Parents confirm body as William Yau's, police await DNA results

Parents of six-year old William Yau Zhen Zhong confirmed that the body of a boy found at Jeti Sungai Sireh yesterday night is William Yau although police say they will only identify the body after DNA results. William Yau went missing near Putra Heights since January 16, and Malaysians have been sharing the news on social media to increase alert. Yesterday, about 7.15pm, a body of a boy was found at Jeti Sungai Sireh and William's parents had arrived at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah's Forensics Department to identify the body. Both parents had identified scars on the back of the head and forehead to be similar as what William had. Post mortem results could not reveal the identity as the body was too badly decomposed.

 

According to a website Suka Society, 'since 2004, a total of 5,996 children aged below 18 went missing from their homes. However, except for 1,904, the rest subsequently returned home or were found. The majority of those who went missing are girls. Of the four-year total, 3,398 were girls.' For more statistics, Federal Criminal Investigations Department (CID) director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said in a report that between the year 2008 and 2011, a total of 7,662 people were reported missing nationwide.

 

NUR Alert (National Urgent Response Alert) system, which is branch that comes under the National Child Protection Policy and Action Plan, aims to viral information of missing children (under 12 years) as quickly as possible, through means like national TV, Polis Di Raja Malaysia Facebook, leaflet, print and electronic media, MMS, SMS and ATM machines. NUR Alert was used to viral information on William Yau's disappearance. The system was used the sixth time since its introduction in 2011, where of all the six cases, two were still classified missing.

Anonymous Hijacks Federal Website Over Aaron Swartz Suicide

Activists from the hacker collective known as Anonymous assumed control over the homepage of a federal judicial agency this morning.

In a manifesto left on the defaced page, the group demanded reform to the American justice system and what the activists said are threats to the free flow of information.

The lengthy essay largely mirrors previous demands from Anonymous, but this time the group also cited the recent suicide of Reddit co-founder and activist Aaron Swartz as has having "crossed a line" for their organization. Swartz was facing up to 35 years in prison on computer fraud charges.

Prosecutors said he had stolen thousands of digital scientific and academic journal articles from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology with the goal of disseminating them for free.

Read More: Aaron Swartz' Death Fuels MIT Probe, White House Petition to Oust Prosecutor

Anonymous says Swartz was "killed because he was forced into playing a game he could not win - a twisted and distorted perversion of justice - a game where the only winning move was not to play."

"There must be a return to proportionality of punishment with respect to actual harm caused," it reads, also mentioning recent arrests of Anonymous associates by the FBI.

In their statement, the hackers say they targeted the homepage of the Federal Sentencing Commissionfor "symbolic" reasons.

The group claimed that if their demands were not met they would release a trove of embarrassing internal Justice Department documents to media outlets. Anonymous named the files after Supreme Court justices and provided hyperlinks to them from the defaced page.

As of press time the commission's site had been taken offline but an earlier attempt by CNN to follow the files' links yielded dead-ends, mostly offline sites.

The file names use an ".aes256? suffix, denoting a common encryption protocol. The same system was used to encrypt the Wikileaks Afghan war documents before their release.

10 killed in Portugal bus accident: rescue services

Ten people were killed and 33 were hurt when a coach slid off a rain-soaked road and plunged into a ravine in central Portugal on Sunday, rescue services said.

More than 250 firefighters, 88 emergency vehicles and a helicopter were deployed to the scene near Carvalhal, in the central Castelo Branco district.

The accident occurred around 0845 GMT.

The dead included four women and six men, all between the ages of 50 and 70, according to medical teams at the site.

Six of those injured have head and chest injuries and are in a serious condition, one doctor said.

All the injured were evacuated to nearby hospitals in Castelo Branco and Coimbra, rescue services said.

Rescue team leader Rui Esteves said the bus was travelling from Portalegre in central Portugal to the northern city of Santa Maria da Feira.

He said the identities of the victims were not all known but that all 43 were believed to be Portuguese.

While Esteves did not give further details about the accident, the mayor of the nearby town of Serta, Jose Nunes, blamed it on roadworks and weather conditions.

