Features

It’s the usual dilemma. Would you rather stick to the current version of the application you are using, regardless of weaknesses and shortcomings, or are you willing — after taking a deep breath of course — to make another effort and learn new ways, therefore being able to take advantage of the improved version?

It happens all the time. It happened with Microsoft’s Windows 8 whose user interface was a frank departure from Windows 7, and it all seems like it is going to happen again with what is the most widely used and trusted free e-mail service, Google’s gmail.

Information found on the web tells of a drastically redesigned interface, not just minor cosmetics here and there. The display should be more dynamic, less static and bring increased comfort of use, with enhanced message sorting and “flagging” or star pinning, for example. Web rumours also have it that the redesign will contribute to a more unified interface for gmail, from desktop to mobile platforms.

However, this article is not about the detailed features of the upcoming gmail interface. Besides, no date has yet been announced for the actual implementation of the new gmail look. This is more about the balance between the rate of re-learning and software improvement. Simply put, when is it worth taking the plunge for a change?

There’s another question, perhaps a more criticalone. What is the extent of change we can tolerate for a product we are already familiar with and that we have been using for a long time? Do we want to go through huge changes that may be so drastic that the re-learning process will be truly painful?

In general the industry does not care much about how much we suffer and spend time re-learning. Changes occur all too frequently. I’d like, for example — in my dreams — to see a major product like Microsoft’s Windows remain unchanged for 10 years or so; but of course this is but a personal wish.

Whereas versions of a product such as Adobe Photoshop have usually managed to take us smoothly, almost painlessly, from one to another over time, thanks to smartly planned, arranged and organised changes, the level of redesign from Windows 7 to Windows 8 was really too much for most of us, and is still making waves within the IT community, almost two years on after Win8 was released in August 2012.

On the other hand, and talking about Adobe, although the company keeps releasing updates for its Acrobat Reader at an alarming rate, these updates are absolutely transparent to the user, for they only involve internal, technical changes, none or very few in the user interface or in the way we run Acrobat. So despite the annoyance, this is a kind of update we can live with. Besides, and in ascending order of magnitude and importance, there are updates, upgrades and then there’s completely new design.

Alongside medicine, information technology is the fastest changing field, not to mention that IT itself impacts the speed of change of virtually all other domains, including medicine of course, since they all are, more less, affected by progress achieved in IT. There is little doubt that overall we all benefit from the change, even if we have the sometimes justified impression that the reason for it is more commercial than technological. Surely you can’t blame software companies for wanting to make money.

Whether it’s often a hurricane or by moments just a gentle breeze, the wind of change will continue to blow on information technology and it’s not a bad thing. We just have to accept it and to live with it. I can’t wait to see gmail’s new look!

GENEVA – Depression is the top global cause of illness and disability for adolescents, with suicide the third-biggest cause of death, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The finding is in a new report by the UN agency, which has pulled together a wealth of published evidence with direct consultations with 10 to 19 year-olds around the world to assess the health issues that affect them.

“The world has not paid enough attention to the health of adolescents,” says Flavia Bustreo, head of WHO’s family, women and children’s health division.

Some studies show that half of all people who develop mental disorders have their first symptoms by the age of 14, said the report.

“If adolescents with mental health problems get the care they need, this can prevent deaths and avoid suffering throughout life,” it said.

The study looked at a broad range of issues, including tobacco, alcohol and drug use, HIV, injuries, mental health, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health and violence.

Traffic injuries were the number two cause of illness and disability, behind depression, with boys three times more likely to die than girls.

WHO said it was crucial for countries to reduce the risk by increasing access to reliable and safe public transport, improve road safety regulations such as alcohol and speed limits, establish safe pedestrian areas around schools and graduated licensing schemes where drivers’ privileges are phased in over time.

Worldwide, an estimated 1.3 million adolescents died in 2012, it said. The top three causes of death globally were road traffic injuries, HIV/AIDS and suicide.

HIV was the second cause of deaths in adolescents globally, WHO said, with estimates suggesting the number of HIV-related deaths among adolescents was rising.

This was predominantly in Africa, at a time when HIV-related deaths were decreasing in all other population groups.

“We must not let up on efforts to promote and safeguard the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents, including HIV,” said WHO scientist Jane Ferguson, lead author of the report.

For adolescent girls alone, the second-biggest killer after suicide was complications during childbirth.

