Underwater Universe Channel: HISTORY on TrueVisions A23 and D48

UNDERWATER UNIVERSE tracks the history and evolution of the Ocean's seven deadliest zones...locations that throughout history have been the direct cause of human devastation by floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, whirlpools, ice, underwater volcanoes, and shipping graveyards. Leading oceanographers, expedition footage from partnering organizations like Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 3-D animation depict the awesome cosmic and geological fluctuations that make the Oceans deadly over time.

Humanitarian aid flown in to “Action Against Hunger”, Dubai

Vital equipment to support NGO’s worldwide programmes
Cargo to arrive in A380 on the way to the Dubai airshow

An Airbus A380 arriving for the Dubai Airshow will carry with it eight tonnes of humanitarian aid. The delivery, facilitated by the Airbus Corporate Foundation, a non-commercial arm of the leading aircraft manufacturer, and its partners, will boost crucial stocks at Action Against Hunger’s hub in the emirate – strategically located to serve a global effort.


Founded in France in 1979, Action Against Hunger is recognised as one of the most important humanitarian organisations combating hunger and malnutrition worldwide. It is an issue that affects approximately one billion people across the globe, with most lacking access to clean water leading to disease and malnutrition, and remains the largest single contributor to child mortality. Today’s delivery of water purification equipment, more than 50 cubic metres, the equivalent of two 20’ standard sea freight containers, to the non-governmental organisation’s (NGO) Dubai base is central to its efforts.

Tom Enders, Head of the Airbus Corporate Foundation and President and CEO of Airbus, said: “Thanks to all our partners, the Airbus Corporate Foundation has been able to support Action Against Hunger by transporting vital emergency sanitation equipment to one of the key storage hubs. This is a great example of how aviation, being a key enabler of global economic and social development and an essential resource for humanitarian efforts, can help in a very tangible way. We hope this to be the start of a long-term partnership between both our organisations.”

Action Against Hunger is increasing stocks at its Dubai base to capitalise on the emirate’s strategic location from which to serve a coordinated global effort in response to emergency situations elsewhere in the world. The non-profit, non-religious organisation has established an international network to deliver life-saving programmes in some 45 countries, specialising in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster and chronic food insecurity. A primary concern of these projects is to facilitate the provision of – and access to – safe water through programmes that currently reach four million people each year.

Erland Egiziano, Logistics Director Action Against Hunger, said: “More than one billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. These issues are the root cause of many infections that lead to sickness and ultimately malnutrition and are responsible for 2.2 million preventable deaths each year – mostly among children. In our efforts to eliminate hunger, clean water is as essential as food. The equipment being delivered today by the Airbus Corporate Foundation is vital in restoring dignity, self-sufficiency and independence for vulnerable communities and saving the lives of children and their families throughout the world.”

The Airbus Corporate Foundation was established in December 2008 to support humanitarian causes through good will flights, youth development in the communities in which it operates, and environmental issues in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Notes to editors
About the Airbus Corporate Foundation

Airbus has established the Airbus Corporate Foundation aimed at facilitating charitable activities worldwide under one roof within an international network of employees, associations and international organizations. The Airbus Corporate Foundation started its operation on 1st December, 2008 with Airbus president and CEO Tom Enders being appointed President of its Board of Directors.

Social responsibility coupled with a greater responsibility to take care of the environment has been at the heart of the Airbus business activities for a long time. Starting off with a budget of 2,5 million euros, the ACF focuses its support on the three themes of humanitarian and community support, youth development and the environment.

More information on the Airbus Corporate Foundation can be found at www.airbus.com
About Action Against Hunger

More information on Action against Hunger can be found at www.actioncontrelafaim.org/english/

Manheim Asia Pacific Wins “Service Provider of the Year” at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards

Manheim Asia Pacific has been awarded “Service Provider of the Year” at the prestigious Asia Insurance Industry Awards 2009.

The award was accepted by Simon Moran, Vice President of Manheim Asia Pacific.

“The Asia Insurance Review is the regions preeminent publication and trusted journal of the Insurance community and we are honoured and delighted to win this prestigious award. It is an outstanding recognition for the company which commenced operations in Thailand in 2001. Since then, we have worked hard to set new standards for service levels in the industry and the award is fantastic recognition of our success. I would like to thank all our staff for their professionalism and dedication to customer service excellence that has made this achievement possible”.

