China reports latest death, four new human cases of H7N9

China reports latest death, four new human cases of H7N9

China reports latest death, four new human cases of H7N9

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 06:29 PM PST

Posted on February 25, 2014, Tuesday

GUANGZHOU: China's southern province of Guangdong reported one more death and four new human cases of H7N9 infection on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The provincial health department said a 46-year-old woman died in the city of Zhaoqing following a treatment on Sunday.

Two men and two women aged between 33 to 76 infected with the virus are all in critical condition.

China has reported more than 120 human H7N9 cases this year including 32 deaths. –BERNAMA

Print Friendly

We encourage commenting on our stories to give readers a chance to express their opinions; please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. While the comments here reflect the views of the readers, they are not necessarily that of Borneo Post Online. Borneo Post Online reserves the right not to publish or to remove comments that are offensive or volatile. Please read the Commenting Rules.

Bandar welcomes Burger King

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 04:24 PM PST

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Brought by Sinofood Express, the first Burger King restaurant located at Jalan Sultan opens today February 25, from 10am to 10pm, bringing its flame-grilling sensations to the nation, ©BRUDIRECT.COM reported

"Establishing the Burger King brand's presence in Brunei exemplifies our commitment to strengthen our global restaurant portfolio," said Elias Diaz Sese, Persident of BK AsiaPac Pts Ltd in a statement. "We believe that the Sinofood Express team has the business knowledge to build a strong presence in this market and we look forward to offering the same flame-grilled flavour guests know and love at Burger King Restaurants."

From officials from SInofood Express, the company is excited to partner with the globally known chain as there are humongous interests sparking amongst the locals, thus them opening up a joint in Brunei.

To satisfy the local's hunger for Burger King, the first joint will only be serving burgers and sandwiches as well as French fries and drinks on its menu. Saifulizam, the manager, said the management is working to bring in more menus for the restaurant.

More than 30 staff was trained for more than a month, to prepare themselves for the eager customers. Saifulizam was in Jakarta, Indonesia to train under Burger King, of which he then passed the knowledge to the local staff.

The management conveys its apologies in advance if the service was not up to standard due to the expected high demands upon opening.

Sinfood Express opened the joint at Wisma Jaya, Jalan Sultan in Bandar Seri Begawan, saying that the heart of town has extreme potential with lots of corporate offices and hosts majority of the tourists.

Sinofood will work with BK AsiaPacLtd in the near future to open up more joints. Local media as well as bloggers were given a hands-on opportunity to make their own burgers yesterday.

Print Friendly

Sultan sends congratulatory messages to Kuwait Leaders

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 04:22 PM PST

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has consented to send congratulatory messages to His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AI-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait, and His Highness Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait, the royal family as well as the government and people on the occasion of Kuwait's 53rd National Day,  ©BRUDIRECT.COM reported.

The message to His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait, stated that His Majesty greatly valued the warm and close brotherly ties that existed between Brunei Darussalam and Kuwait and looked forward to continuing to strengthen the friendship and bilateral cooperation between both countries.

Meanwhile, in a message to the Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, His Majesty stated that he greatly appreciated the warm and close cooperation between the both countries and peoples and looked forward to further opportunities to strengthen this much-valued cooperation in the year ahead.

His Majesty prayed that Allah the Almighty bless His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait, and His Highness Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait, with continued good health and the people of the State of Kuwait with progress and prosperity.

His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, also sent a Congratulatory message to Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait on Kuwait's National Day.

His Royal Highness said he is delighted to send his deepest respects to the Emir of the State of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and congratulates him and the government as well as the people of the State of Kuwait on its 53rd National Day.

"It was a pleasure seeing you at our Asia Cooperation Dialogue Ministerial Meeting in Manama last November and I much appreciate the valuable contributions and leadership Kuwait has given not only to the organisation but also to the region. I am very happy to see that our embassies are now well established and doing much to bring our people closer together in friendship and understanding," said His Royal Highness.

His Royal Highness added, "With my kindest regards and best wishes to you and your family for good health and happiness and to the people of the State of Kuwait for a most enjoyable celebration."

Print Friendly

Smart toothbrush gives you a mouthful online

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 04:15 PM PST

The world's first smart toothbrush was unveiled Monday, allowing you to improve your dental hygiene while sharing the results online with your dentist or to impress your friends.

Dental cleaning sessions last two minutes, divided into four 30-second segments, one for each corner of your mouth.

Shown off on the opening day of the four-day World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the brush is connected by Bluetooth wireless technology to your smartphone, and thus to the network.

"It is a world first," said Michael Cohen-Dumani, head of Procter & Gamble's Oral-B brand, which plans to sell the product in Europe, the United States and Asia from June.