That was despite major progress on that front, WHO said, with death-rates plummeting since 2000 –– by 57 per cent in Asia, 50 per cent in the Middle East and 37 per cent in Africa.

Other infectious disease also remained major killers, despite marked successes such as a 90 per cent decline in death and disability from measles in Africa over the past decade, thanks to childhood vaccination.

Common infectious diseases that have been a focus for action in young children were among the hardest-hitting.

For example, diarrhoea and lower respiratory tract infections ranked second and fourth among causes of death in 10 to 14-year-olds. 

Combined with meningitis, these conditions accounted for 18 per cent of all deaths in this age group, little changed from 2000, WHO said.

AYUTTHAYA, Thailand – Dodging electrocution, drowning and even crocodiles, the Thai virtual hero of a new mobile game called “Flood Fighter” aims to educate children across Asia about the perils posed by Mother Nature.

More than 800 people, including dozens of children, were among the victims of devastating floods that hit Thailand in 2011, affecting 65 of 77 provinces.

In an effort to prevent further deaths, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) hatched the idea of a free education mobile game app to spread the word.

“In Thailand everybody has a mobile phone, so why not convey our message through an application?” said Ichiro Miyazawa, who oversaw development of “Sai Fah: The Flood Fighter”.

The free download for smartphones and tablet computers has proved a hit in a country which in 2012 had almost 130 mobile telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, according to the International Telecommunication Union.

Just a few weeks after its launch in January, the game topped the charts for educational apps in Thailand, with more than 22,000 downloads.

The concept is simple: The house of lead character Sai Fah, whose name means “lightning”, has flooded.

He must complete missions during 22 episodes before, during and after the rise in the waters, each one carrying a message of prevention.

Avoiding snakes, crocodiles

The tasks include stocking essential items, putting important belongings high up, not drinking unboiled water, cutting the electricity supply, as well as avoiding snakes that have been forced from their natural habitat and crocodiles that have escaped from farms.

Ayutthaya province, where the game is set, was particularly badly affected by the 2011 floods.
Homes, temples and car factories were underwater for weeks.

In the district of Ban Praek, where UNESCO visited to promote the game, memories of the disaster are still raw.

“The water came up to my head,” said Nittaya Soponpit, the director of a local community education centre.

She believes the game will help children to be ready for any repeat.

“They will know how to prevent, how to prepare, how to handle floods.”

Some of the game’s lessons appear to have already been learnt.

Next time, “I will prepare drinking water,” 17-year-old student Kitkanok Klungnumkoo said after trying out the game at a demonstration by UNESCO.

Pornnamphet Sainet, 10, added: “I will follow the advice of the game by cutting the electrical circuit.”

Asia next target

“Sai Fah” is not meant to be a substitute for swimming lessons or life jackets, in a country where most children cannot swim.

But its message is simple: “Just stay away from the water as much as possible,” said Miyazawa.

In the game, the small boy wearing a red umbrella hat must use a stick to test the ground in front of him and avoid falling into a hole or being swept away by floodwaters.

After its success in Thailand, a recently launched English-language version of the game aims to spread the message in other Asian countries affected by floods, such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines. At least 4,000 downloads were recorded in the initial weeks.

Those countries are drenched by annual monsoon rains that regularly cause floods, with rapid urbanisation, deforestation and poorly designed infrastructure aggravating the problem.

While the new version is not in their mother tongue, children who play video games are usually capable of understanding instructions in simple English, according to Nathalie Sajda, project manager at Opendream which developed the game for UNESCO.

It’s been a crazy day today. All I have done, since morning, is talk to answering machines. Yes, the same ones that follow, the ten or twelve ringing sounds when you are making a call. On the phone, that is. 

Talking on the telephone is the easiest thing in the world these days. Every Tom, Dick and Harry as well as their entire tribe of sisters, has a mobile. From florists, cobblers, bakers and cabbies to barbers, grocers, housewives and even 10-year-old kids, an entire spectrum of humanity carries a cellphone with them wherever they go. 

But we all know that in reality, this is all balderdash. Owning a phone is very different from getting to speak to the, well, owner of the phone. In most of the cases, all one gets to do is, leave messages on the answering machine. 

