Automakers increase text options
Talking on the cell phones while driving is illegal in many countries. However, automakers are now keen on integrating text messaging services into their products, increasing the level of technology available to the driver and passengers.
The 2013 Honda Civic and the 2014 Lexus ES 350 are among the many vehicles equipped with text messaging capabilities.
TYPES OF TEXT SERVICE
Basic text services are available on a number of vehicles. For example, the Dodge Dart comes equipped with technology which can turn text to voice or allow drivers to read messages on the dashboard screen. They can then respond from a preset menu.
In other vehicles, drivers can listen and respond to incoming text messages through the car's multimedia and Bluetooth systems, utilising voice commands or preprogrammed reply messages. Therefore, somewhat terse 'Yes', 'No' and 'I'm driving' responses are not unfamiliar.
However, it is the 2014 Lexus ES 350 SMS text-to-speech with reply feature that takes preprogrammed responses to another level with 15 available responses. Lexus also allows users to get creative and edit the 15 messages, which include 'I'm running late', 'Can't talk right now, I'm driving' and 'Where are you?', among others.
Although the text technology is catching on quickly, whether it is distracting for the driver is still being hotly debated.
In the meantime, automakers like Chrysler, BMW and General Motors are pressing ahead with developing features to make driving less distracting for those who feel the need to text, email or even check social media while at the steering wheel.
Source-Jamaica Gleaner
Writer: Chad Bryan
Keyless cars 'increasingly targeted by thieves using computers'
Organised criminal gangs are increasingly targeting high-end cars with keyless security systems, a motoring industry group has warned.
The thieves are able to bypass security using equipment intended only for mechanics, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.
Manufacturers are trying to stay ahead of the thieves by updating software.
It has been reported that some London-based owners of Range Rovers have been denied insurance over the issue.
Keyless entry and ignition typically works by the driver keeping a fob on their person which automatically opens the car and activates it so it can be driven.
As the popularity of keyless systems has increased, criminals have been buying equipment online that is able to re-programme keys.
"The criminal act of stealing vehicles through the re-programming of remote-entry keys is an on-going industry-wide problem," said Jaguar Land Rover.
"Our line-up continues to meet the insurance industry requirements as tested and agreed with relevant insurance bodies.
"Nevertheless we are taking this issue very seriously and our engineering teams are actively working in collaboration with insurance bodies and police forces to solve this continuously evolving problem."
The statement added: "This has already resulted in a number of prosecutions."
A specific case reported by The Times involved insurers AIG refusing insurance cover to a motorist. In a statement the company said it treated every case individually.
"We do not have a blanket policy to exclude certain vehicles from cover.
"Given the increasing likelihood that replacement vehicles may be a target for thieves we may ask for additional security measures such as secure off-road parking.
"This could be, for example, secure private garaging or the installation of mechanically moveable bollards. If this is not possible then, as a last resort, we may refuse to offer insurance cover but only after exhausting every avenue."
Thatcham Research, which collates data on behalf of insurers, acknowledged the problem was widespread.
"Whilst BMWs and Audis appeared to be the early targets, it's fair to say that this was largely associated with their desirability across Europe, rather than any specific security lapse.
"Recently we've seen evidence of a range of makes and models being affected, including the Ford Fiesta and Focus, Range Rover Evoque and also now including light commercial vehicles such as the volume-selling Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter."
France in new pledge to cut budget deficit
France's finance minister says the country plans to cut its budget deficit by €3.6-3.7bn (£2.84bn, $4.6bn) next year in a bid to meet European Union rules.
The minister, Michel Sapin, made the promise in a letter to the European Commission.
The plan is an update on the country's original draft budget for 2015.
The Commission has until Wednesday to decide whether or not to accept the proposal.
Mr Sapin said he had found the money because of lower-than-expected costs on interest payments, as well as lower contributions to the EU's budget.
He said France had also gained income through higher tax income, which it pulled in by being tougher on fraud and ending some company tax allowances.