Manheim Asia Pacific was selected from a number of high profile companies competing for the honour of receiving the award. Introducing a new standard for auto insurers’ resale of salvage units in Thailand, the firm has successfully reduced losses for insurers and was recognised for making an outstanding contribution for insurers across Thailand.

Manheim has responded to the needs of the market it serves by providing a dedicated salvage auction for the resale of accident- damaged vehicles. Finely-tuned marketing and a thorough understanding of parts, wrecking and repair markets have led to a significant reduction in losses for the insurer, the judging panel noted.

Around 70% of insurers in Thailand now use Manheim Thailand for their resale of salvage units. Direct sales of salvage units to a limited number of buyers via methods such as tender, lucky draw, and private and contractual agreements are in the process of being dismantled.

By introducing these services, Manheim has reset the industry pricing structure for the resale of salvage in Thailand. Many buyers were excluded from previous sales methods due to the size and dominating nature of some wholesalers and parts wreckers. Insurers in Thailand were paying 30% pre-accident value for any vehicle deemed written off. With its implementation of remarketing systems, Manheim has delivered an average of 43% in 2008, and 42% year-to-date 2009. The initiative accounts for almost 100% growth in returns for insurers for the sale of accident-damaged vehicles.

Under the scheme, auction efficiency is upwards of 80% sold per event, with large crowds of buyers in attendance both at the auctions or online. Manheim offers flexibility for sellers through the availability of online sales channels for vehicles in remote locations where transportation costs may outweigh asset value.

Funds are collected by Manheim in three business days and paid to insurers in four working days. Coupled with savings from land and storage costs and decreased theft of parts due to differing standards of security, Manheim has made an outstanding contribution for all insurers in the country.

Photo show: Simon Moran, Vice President of Manheim Asia Pacific (left) accepting the highly regarded Asia Insurance Industry Awards 2009 as Service Provider of the Year from Simon Machell, Chief Executive, Aviva Asia
About Manheim Asia Pacific

Manheim Asia Pacific is part of the Manheim group of companies and benefits from belonging to an organisation with over 60 years of remarketing experience. Manheim Asia Pacific can support customers in Thailand with all their used vehicle remarketing needs and can offer tailor made remarketing and logistical solutions.

Manheim Asia Pacific offers a breadth of services, including transportation co-ordination, secure storage with 24/7 security, valuation prior to sale, national remarketing, voice auction and online sales, collection of proceeds, reconciliation of tax commitments to local authorities, remittance of funds for auto salvage in Thailand, results analysis and consulting, and disaster recovery services.

Globally Manheim has 135 operating locations in 19 countries and in 2009 will handle some twelve million vehicles facilitating transactions worth an estimated 60 billion dollars.
www.manheimthailand.com

Flood victims get royal relief

       Officials have distributed royal relief supplies to flood victims in severely drenched Yala as the province and its neighbours begin the process of recovery.
       Their Majesties the King and Queen have asked the Thai Red Cross Society to distribute food and other necessities to 75 households in tambon Taling Chan in Yala's Bannang Sata district, where five villagers have died during heavy flooding, Yala governor Krisada Boonrat said.
       A villager was also reported dead in Raman district, officials said.
       Bannang Sata is one of eight districts in Yala where 33,297 villagers have watched their neighbourhoods flood, a spokesman from Yala's flood response unit said.
       In Yala's Muang municipality, the water level in the Pattani River has gradually subsided since Saturday night, but it is still higher than its connecting canal Bae Moh, causing overflows in nearby communities, mayor Pongsak Yingchoncharoen said.
       Once the water level is lower than in Bae Moh, he said, a floodgate in the canal could function again and would help rapidly drain water from the inundated areas.
       In Narathiwat, the rain stopped two days ago, but villages and farmland in 13 districts remain under water.
       Officials expect the floods to recede soon if there is no more rain.
       There have been 114,235 affected villagers in these districts, according to Narathiwat's office of disaster prevention and mitigation.
       More than 20,000 rai of farmland and 126 roads have been damaged by the floods, officials said.
       Rescue workers yesterday retrieved the bodies of eight villagers in Si Sakhon district who had been killed by a mudslide during the rainfall on Friday.
       The province tried to drain water from flooded areas, but its work in some areas is causing problems for villagers who have fish farms.
       More than 300 households in Narathiwat's Muang municipality who raise grouper fish, locally known as pla kao ,in Kok Kian canal and the Bang Nara River have complained the fresh water has killed their fish.
       The problem has plunged many villagers into huge debt as they could not sell fish to pay their debts, said fish raiser Kariya Jeyi.
       In Trang, floods have gradually receded in some areas, but officials are still alert to possible mudslides and flash floods if rain, brought by the northeastern monsoon, hits the South again.