Pep Guardiola to become Bayern Munich's new coach

Pep Guardiola, who led Barcelona to 14 titles over four seasons and turned the Spanish club into arguably the best team in the world, has agreed to become the coach of Bayern Munich starting next season.

Bayern announced the three-year deal on Wednesday, after a meeting of the top management.

Earlier in the day, Jupp Heynckes told Bayern he wanted to end his coaching career when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Rumours of Guardiola coming to the German powerhouse have been swirling around local media for weeks and Bayern made it official just a day after Guardiola expressed his desire to manage in England at some point.

Guardiola's arrival is a major coup for Bayern.

"You have to say, hat off," former Bayern star and president Franz Beckenbauer said.

"Matthias Sammer and Guardiola - I don't know where you can find a better partnership," Beckenbauer told Sky television, referring to Bayern's director of sport.

Even Bayern's rivals were impressed.

"A great compliment to Bayern that they have landed this coup," said Hans-Joachim Watzke, the managing director of Borussia Dortmund.

Guardiola's arrival will be good for the entire league, "because the whole world can see that they managed to bring such a coach to Germany," Watzke said.

Guardiola, who turns 42 on Friday, stepped down at the end of last season and is on a one-year sabbatical.

Under his guidance, Barcelona dominated Spanish and European competitions with its passing game and frequent scoring from standout Lionel Messi.

Barcelona won the Champions League twice during Guardiola's tenure, in 2009 and 2011, and captured three Spanish championships and two cup titles.

In his first season after being promoted from Barcelona's reserve side, Guardiola won an unprecedented treble, taking the Champions League, Spanish league and Copa del Rey.

"We are very pleased that we managed to win the football expert Pep Guardiola for Bayern Munich although he had been contacted and sought by many famous clubs," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "Pep Guardiola is one of the most successful coaches in the world and we are certain that he can give a lot of lustre not only to Bayern but also to German football."

Guardiola, a former Barcelona midfielder who has never coached outside Barcelona, comes to the most scrutinized club in Germany. Bayern's top management is staffed by some of Germany's biggest past stars, with no small egos.

Bayern is Germany's biggest club, with 21 Bundesliga titles and one championship before World War II.

Bayern president Uli Hoeness said only a coach of Guardiola's calibre could be an adequate replacement for Heynckes, who will be 68 when he retires.

Bayern lost the Champions League final last season to Chelsea and has failed to win a trophy in the past two seasons.

But it has a large lead in the Bundesliga this season, which resumes this weekend. Bayern is nine points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern also is in the knockout stage of the Champions League, with Arsenal its next opponent.

In the German Cup, Bayern faces Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals. Dortmund has won the last two championships and took the double last season.

Heynckes praised his own team in glowing terms last week.

"Bayern has never played such a modern, attractive and contemporary football in its history," Heynckes said.

In Bayern, Guardiola will find Spanish compatriot Javi Martinez, whose transfer was worth (euro)40 million ($53 million). The club's biggest stars are Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gomez.

Business & Technology

Author: Jim Riley  Last updated: Wednesday 24 October, 2012

External Environment: Business & Technology

Technological change refers to the changes in production techniques and production equipment. It could be a change in the machinery used to make a product or the computers to design a product.

More recently it is the use of the computers and information technology (IT) to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of businesses that has led to technological change. Since technological is so rapid, there are important implications for businesses.

A business can be affected by the following technological change:

• In production
• In provision of services
• In the office

Technological change in production

Technological change leads to improved production of goods and services due to:

Computer-aided manufacturing ( CAM) this reduces labour costs, is more accurate and faster and can work at any hour of the day. The computer controls the machinery.

Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) here, computers control the whole production line. Best example is in car production where robots undertake much of the work, reducing the need for labour to perform boring, routine tasks.

Computer-aided design (CAD) Computers are used to help design products using computer generated models and 3D drawings. Reduces the need to build physical models to test certain conditions, known as prototypes. This can be expensive to produce just for testing purposes (e.g. aircraft or new cars.

Therefore new production technology can increase the speed of production, improve the quality of the product and reduce costs per unit of production.

Technological change can be seen in the shops and the provision of other services such as banking or repairs.