Soon after Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, it made its appearance in the black and white films of the time. “Dial M for Murder” for instance, almost had a ringing telephone as its main protagonist. Subsequent movies, especially in the Indian subcontinent had actors sing entire songs to their beloveds, over the handset.  

Making and receiving trunk calls was a laborious process. The sound, over the wires also would not be clear, and we had to shout in an unnaturally loud voice, to get ourselves heard. Also, the telephone manners that were drilled upon us in early childhood would invariably come into play. 

So, however bad the connection, we had to first greet each other. Then we had to ask about one another’s health, our family’s welfare, inquire about the weather, and only then get down to the point of the call. Sometimes, while bantering about the inconsequential things, the line would get disconnected and the main plot would be lost. 

We had to go back to placing the call again and, once connected, go through the pleasantries, one more time. In fact, the inquisitive operators, who would be listening in, would sever the link if they felt that the social niceties were not being adhered to.

But in all this, the greatest allure was in the interaction itself. We would, argue, implore, entreat and quarrel with the operators but at least they were human and not the mechanical recordings of the answering machines. 

Personally, I cannot understand what kind of people leave messages on the answering machines. If truth is told, I do not even understand the instructions that the robotic voice commands me to do. The alien accents also bother me. The false gaiety and cheerfulness that it exudes, sets my teeth on edge too. 

Moreover, by the time I frame a reply in my head and get down to actually articulating it, the beeps start beeping rudely at me. 

This morning I called up an airlines office. A nasal mechanised voice picked up. She told me to press certain numbers. I bungled up immediately. Fuming furiously, I reached the “leave a message” stage in our conversation, before hanging up.  

One hour later my phone rang. 

“How can we solve your problem?” requested a robotic voice.

“Answering machines can make calls too?” I asked.

“You left a message today,” she said. 

 “No, I didn’t,” I clarified. 

“I can play the recording for you,” she insisted.

“Really? What did I say,” I was curious. 

“Bloody hell! These idiotic scoundrels…” she started reciting.

“Ok ok let’s get to the point,” I cut in.

Scary robots!

NEW YORK — Parents should quit smoking while their children are young to help prevent them from picking up the habit later on, according to a new study.

“Our analysis showed that the longer adolescents are exposed to a parent’s smoking when the parent is addicted to nicotine, the more likely they are to begin smoking and to become regular smokers in the future,” said lead author Darren Mays.

Quitting is of course important for parents’ health, and could be important for kids’ health too, said Mays, a public health researcher with the Cancer Prevention and Control Programme at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Georgetown University Medical Centre in Washington, DC.

“Our results suggest that for parents who are addicted smokers (quitting) may also reduce the likelihood that their children will go on to become smokers in the future,” he told Reuters Health.

For the study, Mays and his colleagues followed 400 teens from early to late adolescence. Researchers separately interviewed the kids, most around age 14, and one of their parents, about their respective smoking histories.

The kids were interviewed again one year later and again four years after that.

Six per cent of the kids were already regular smokers when the study began. Thirty per cent of the kids reported at all three interviews that they had never smoked.

The rest of the kids either experimented with a few cigarettes early on — nearly half of whom became regular smokers by year five — or experimented later on.

Teens whose parents were current smokers and addicted to nicotine were 10 times more likely to themselves become regular smokers at an early age or to experiment early on with cigarettes than kids with nonsmoking parents.

Among the parents who were current smokers, each year they had smoked slightly increased the odds that their kids would end up in a heavy-smoking trajectory.

The results don’t prove that parents smoking caused their kids to take up the habit, the study team acknowledges.

But there’s no real debate about whether there is a link between parental and child smoking — researchers are confident that they are connected, probably due to a combination of genetics and social norms in the household, the researchers note in their report, published in Paediatrics.

Of the 24 kids who were already regular smokers at age 14, two-thirds had a parent who was a current smoker, compared to three with a parent that was a former smoker and five with nonsmoking parents.

“There is strong evidence of this relationship for both tobacco and alcohol,” said Mike Vuolo, associate director of the Centre for Research on Young People’s Health at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He was not involved in the new study.

This new research focuses specifically on nicotine dependence, which is “substantively important”, Vuolo told Reuters Health by e-mail.

“There is solid evidence that genetics explains the link between parent smoking and child smoking,” said Jonathan Bricker of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, Washington.

“But what makes this study and others like it so important is that it identifies something practical and important we can do right now: help parents quit smoking for the sake of their children,” Bricker told Reuters Health by e-mail.