The country has missed a number of budget deficit targets and has struggled with high unemployment and low growth.
Earlier this month, the French government said it would reduce its budget deficit to below the EU threshold of 3% of GDP by 2017, two years later than promised.
That forecast indicated the public deficit would fall to 4.3% next year, but to 2.8% by 2017.
Mr Sapin said at the time that growth would remain weak, projecting that the economy would only grow very slightly this year.
France plans to cut public spending by €50bn ($63bn; £39bn) by 2017, the year in which the country's next presidential election will be held.
Bruce Jenner Gives Up Share of House in Kris Jenner Divorce
New info regarding Bruce Jenner and Kris Jenner's divorce has emerged. According to a document obtained by TMZ, the former Olympian has decided to give up his rights to their Hidden Hills house in their property settlement.
The pair bought the pad in 2010. The $4 million property reportedly boasts six bedrooms and eight bathrooms in addition to other features such as double staircases, limestone floors, hand painted ceilings and a pool.
Kris and Bruce announced their separation last year. The Kardashian momager filed for divorce from Bruce in September after 22 years of marriage. Bruce now lives in his house in Malibu.
Bruce recently was romantically linked to Kris' best friend Rhonda Kamihira. When asked about the pair's alleged relationship, the reality star said during an appearance on "Today" show last week, "I just want him to be happy. I don't care who he goes out with and I don't know who he's dating. He doesn't like check in with me and give me a play by play, but it's his life, and you just want the guy to be happy. You know, he's still the father of two of my children. We're friends."
Kris, meanwhile, was recently spotted getting cozy with a man named Corey Gamble in Las Vegas. On Friday, Gamble was seen joining the family for Kim Kardashian's 34th birthday party at Tao. They were previously seen enjoying a diner in Sherman Oaks, California on October 14.
S Africa football captain shot dead
South Africa's football captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa has died after being shot, police say.
He was reportedly attacked after men entered his girlfriend's house in Vosloorus, south of Johannesburg.
The 27-year-old played for Orlando Pirates and had played in South Africa's last four Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
On Saturday, he was in action for his club, when they progressed to the semi-finals of the South African League Cup.
Orlando Pirates beat Ajax Cape Town 4-1.
In a statement, the South African Police Service said two men had entered the house, around 20:00 (18:00 GMT). A third man remained outside.
All three fled on foot after shots were fired, in what local media reports say was an attempted burglary. One of the men had reportedly demanded Meyiwa's mobile phone.
A reward of about $14,000 has been offered for information leading to the suspects' arrest.
Meyiwa was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Team mate Tsepo Masilela was among many voicing their shock at the news on social media.
Ukraine pro-Western parties set for election victory
Ukraine's president plans to begin coalition talks after what appears to be a victory for pro-Western parties in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
Early results showed Petro Poroshenko's bloc and that of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk each taking 22% of the vote.
The president thanked voters for backing a "democratic, reformist, pro-Ukrainian and pro-European majority".
There was no voting in eastern areas that remain under the control of pro-Russian separatist rebels.
A number of seats in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions will remain vacant, as will those for Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.
The rebels plan to hold their own elections next Sunday.
The legislative polls were the first since pro-Russian former President, Viktor Yanukovych, was driven from power in February after he refused to sign an agreement on closer ties with the European Union.
With 30% of ballots counted, Mr Poroshenko's bloc - comprising his own Solidarity Party and Udar, led by former boxer champion Vitali Klitschko - had 21.59% of the vote.
But the People's Front of the president's ally, Mr Yatseniuk, was fractionally ahead with 21.7%, according to the election commission.
Source-BBC
Dilma Rousseff promises reform after Brazil poll win
President Dilma Rousseff has promised to re-unite Brazil after narrowly winning re-election to a second term in office with 51.6% of the vote.
She said "dialogue" would be her top priority after a bitterly fought campaign against centre-right candidate Aecio Neves, who got 48.4% of the vote.
