Screenshot: newmoney.gov)

Higher fines for public misbehaving in America’s popular city (incl. public urination $750 charge)

As late-night goers have been misbehaving badly in local neighborhoods which ruined property and destroying a community life-style, Baltimore's City Council president Jack Young has submitted a proposal to increase fines for public offenses, reported wbaltv.com.  

Higher fines will soon be imposed to offenders who breaking the rules by drinking, spitting, urinating in public places.   The proposed bill will include higher fines for open-container violator (beer cans) at about $500.  Also, with a judge’s discretion, city could charge for public urination for about $750.

As per wbaltv.com quoted Baltimore's City Council president Jack Young said "The fines that we have on the books now have not been a deterrent, so I think increasing them to the level that we are planning to increase them will get people's attention."

Apple’s iPhone i-next i-generation

Top tech blogger Gizmodo.com somehow found a prototype of Apple’s iPhone next generation on a floor of a bar in Silicon Valley last weekend.  However, many tech experts and writers believed the finding of the new iPhone looked very suspicious as some said the prototype was left intentionally by Apple to gain buzz, but others believed the iPhone was left on the floor by an Apple's tester or insider while he/she has too much drinks at the bar.  But a famous Apple blogger wrote the prototype was a stolen property.

According to Gizmodo.com, the new iPhone has a totally new design, such as the back is entirely flat and made of glass or some kind of shiny plastic.   The prototype has a full border made of aluminum.  Its battery size is about 16% larger than the current iPhone.  The new iPhone will use micro-sim card.  Of course, the new phone will run on iPhone OS 4 that was announced two weeks ago.

(photo: Gizmodo.com)

Superior babies designed by scientists thru three persons In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

A group of scientists at Newcastle University in Britain has designed several embryos containing DNA from multiple people, reported thesun.co.uk.   The latest research use a man sperm and two women eggs.  The research project could deliver healthy babies to parents with genetic disorders.  The new medical procedure is also known as three persons In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). 

Many opponent of the procedure have started to against this medical practice, while legal experts have warned the procedure could be illegal in Britain, as per thesun.co.uk.

One out of every four Angelinos is an Apple user

A new report provided by Hitwise research firm, found 27.5% of people who live in Los Angeles and Hollywood are Apple users (incl. iPhone, iPod, and Mac users).  Los Angeles area was ranked No. 12 in America in term of owning an Apple product. 

The top rank is Silicon Valley, San Jose, and San Francisco area with 32.3% of the adult population owns an Apple product (or, one of every three persons is an Apple user). Another big metropolitan, New York City was ranked No. 4 with 30.4% of the adult population owns an Apple product, as per Hitwise.

 
 

(Table and Map of Apple users: Hitwise)

Facebook and YouTube help to burn employees' time during business hours

Using a dataset of 13 billion URLs that run across businesses in Q1-2010, a study conducted by Network Box found that 6.8% of all Internet accessed by businesses went to Facebook.  It appears that the popular social networking helps employees to burn time during business hours. 

Moreover, Facebook also ate companies’ total bandwidth with taking 4.5% of all bandwidth used.  The biggest chuck of internet bandwidth went to YouTube which ate up to 10% of all bandwidth used in businesses.

SC Magazine UK quoted Simon Heron, internet security analyst for Network Box, and wrote “The figures show that IT managers are right to be concerned about the amount of social network use at work. There are two real concerns here: firstly that employees will be downloading applications from social networks and putting security at risk; and secondly the amount of corporate bandwidth that appears to be being used for non-corporate activity.”

America’s president and tax day

As everyone in America submits their annual income tax by April 15, America’s president Mr. Obama also has done his tax return before the deadline.  Mr. Obama generated a total income of $5.5 million during his first year in White House. 

Most of president’s incomes were from two best selling books, "Dreams From My Father'' and "The Audacity of Hope.''  In 2009, Mr. Obama also won a Nobel Peace Prize award which worth $1.4 million.  However, this Noble Prize's check went to 10 different charities, reported LA Times. 

Compared to 2008, one year before becoming America’s president, Mr. Obama made only $2.7 million.  With book signings and paid public speeches, Mr. Obama made $4.2 million in 2007.

Preserved public tweets

America’s Library of Congress has asked Twitter to preserve billions of public tweets, as reported by Twitter team blog.  According to the blog, over fifty-five million tweets are sent by users each day.  

Twitter has permitted the Library of Congress to gain access to the entire archive of public tweets.  As the team wrote "It is our pleasure to donate access to the entire archive of public Tweets to the Library of Congress for preservation and research."

The blog also noted that only six-month old tweets are currently provided to America’s Library of Congress.

Side effects of spanking on children

A study conducted by Tulane University School of Public Health and surveyed 2,500 mothers in America found that children who are spanked will mostly to be aggressive when they grow older, reported AFP.  Also, children who are spanked could have lower IQ scores than normal kids.  According to the study, other side effects of spanking include high anxiety, some kind of aggressive of violent behavior, potential criminal conducts, sadness, and alcoholic abuse.

Microsoft Kin, the next generation Sidekicks phones

The new phone from Microsoft is dubbed as Kin with original framework from Sidekicks phones.  Kin was also known as Pink phones during beta version.  Sidekicks were popular among first time mobile phone users during the early 2000s to mid-2000, mainly for chatting and texting.   Microsoft bought Sidekicks maker and completed the acquisition about two years ago.

Kin is targeting mainly for younger users, somewhere between 15 to 21 years old, for group something like high-school kids to college seniors, especially using the device for social networking, chatting, taking photos, and texting. 