It might be a good idea to target quit-smoking initiatives at parents who are hooked on nicotine, not just those who smoke, he added.

But in terms of nicotine dependence, the new study contradicts previous research by the same team on the same subject, according to Denise B. Kandel, a professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York.

“The earlier analysis found that onset of smoking was the same whether or not parents were dependent on nicotine,” Kandel told Reuters Health by e-mail.

By that logic, whether or not parents smoke at all is the important measure, not their dependence on nicotine.

The results are still important for public health advocates, who can identify children at high risk of smoking by whether or not their parents smoke, she said.

“The best advice for any parent who smokes is to quit as soon as possible and that resources such as their family doctor, telephone quit lines and online programmes are available to help,” Mays said.

SAN FRANCISCO – Twitter on Monday began letting users “mute” posts from people they are not interested in hearing from at the popular one-to-many messaging service.

The new Mute feature was expected to be rolled out to all Twitter accounts in coming weeks.

“You can now mute users you’d like to hear from less,” Twitter product manager Paul Rosania said in a blog post.

“The muted user will not know that you’ve muted them, and of course you can unmute at any time.”

The feature is being added to Twitter iPhone and Android applications as well as at the twitter.com site accessed through computer Web browsers.

Muting someone at Twitter stops any messages they “tweet” at the service from popping up in the timeline of whoever hit the virtual button, according to Rosania.

Push or text messages from muted Twitter accounts will not be delivered.

People will still be able to see “re-tweet”, or comment on Twitter posts of those who have muted them, but the person doing the muting will not be looped into the activity.

“Mute gives you even more control over the content you see on Twitter by letting you remove a user’s content from key parts of your Twitter experience,” Rosania said.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California – A white Lexus cruised along a road near the Google campus, braking for pedestrians and scooting over in its lane to give bicyclists ample space.

The car eased into a turn lane, waited for a green light and a break in traffic, then continued on its way in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View.

It even avoided stopping on train tracks.

But there was nobody holding the wheel. What looked like the work of a conscientious driver was a Google car making all the moves — with an AFP reporter in the back seat.

Google used machine learning to teach cars how people drive and, from there, to anticipate what motorists in surrounding traffic are likely to do.

Computer-fast reflexes 

“Computers have really good reaction times. They don’t get distracted, drowsy, fall asleep, and they don’t drive drunk,” Google self-driving car software team lead Dmitri Dolgov told reporters getting an intimate look at prototypes at the Computer History Museum.

“They don’t need to stop messing with the radio to see what is happening, or even take time to move a foot from the gas pedal to the brake.”

The bustling street crowd paid little heed to the self-driving car, which sported a whirling gadget on top about the size and shape of a large coffee can.

The roof-top device used radar and lasers to track everything around it.

A camera peeking out from the Lexus front grill watched what was ahead.

Data is processed by onboard computers programmed to simulate what a careful driver would do, but at super-human speeds. And, naturally, the Google autonomous car was connected to the Internet.

A “Googler” from the technology titan’s test driving team had a laptop computer that showed what the car “saw” — everything from cyclists and traffic signals to orange cones and painted lines in the street.

Another Googler was in the driver’s seat, ready to take over in the unlikely chance a human was needed to make a driving decision.

A red button could be hit to grab control from the computer. A tap of the brake would do the same.

 Real driving a drag 

Development of the self-driving car began five years ago, part of a special project headed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin. 

“If you are in a car commercial, that is driving we enjoy,” said project director Chris Urmson.

“If you are commuting to work, that is not fun.”

While most people have cars that boast seating for four or more people and that can achieve racing speeds, statistics show that much road time is clocked by solo drivers going closer to 30 miles (48 kilometres) per hour.

Google cars navigate using detailed digital maps showing what streets are supposed to look like, then concentrate processing power on assessing real-world variables such as traffic.

The cars can’t drive places where Google hasn’t mapped roadways down to implied speed limits, elevations of traffic signals and curb heights, according to mapping team lead Andrew Chatham.

Have no fear 

Prototype Google cars have driven more than 100,000 miles on public roads, always with someone ready to take the wheel.

There have been two accidents while cars were on auto-pilot. Both times, vehicles were rear-ended while stopped at traffic signals, according to Urmson.

