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Samsung’s Galaxy S6 will reportedly have a curved edge similar to that of the Galaxy Note Edge, pictured here. Image: Mashable, Elizabeth Pierson Samsung is planning to make some major design changes to its next flagship phone, according to a new report. A metal body would be a shift from Samsung’s usual plastic, though it’s not clear whether the new devices would be all-metal or a mixture of metal and plastic. Read more…
Image source from Twitter
A Hong Kong man attempted to cross the Chinese border with 94 iPhones strapped all over his body and the customs check went just as you might expect. The phones were strapped to his torso, legs and groin, according to a Chinese news report. The pictures show that he was stocked with both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models. Read more…
Weather in the SAR area for tomorrow (Sunday) is forecasted to be much better with waves likely to decrease and remain at 2-3 metres. The officials have also announced that sonar equipment detected two large objects on the ocean floor which may be the wreckage of flight QZ 8501. The 12 remains consisting of 9 male and 3 female arrived today at Bhayangkara Hospital, Surabaya to undergo the identification process.
Flight QZ8501 — carrying 162 passengers and crew — dropped off the radar Sunday during its route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. The tail reportedly was located Wednesday.
Investigator Santoso Sayogo told Reuters on Friday that it appeared the black box was no longer in the jet’s tail, which the team was working to recover. Divers were deployed to find the box’s exact location.
“We received an update from the field that the pinger locator already detected pings,” he told Reuters. “We have our fingers crossed it is the black box. Divers need to confirm. Unfortunately it seems it’s off from the tail. But the divers need to confirm the position.” Read more…
 Source:Coca-cola. |
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Warren Buffett is perhaps the greatest investor of all time, and he has a simple solution that could help an individual turn $40 into $10 million. Yet in April 2012, when the board of directors proposed a stock split of the beloved soft-drink manufacturer, that figure was updated and the company noted that original $40 would now be worth $9.8 million. A little back-of-the-envelope math of the total return of Coke since May 2012 would mean that $9.8 million is now worth about $10.8 million. Read more…
Recommended for new or intermediate investors: Warren Buffett’s 3 Favorite Books: A guide to The Intelligent Investor, Security Analysis, and The Wealth of Nations
ATHENS, Greece — Italian and Greek military and coast guard rescue crews battled gale-force winds and massive waves Sunday, as they struggled to rescue hundreds of people trapped on a burning ferry adrift between Italy and Albania. At least one person died and two were injured.
The Greek Coast Guard tweeted that 172 of the 478 people on the ferry had been evacuated by Sunday night, according to a Google translation, more than 15 hours after the fire erupted.
“It will be a very difficult night. A night in which we hope we will be able to rescue all on board,” Greek Merchant Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said in Athens.
He said 10 merchant ships were in the area assisting rescue efforts, and that those who had already taken on dozens of passengers from the stricken ferry would remain in the area until the operation was over. Only then would it be determined where they would go, Varvitsiotis said. He added that the fire seemed to be somewhat under control, and that the ship would be towed to Italy, Reuters reported.
The fire broke out before dawn Sunday on a car deck of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic, traveling from the western Greek port of Patras to the Italian port of Ancona on the Adriatic, with 422 passengers and 56 crew members on board.
Italy and Greece sent navy and coast guard vessels and helicopters, while nearby merchant ships lined up to form a barrier to protect the ferry from towering waves, and to facilitate rescue. As darkness fell, Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti said rescue operations would continue through the night.
Varvitsiotis described the efforts as “one of the most complex search and rescue operations we have dealt with in recent years.”
Most of those rescued were transported to other nearby ships, but nine were taken to the Italian town of Lecce. Of those, three children and a pregnant woman were being treated for hypothermia in a local hospital. Dr. Raffaele Montinaro said the children were in “excellent” condition, and emergency room doctor Antonio Palumbo said the mother’s condition was also good.
The Italian Navy said the man who died and one injured person were transported by helicopter to the southern Italian city of Brindisi. It was unclear how the death or injury occurred, but the Greek Coast Guard said the pair were found in a lifeboat rescue chute.