Magnificent seven

       In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
       Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
       Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
       Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
       Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
       The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
       The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
       Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
       The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
       The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.

A colossal quake "may hit Sumatra"

       A colossal earthquake may hit Indonesia's Sumatra island within 30 years, triggering a tsunami and making last month's deadly quake look tiny by comparison, a geologist has warned.
       Kerry Sieh, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said the next big quake would last more than six times as long as the 7.6 magnitude quake which struck western Sumatra on Sept 30,levelling the city of Padang.
       "We expect it will be about a magnitude 8.8, plus or minus 0.1," Mr Sieh, an American professor, said at a presentation on Wednesday at the Nanyang Technological University, where the observatory is located. He said last month's Sumatra quake lasted about 45 seconds.
       "This one will last about five minutes,"Mr Sieh said."The 7.6 is very, very small,minuscule compared to the great earthquakes."
       The official death toll reached 1,115 on Wednesday but many more are feared dead after villages were turned into mass graves. Around 100,000 houses are estimated to have been destroyed, leaving around 500,000 people homeless.
       Based on historical earthquake trends from analysis of coral specimens from the region, last month's quake was just a precursor, Mr Sieh said.
       Likening the pressures under the affected fault to a coiled spring, Mr Sieh said the recent quake "had really very little effect in terms of relieving the spring" which will unleash pent-up energy maybe within the next 30 years.
       "If you're a parent who has a child,you have to expect that child's going to experience that earthquake and the tsunami," he added. A massive tsunami hit Indonesia and other countries in the Indian Ocean rim in 2004, killing about 220,000 people.

Staying afloat

       Cars sink and pedestrians are marooned as the heaviest rains in two decades hit Bangkok
       The misery of traffic jams left Bangkok drivers wishing they could swap their cars for boats yesterday, as the capital's roads disappeared under water. The long and heavy downpour brought the biggest spike in rainwater levels for more than two decades.
       Bailing out
       After driving her husband to work along Srinakarin Road at 1.30pm, housewife Naphaphorn Chuenprasaeng witnessed one driver baling water from his brokendown car with a cup. "It was shocking to see the floodwaters so high. I saw dozens of breakdowns."
       "The journey from Bang Na to my home on Patthanakan 65 took two hours. Normally, it's only 30 minutes."
       Fon, a resident of the Thippawan community on Thepharak Road, said the flood level rose to 30 centimetres, forcing her to stay at home. The community was inundated from 7am until well into the afternoon.
       "The whole area looks like a canal. I had no customers at my restaurant as a result. In the past, floodwaters have subsided after a few hours - never before has the community been flooded for so long," Fon said.
       Never-ending journey
       Noon, a company employee in Bang Na district, said she left home in Lad Prao district for her office at 11.30am. "Usually, my commute by bus takes an hour and a half but it took almost four hours today. I've never seen floods as high in the three years of travelling to this office. In places the water was waist deep."
       She added that she witnessed pedestrians literally marooned on islands created by the rising waters.
       Students at Ramkhamhaeng University 2 had to hitch up skirts and trousers and paddle through kneedeep water to get to exam halls. At 1.30pm, the traffic around the university was gridlocked.
       Narong Airasubkunakorn, director of the city's Information Drainage Technology Department confirmed the rain had been the heaviest in 25 years. Other roads that suffered jams as a result were Sukhumvit, Rama 3, Rama 4, Rama 9, Phitsanulok, Lat Phrao, Ratchadaphisek, Ngarmwong wan and Vibhavadi and Rajdamnoen Avenue.