“We are at the point where we are really convinced we have cracked this and can make it work,” Urmson said of self-driving cars being trusted on roads.

Urmson sidestepped predicting when Google self-driving cars might hit the market, but said he is determined to make it happen by the time his six-year-old son reaches driving age.

Brin has publicly stated the even more ambitious goal of having the cars ready less than four years from now.

A panel of urban development and transportation specialists that took part in the event billed the self-driving car as a quantum leap in safety that could prevent many of the approximately 33,000 roadway deaths in the US each year.

Instead of owning cars, people could summon them when needed and be chauffeured places while they text, chat on phones, put on make-up or do other distracting tasks some motorists attempt while driving.

“This is not a science project, this is reality,” said former General Motors vice president Larry Burns.

PARIS – People who use mobile phones intensively appear to have a higher risk of developing certain types of brain cancer, French scientists said on Tuesday, reviving questions about phone safety.

Individuals who used their cell phone for more than 15 hours each month over five years on average had between two and three times greater risk of developing glioma and meningioma tumours compared with people whose used their phone rarely, they found.

The study, appearing in the latest issue of British journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, is the latest foray in a long-running exploration of mobile-phone safety.

Over the last 15 years, most investigations have failed to turn up conclusive results either way, although several have suggested a link between gliomas and intensive, long-term use.

“Our study is part of that trend, but the results have to be confirmed,” said Isabelle Baldi, of the University of Bordeaux in southwestern France, who took part in the probe.

In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said radiofrequency fields used by mobile phones are possibly carcinogenic.

But research faces several challenges. They include clear proof in the lab that these fields are harmful to human cells.

Another is getting an accurate picture of phone use in real life, filtering out lifestyle factors such as smoking which amplify cancer risk and taking into account changing phone technology.

The new study looked at 253 cases of glioma and 194 cases of meningioma reported in four French departments (counties) between 2004 and 2006.

These patients were matched against 892 “controls”, or healthy individuals drawn from the general population, in a bid to spot any differences between the two groups.

The comparison found a higher risk among those who used their phone intensively, especially among those who used it for their work, such as in sales. The duration of use in this category ranged from between two and 10 years, averaging at five years.

But study also found several inconsistencies with other investigations that have suggested a link between heavy phone use and brain cancer. 

For instance, in contrast with previous work, it found that cancer occurred on the opposite side of the brain, rather than on the same side, of where the phone was customarily used.

“It is difficult to define a level of risk, if any, especially as mobile phone technology is constantly evolving,” the study acknowledged.

“The rapid evolution of technology has led to a considerable increase in the use of mobile phones and a parallel decrease of [radiowave intensity] emitted by the phones. 

“Studies taking account of these recent developments and allowing the observation of potential long-term effects will be needed.”

First launched in 2008, the Hyundai Genesis took the automotive world by surprise and garnered many favorable reviews, mostly citing its comfort, kit, quality, refinement and value. A world class car that broke into the tough German-dominated executive saloon segment, the all new 2015 second generation Genesis builds on its predecessor’s credentials with greater emphasis on design, driving dynamics, cabin refinement and high-tech driver aids and infotainment systems. A larger and more luxurious car than the car it replaces, the new Genesis sports more deliberate design lines and a fancy new Genesis-specific emblem, but nevertheless remains part of the Hyundai brand rather than a separate luxury brand, like Lexus is to Toyota.

Sculpted presence

Only the brand’s second global market executive saloon and the first car since ex-Audi designer and current Kia president Peter Schreyer took over design duties at Hyundai as well, the new Genesis sports a more sculpted, chiseled and bold look. Dubbed Fluidic Sculpture 2.0, the new Genesis’ striking new aesthetics have a distinctly European flavour but without an immediately discernable sense of lineage. Undoubtedly attractive and classy with a sense of gravitas and presence, the new Genesis’ design language is set to carve out and acquire a greater sense of brand identity once it takes root and is joined by other new Hyundai models sporting similarly familial designs.  

Wider, lower and longer than previous, the new Genesis features a longer wheelbase and bonnet, which along with a more formal and assertive design, lends a discernable sense of class and presence. With a broad and tall trapezoidal grille with horizontal slats to emphasise width, the new Genesis’ fascia is imposing and its silhouette indulgently luxurious. Lines and surfaces are more sculpted and sharp, with high-set wraparound lights, bold grille and a be-winged Aston Martin- or Bentley-like emblem sits above. With its broad shoulder and low flowing roofline the new Genesis looks hunkered down, with large 245/45R18 tyres and wide track conveys a sense of urgency, elegance, sure-footedness and a vague hint of premium segment arrogance.