In America, the new phones (two types: Kin One & Kin Two) will be available in early May.  Users can buy or subscribe thru Verizon Wireless which has an exclusive partnership with Microsoft, as per a press release.   The phone is made by Sharp Corporation.

The 2010 Internet Population in America: 76.1% of whites, 63.8% of blacks, 73.4% of Asians, and 59.5% of Hispanic

According to the latest data from eMarketer, an online research company found that 221 million people in America are accessing Internet today.  This represents about 71% of the total population in America.  The research firm predicts that by 2014, there will be 250 millions users online in America.

In the meantime, the research team at eMarketer also splits the dataset into races and ethnicities of Internet users in America.  Among the findings, eMarketer shows Blacks and Hispanics users are still “underrepresented online” compared to Whites and Asians.  Based on the data, in 2010, 76.1% of whites and 73.4% of Asians are currently accessing online.  While for Blacks, only 63.8% of this group is going online, and only 59.5% of Hispanic is online.

(Table: eMarketer)

iNuclear iSub damaged in collision and will cost American taxpayers about $87 million to repair

The side effect of listening to an Apple’s iPod at work is a total lost of $87 million to taxpayers in America, reported navytimes.com. 

About one year ago, a nuclear powered American fast attack submarine Hartford collided with another ship (amphibious transport dock New Orleans) in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East region.  The collision occurred while the sub’s navigator was listening to an iPod during a risky evolution.  

Investigators also found many sailors were sleep on duty and boombox speakers with loud music was overheard inside the submarine radio room. 

While the other ship, the amphibious transport dock New Orleans, will required about $2.3 million to repair its fuel tank and two ballast tanks.

(photo of submarine Hartford by AP)

Speed matters

Google search ranking algorithms have added a new indicator (website speed) for webmasters to be considered as top search page.  There are many ways to get your websites into Google search ranking include back links, the age of a domain, contents, etc.  However, adding website speed as a new indicator will help happy users to find information faster.

According to Google, faster sites will improve user experience and could also reduce the cost of operating websites.  As our planet has already entered broadband and wireless era, users will most likely lost patience to wait for slow websites to respond to users’ requests.

Apple iPhone OS 4

Apple dropped a new bomb into mobile OS, as the giant gadgets company announced a new OS, dubbed as iPhone OS 4.  The new OS will be available sometime in July this year and include over 100 new features plus 1500 new APIs for apps, reported Apple website.   This is a great news for 25% smartphone users in America as Steve Jobs Co. captures about 25% market share in mobile OS today.

The new OS will run on any iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS.  It also run on the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod touch.  While for iPad users, they will be able to download the new OS 4 in the fall.

Touchscreen mania

A study conducted by Gartner, Inc. found that majority of new PCs for youngsters in 2015 will have touchscreen functionality.  The market research finding shows that over 50% of PCs purchased in 2015 for younger users will be touch-enabled computers, compared to only 2% purchased in 2009.  

While enterprises will be slowed to purchase touch-enabled devices in 2015.

America’s birth rate declined in 2008

Since America economy entered recession in early 2008, the overall birth rate dropped 2 percent from 2007 to 2008.   This was based on the latest data from America’s National Center for Health Statistics, as reported by washingtonpost.com.   According to the government data, only 4.2 million babies were born in 2008. 

Also, birth rate for teens ages 15 to 19 dropped about 2 percent.  In 2008, only 41.5 births per 1,000 teens for this age group.

Mom’s milk: health benefits of breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby life

A medical research published in journal Pediatrics show many babies life would be saved every year if women breast-feeding their babies.  The study was lead by Dr. Melissa Bartick, Harvard Medical School expert.  The research findings show that breastfeeding could have prevent the dead of hundreds babies due to illnesses in America, reported AP.  There are tremendous benefits of breast milk as it contains antibodies that help babies during the first six months to fight infections (i.e., stomach viruses, ear infections, etc.).

(photo: womenshealth.gov)

Over 700,000 units of iPads were sold during the first day launch in America

Thousands techies and geeks lined up across America to buy their iPads on Saturday one day before Easter day, as the giant gadget company Apple starts selling iPads at their stores and several tech stores (i.e., BesBuy).

Citing Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, mercurynews.com reported about 600,000 to 700,000 units of iPads were sold on the first day launch.

iPad that run only Wi-Fi network are priced about $499, while iPad that run on both Wi-Fi and 3G will cost about $829.

American pilots can fly a plane while taking antidepressants pills, as FAA approved four drugs (Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro)

America’s aviation regulators have decided to allow pilots to take antidepressants pills while flying a plane, as reported by latimes.com.  The new rule will start on Monday, April 5.  The new policy will help about 10,000 pilots in America to counter depression. 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials said that the risks from side effects of antidepressants pills may not impaired pilots while flying a plane, latimes.com reported. 

With the new policy, only four drugs will be allowed to use, including Prozac (by Eli Lilly), Zoloft (by Pfizer), Celexa or Lexapro (by Forest Laboratories).

Kobe Bryant will spend a total of 18-year career in a Lakers uniform

Lakers organization announced Kobe Bryant (#24) has signed a three-year contract extension, ESPN reported.  By adding 3 extra years on the MVP player contract will make Bryant to last up to 2013-14 season.  Bryant has played in five NBA Finals and won four NBA titles.  With this new contract, Bryant will spend a total of 18-year career in the city of Angels.

Tear down this Chinese drywall

America’s Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned 3,000 homeowners to demolish their Chinese-made drywall and rebuild their home’s interior, AP reported.  The federal agency believed those drywalls may not safe for the occupants.  The 3,000 homeowners are located in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.   The federal agency also investigates whether the Chinese-made drywall may cause health effects such as throat, nose and lung irritation.