The second injury was to a member of the Italian military involved in the rescue operation, Coast Guard Admiral Giovanni Pettorino said.
Pettorino told Italy’s Sky TG24 TV that two Italian tugs tried to attach themselves to the ferry in the evening, but failed because the smoke was too strong.
Thick smoke engulfed the ferry, and passengers still on board said the ship had begun to list to one side.
“There’s a lot of smoke, we can’t breathe,” passenger Nikos Papatheodosiou told Greece’s state-run Nerit television as darkness fell. “Panic, there’s panic,” he said.
Passengers described scenes of terror and chaos when the fire broke out, as they slept in their cabins.
“They called first on women and children to be evacuated from the ship,” Vassiliki Tavrizelou, who was rescued along with her 2-year-old daughter, said.
“Ships could not approach us because of the rain and winds,” Tavrizelou said in a telephone interview from Lecce. “We were at least four hours on the deck, in the cold and rain.”
She recalled the ship alarm going off, and seeing fire from her cabin. “Then we heard explosions,” Tavrizelou said. It was not immediately clear what the explosions were, and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Passenger Giorgos Stiliaras told Greek Mega TV that passengers were having trouble breathing with all the smoke.
“We are outside, we are very cold, the ship is full of smoke,” he said by telephone. “The boat is still burning, the floors are boiling.”
He recalled people being awakened by “the smell of burning plastic.”
The ship, run by a Greek ferry company, was packed with holidaymakers and truck drivers making the popular transport run between Greece and Italy. Of those on board, 234 passengers and 34 crew are Greek, according to Greek Merchant Marine spokesperson Nikos Lagadianos.
Other passengers are from Turkey, Albania, Italy and several other countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France. The crew are Greek and Italian.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was in contact with his Italian counterpart, Matteo Renzi, to coordinate the operation.
Merchant Marine Minister Varvitsiotis said the Coast Guard was in constant contact with Italian authorities and the Greek armed forces. “We are committed to rescuing everyone on the ship, and are trying to ensure that nobody will be left unaided,” he said.
In a separate naval incident, a Turkish cargo ship collided with another merchant vessel, and sank near a foggy Italian port in the northern Adriatic, killing two crew members and leaving four others missing in cold, rough seas, Italian officials said.
See full story at mashable.com
Still no sign of missing AirAsia plane on flight to Indonesia
More than 160 people were on the plane, according to the latest statement from the airline An Indonesia Transport Ministry official said they have halted the search for the day because it was getting dark, but that they will resume the search at 7:00 a.m. Monday morning, local time, or even earlier if the weather is good. Before the plane vanished, the Airbus A320-200 had requested a deviation due to enroute weather. The airline said the plane was carrying a total of 162 people, including two pilots, four flight attendants, and an engineer. In an updated statement, AirAsia confirmed that a British citizen was among the passengers.
Have you seen 1.5 million lights for Christmas before?
How many lights do you need for a real-life Christmas fairy tale? In the small Croatian town of azma, a few thousand Christmas lights would make your house stand out from the rest. Around 1.5 million lights the Salaj family does not know the exact number, though they’re sure this figure is very close hardly fit on a single house.
Don’t forget to share with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a polar bear. Polar bears are like regular bears, except they have white fur, live in the Arctic, and always act like theyre the drunkest kid at the party. 24 Times Polar Bears Were The Party Animals Of The Animal Kingdom
Although there is no “one size, fits all” theory for entrepreneurship, a few guidelines may help those with a good idea become successful entrepreneurs. The following insights can help you embark on your next entrepreneurial venture with due diligence.
1. Passion & Motivation
The one word that describes the basic requirement for an entrepreneurship venture is “Passion.”
Your demonstration of passion and motivation will determine your success in any entrepreneurial venture. From building and implementing a prototype, to pitching your idea to venture capitalists, success is a function of passion and determination.
2. Risk Taking
Entrepreneurs are risk takers ready to dive deep into a future of uncertainty. But not all risk takers are successful entrepreneurs. What differentiates a successful entrepreneur from the rest in terms of risk? Successful entrepreneurs are will to risk time and money on unknowns, but they also keep resources, plans and bandwidth for dealing with “unknown unknowns” in reserve. When evaluating risk, a successful entrepreneur will ask herself, is this risk worth the cost of my career, time and money? And, what will I do if this venture doesn’t pay off?