Sold for 219 euros ($300), the brush relays your toothbrushing activity to an application on the smartphone, recording whether you respect the two-minute rule and whether you brush hard, but not too hard.

If the results are satisfactory, a message appears on your smartphone: "Congratulations: your teeth are shining."

It also lets you share the information on social networks or directly with your dentist.

"Today we can see the smartphone's potential to change people's habits," Cohen-Dumani told AFP.

"It is really that trend towards the 'quantified self'", the desire to record everything, to follow your sports activities, the calories you consume or what you spend, thanks to new technologies.

The world's largest mobile fair is a showcase for that trend, with smartphone markers unveiling an array of smart watches and bracelets that can count your steps or track your heart rate, and even wifi-connected scales to keep an eye on your weight.

Larger objects, too, are getting hooked up to the network, from cars and fridges to a shop dressing room that lets you ask for new sizes and colours to try on without leaving the cabin. -AFP

Print Friendly

Comedy legend and Ghostbuster Harold Ramis dies

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 03:43 PM PST

Ghostbuster Harold Ramis, an influential comedian who wrote and directed classic films like "Caddy Shack" and "Groundhog Day," died Monday at the age of 69.

Ramis, a longtime resident of Chicago, was surrounded by his family when he died of a rare disease that involves swelling of the blood vessels, his wife Erica Mann Ramis told the Chicago Tribune.

His style balanced cleverness with outright silliness and absurd stunts.

Ramis has been cited as an inspiration by a new generation of comedians and directors like Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow.

His rise to fame began when he joined Chicago's Second City improv group in 1969, where he worked with comedy legends John Belushi, Gilda Radner, as well as with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, whom he later starred with in "Ghostbusters."

After a stint on the National Lampoon Show in New York, Ramis headed up to Toronto where he was head writer and a regular performer on Canada's wacky hit television show SCTV.

He began a long-time Hollywood collaboration with director and producer Ivan Reitman when he helped write the script for "Animal House," the 1978 film that propelled Belushi — and college toga parties — to fame.

Ramis made his directorial debut two years later with the cult classic "Caddyshack," a comic caper in which Rodney Dangerfield and a destructive, dancing gopher wreak havoc on an exclusive golf course.

While he became recognizable through acting jobs like the studious scientist Dr. Egon Spengler in "Ghostbusters," Ramis did not achieve the stardom of his comedic collaborators.

Instead, he helped Murray, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Michael Keaton and even Robert De Niro showcase their comedic talents in films he wrote and directed like "Stripes," "Groundhog Day," "Multiplicity," "National Lampoon's Vacation," and "Analyze This."

His final film, which he both wrote and directed, was "Year One" a ridiculous romp through Biblical times starring Jack Black and Michael Cera that was released in 2009. -AFP

Print Friendly

Nokia makes Android smartphone despite Microsoft bid

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 03:41 PM PST

Nokia showed off Monday a new range of smartphones powered by Google's Android operating system, even as it is being taken over by Microsoft.

The Finnish group unveiled three Nokia X smartphone models at the opening of the four-day World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, shunning Microsoft's Windows Phone to go with a competing Android-based system.

The new smartphones use an "Android open-source platform" but are equipped with Nokia's own Lumia user interface and they point users to Microsoft services, not Google's, said Nokia France managing director Thierry Amarger.

Android applications installed on the phones will work, but users will not be able to access Google's services, notably its applications store, Google Play.

The devices are aimed at customers seeking a smartphone for less than 150 euros ($210), said Amarger, as the market for entry-level smartphones enjoys "a full-blown acceleration".

The Nokia X range aims to capture a previously unreachable segment of the market with low prices, for example 119 to 149 euros in France, he said.

Until now, Nokia phones have worked exclusively with Windows Phone, the operating system developed by Microsoft, which is expected to complete a 5.44-billion-euro takeover of Nokia's mobile telephone business by the end of March.

The Android platform is considerably cheaper than Windows Phone, however, allowing Nokia to offer low-cost phones in emerging markets.

Nokia's mobile telephone business reported a 789-million-euro loss in 2013.

It was nevertheless the world's second largest manufacturer of all types of mobile handsets in that year after Samsung, with a 13.9-percent market share, down from 19.1 percent at the end of 2012, according to research house Gartner Inc.

Nokia's dwindling market share relies heavily on traditional mobile phones sold in emerging markets, however.

Nokia does not even feature in the top five manufacturers of smartphones, which are more advanced, allowing users to download applications and connect to the Internet.

Another struggling handset manufacturer, Blackberry, announced on the same day that its mobile messaging service BBM would soon be available for users of Windows Phone, and owners of the Nokia X range. -AFP

Print Friendly