In her victory speech, Ms Rousseff said she wanted to be "a much better president than I have been until now".
She said she understood she had to "make the big changes society demands".
She faced mass protests last year against corruption, record spending on the football World Cup and poor services.
Ms Rousseff, who has been in power since 2010, is popular with poor Brazilians thanks to her government's welfare programmes.
The president said that during the campaign "the word repeated most often was change and the idea most often invoked was reform".
"Sometimes in history, close outcomes trigger results more quickly than ample victories," she said.
"It is my hope, or even better, my certainty that the clash of ideas can create room for consensus, and my first words are going to be a call for peace and unity," she told a cheering crowd in the capital, Brasilia.
"Instead of widening differences and creating a rift, I have the strong hope that we can use this energy to build bridges."
She also thanked her supporters, especially her political mentor and predecessor in office, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Source-BBC
Cameron says UK won't pay £1.7bn EU bill
David Cameron has angrily insisted the UK will not pay £1.7bn being demanded by the European Union.
"If people think I am paying that bill on 1 December, they have another think coming," the prime minister said in Brussels. "It is not going to happen."
But Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the demand should "not have come as a surprise" to the UK.
He said it was made under a system agreed by all the member states and based on data provided by them.
EU finance ministers have agreed to the UK's request for emergency talks about the top-up payment, which would add about a fifth to the UK's annual net EU contribution of £8.6bn.
Mr Cameron said he was "downright angry" and said the British public would find the "vast" sum "totally unacceptable".
US Nurse ‘Cured of Ebola,’ NIH Says
A U.S. nurse diagnosed with Ebola after caring for a Liberian patient has been found virus-free and has been discharged from the National Institutes of Health in suburban Washington.
Nina Pham, a nurse at a Dallas, Texas, hospital that treated the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, told reporters and supporters Friday she is grateful for her recovery. She was flown in last week for treatment at NIH in Bethesda, Maryland.
She added that she is mindful of others who are still struggling with the illness, particularly another Dallas nurse, Amber Vinson, who was also infected after caring for Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
"Although I no longer have Ebola, I know it may be a while before I get my strength back," said Pham. She asked for privacy as she recovered further. She planned to head back to Dallas to reunite with her family and her dog Bentley.
Pham visited Friday with President Barack Obama, who shook her hand.
"She is cured of Ebola. Let’s get that clear," Dr. Anthony Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Friday.
Fauci said the 26-year-old was not given any experimental drugs while at NIH. It’s unclear why one Ebola patient recovers and another does not, he said, noting Pham’s youth and previous good health may have helped her beat the virus.
Source-VOA
Hong Kong Protesters to Vote on Reform Proposals
Hong Kong's student protest leaders will hold a referendum among followers Sunday to decide the direction of their civil disobedience campaign for universal suffrage in 2017 elections.
A coalition of protest groups says the referendum will be held at the main downtown protest site, where demonstrations are entering their fifth week. Protest leaders have vowed to include as many demonstrators as possible.
Alex Chow, secretary general of the Federation of Students, says the vote is necessary after students failed to secure any firm concessions on constitutional reform during Tuesday’s landmark talks with the government officials. At the Tuesday meeting, Hong Kong authorities offered to send a letter to China's cabinet relaying protesters' dismay at Beijing's decision to pre-approve candidates for the territory's 2017 election.
The government also offered to hold regular dialogue with the protesters on democratic reform, on the condition they end the protests that have blockaded many busy streets.
Main protest leaders have already rejected the proposals.
“Officials from the government said the platform .... would only serve for constitutional reform after 2017," said Chow. "That does not really help to solve the current problem."
According to those organizing Sunday's referendum, the vote is likely to contain two motions: one on whether the occupation movement should continue, and the other on whether to accept the government’s tentative offer to discuss constitutional reform in time for elections in 2022.
There are some logistical problems in implementing the vote among protesters, who potentially number in the tens of thousands and are scattered across several sites. But Chow says it is important the vote goes ahead.
Source-VOA