Electronic point of sale (EPOS) and Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) speed up transactions in shops and give vital information for businesses so can sort out their stock levels. EFTPOS means that shoppers can pay for goods and services using credit and debit cards.

Banks can use “hole in the wall” machines to deliver cash or take deposits – therefore remain open all hours.

Repair people can use handheld computers to work out what is wrong with the machinery they are examining.

Technological change in the office helps speed up the movement of information and improves the analysis of information:

Communication is improved through the use of the intranet and Internet. The intranet is an internal system of computer communication while the internet can be used to communicate with customers, suppliers amongst others in the outside world (through websites and email).

Workers can work away from the office using mobile technology such as phones, laptops and modems.

Computers can be used to process, analyse and store vast amounts of data to give the business more quality information.

E-commerce is the ability of businesses to trade with the world via websites. This means that there is a larger market and the business is now open 24 hours a day. This has provided opportunities for businesses that could only trade locally to now expand the size of the market (e.g. Amazon as world wide book and CD sellers). Customers can also shop around for the best deals for new products.

The Internet can also be useful for recruitment purposes. Job vacancies can be advertised and targeted to the right audience, often costing less than print alternatives. E.g. e-teach sends free emails every week detailing teachers posts to subscribers.

Technological change can be very expensive: technology involves the following additional costs:

• Purchasing the equipment
• Installation
• Training staff
• Maintenance
• Replacement/upgrading

There is legislation associated with the use of technology – e.g. computer screens, noise levels.

In summary technological change can bring the following benefits to a business:

• Reduced running costs
• Improved productivity
• Improved competitiveness
• Lower costs per unit of product
• Improved quality of service (e.g. speed of service)
• Reduced wastage

If the benefits of the above outweigh the costs, then a business should be investing in new technology.

However it may need to consider the social costs of new technology:

• Job losses
• Motivation of workers – worried about machines taking over their jobs (though extra training to work with machines may provide some increased motivation)
• Loss of traditional skills

68 per cent hike in dengue cases in Kelantan

KOTA BARU (Jan 26, 2013): Kelantan registered a 68 per cent increase in dengue cases as 1,245 dengue cases were reported in Kelantan last year, compared with 743 cases the previous year, said State Health Department director Datuk Dr Ahmad Razin Ahmad Mahir.

He said this indicates a 68 per cent increase and is a worrying phenomenon. Therefore, he urged the public, especially those living in areas of high risk, to maintain cleanliness in their homes, especially after the flood season.

"They should take 10 minutes each day to clean up their houses and get rid of mosquitoes breeding grounds and larvae to prevent the disease," he told reporters here today.

He said throughout the third week of this month, a week after the flood season, 83 dengue cases were reported compared with 68 cases in the same period last year.

Following this, he said the department was taking steps to increase awareness campaigns by conducting examinations and briefings statewide, especially risk prone areas. – Bernama

Apple Online Store Red Friday Chinese New Year One Day Sale Has Begun

by planetbiznes on January 25, 2013 in Apple News

Apple Online Store Red Friday Chinese New Year One Day Sale is now live. iPad, iPod, MacBook, AirPort Express, Time Capsule, iPad Smart Cover, EarPods and other accessories are on sale now. So head over to Apple Online Store now to purchase your Chinese New Year gifts at great prices and get free shipping. Sale is only for one day – Friday, 25 January 2013.

Among the highlights of this sale are:

• iPad 4 and iPad 2 are both enjoying a discount of RM121 each. So iPad 4 now starts from RM1,378 while iPad 2 from RM1,078.
• iPod Touch 5th Generation enjoys a discount of RM111 and now starts at RM938.
• MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and MacBook Pro with Retina Display are all enjoying a discount of RM311 each. So now MacBook Air is starting at only RM2,788, MacBook Pro from RM3,388 while MacBook Pro with Retina Display from RM4,988.
• iPad Smart Case enjoys a discount of RM61 and is now selling at only RM138.
• Polyurethane iPad Smart Cover enjoys a discount of RM41 and is now selling at only RM118 while RM91 is discounted for Leather iPad Smart Cover which is now priced at RM208.
• Apple EarPods enjoys a discount of RM21 and is selling at RM88 only.