3. Self-belief, Hard work & Disciplined Dedication
Entrepreneurs enjoy what they do. They believe in themselves and are confident and dedicated to their project. Occasionally, they may show stubbornness in their intense focus on and faith in their idea. But the flip side is their demonstrated discipline and dedication.
4. Adaptability & Flexibility
It’s good to be passionate or even stubborn about what you do. But being inflexible about client or market needs will lead to failure. Remember, an entrepreneurial venture is not simply about doing what you believe is good, but also making successful business out of it. Market needs are dynamic: changes are a recurring phenomenon. Successful entrepreneurs welcome all suggestions for optimization or customization that enhances their offering and satisfies client and market needs. A product you develop for yourself alone may qualify as a hobby, but a product for the market should satisfy market needs.
5. Understand Your Offering – And Its Market
Entrepreneurs know their product offering inside and out. They also know the marketplace and its dynamics inside and out. Remaining unaware of changing market needs, competitor moves and other external factors can bring even great products to failure (for example, Blockbuster).
6. Money Management
It takes time to get to profitability for any entrepreneurial venture. Till then, capital is limited and needs to be utilized wisely. Successful entrepreneurs realize this mandatory money management requirement and plan for present and future financial obligations (with some additional buffer). Even after securing funding or going fully operational, a successful businessman keeps a complete handle on cash flows, as it is the most important aspect of any business.
7. Planning (But not Over-planning)
Entrepreneurship is about building a business from scratch while managing limited resources (including time, money and personal relationships). It is a long-term commitment, and attempting to plan as much as possible at the beginning is a noble impulse. In reality, however, planning for everything and having a ready solution for all possible risks may prevent you from even taking the first step. Successful entrepreneurs do keep some dry powder in reserve, but more importantly they maintain a mindset and temperament to capable of dealing with unforeseen possibilities.
Do a feasibility analysis; identify time and capital thresholds; take the deep dive with your limited resources. If your thresholds are crossed, look for alternatives and be prepared to take the next exit.
8. Networking Abilities
How do you tap your network for solutions? Many people seek comfort in commiseration: friends, colleagues and neighbors are happy to complain with you about “the global slowdown,” poor demand, or unfair competition; but that won’t improve the bottom line. What do successful entrepreneurs do? They reach out to mentors with more experience and extensive networks to seek valuable advice.
Having such networking abilities, including more experienced mentors, is a key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.
9. Being Prepared to Take the Exit
Not every attempt will result in success. The failure rate of entrepreneurial ventures is very high. At times, it is absolutely fine to take the “practical” exit route and try something new, instead of continuing to make sunk cost investments in the same venture. Many famous entrepreneurs weren’t successful the first time around. But they had the serenity and foresight to know when to cut their losses.
10. Entrepreneurs Doubt Themselves – But Not Too Much
You may ask yourself, am I an entrepreneur? And the very question may put you in doubt about the answer. Even if you don’t have the flair of Steve Jobs or the hair of Elon Musk, if you have the courage to ask yourself intimidating questions – Can I do this? Do I want to do this? – you have the stuff to be an entrepreneur.
Instead of worrying about fitting the image of the perfect entrepreneur, check in with your gut. Is it on board?
The Bottom Line
Personal qualities and their correct demonstration with the right stakeholders are the determining factors for success or failure as an entrepreneur. A realistic self-assessment checklist against these suggested guidelines will ensure you take the right steps in the right direction to succeed.
See full story at http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/101014/10-characteristics-successful-entrepreneurs.asp
Not to worry, you can know what are the 10 top destinations to visit next year.
To help get you motivated, we’ve identified 10 destinations that are sure to make headlines in 2015. Some will host major global events, while others will celebrate anniversaries, unveil new attractions or stand in Mother Nature’s spotlight. The event is meant to herald the arrival of a new Riviera – one full of 21st-century entertainment located right in Florida’s backyard. Read more…