Seamless and smooth

Offered with two, now-familiar direct fuel injection engines including a five-litre V8 and 3.8-litre V6, the Genesis’ entry-level engine develops 310BHP at 6,000rpm and 293lb/ft torque at 5,000rpm. Smooth, refined and progressive in delivery, the Genesis’ 3.8-litre six-pack revs seamlessly from idle to redline, and while it features good low-end torque and mid-range flexibility, its best work is done at its high end, as it urgently builds up power. With a smooth eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox, similar to versions used by an eclectic variety of vehicles from Dodge to Rolls Royce, the Genesis 3.8 benefits from terrific drive-train refinement, and downshifts responsively to dig deeper into its engine’s power reserves when brisk on-the-move motivation is required.

With its engine eager to be revved hard, the Genesis 3.8 moves briskly when one holds gears to access its high rev abilities. And while its closely spaced gearbox ratios may be set up with an eye on achieving smoothness and efficiency, the Genesis 3.8 can however sprint to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds and onto 240km/h, and also return 10.7l/100km combined cycle fuel consumption. Fitted with large and effective 345mm ventilated front discs with four piston calipers in front and 315mm discs with single piston calipers at the rear, the Genesis 3.8 brakes confidently and curtly, while a an optional sensor- and radar-based Autonomous Emergency Braking system can automatically apply the brakes if the vehicle ahead brakes suddenly.

Buttoned down

Having done so much so well with the previous generation Genesis and having mad huge strides in design, refinement, packaging, amenities, cabin comfort and quality and branding in recent years, Hyundai turns its hand to achieving vehicle dynamics and chassis improvements this time around. With a helping hand from one of the finest chassis-turning specialists in the world, British sports car makers and engineering firm Lotus’ input have yielded a marked improvement in how the new Genesis rides and steers. With a European-flavoured chassis, the new Genesis rides with a smooth and planted manner that feels Germanic in its reassuring high speed stability, while noise, vibration and harshness isolation is superbly refined.

Firmer riding that its supple predecessor, the new Genesis however doesn’t feel harsh, but instead feels settled, smooth and sure-footed, and over sudden crests, dips and expansion joints feels noticeably more buttoned down on rebound than before. With excellent body stiffness lending itself to improved handling, ride comfort and safety, the new Genesis feels rigid through corners and refined at speed. Significantly quicker at 2.55-turns lock-to-lock, the new Genesis steering is more firmly weighted and feels tight and direct but well-damped for negative feedback. Tidier into a corner, the new Genesis is poised and less susceptible to body roll despite a hefty 1,877kg mass, and feels balanced and predictable when exit a bend on throttle.

Classy quarters

Noticeably more up market, the new Genesis cabin is spacious and ergonomic, with highly adjustable steering and front seats and optionally adjustable rear seats. Fit and finish are classy and elegant, with dark matte wood grain panels and a sense of symmetry and functionality to dash, console and steering controls and instrumentation. Soft textures and stitched leather are plenty, while the chunky contoured steering wheel looks dignified, with large be-winged Genesis emblem and a cross-section designed to better suit driver grip. Seating is somewhat high, but front visibility is good, while storage spaces and boot space are accommodating. The boot even has an auto opening system, if one’s hands are full and can’t reach for the key.

A well-kitted and luxurious car with multi-zone climate control, puddle lamp, standard 14- and optional 17-speaker sound system, standard eight-inch (20.3cm) or optional 9.2-inch (23.4cm) front infotainment and rear multimedia screens, the 2015 Genesis also features a head’s up display projecting driving information onto the windscreen and a bird’s eye around view camera for added maneuverability in confined spaces. The genesis also includes a high beam assist function that detects oncoming cars and and controls the high beam, while a blind spot detection system warns of unseen vehicles when changing lanes. Driver aids also include adaptive cruise control to maintain a set distance with the car ahead, and a lane departure warning system.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3.8 litre, all-aluminium, V6-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 96 x 87mm

Compression ratio: 11.5:1

Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, variable valve timing, direct injection

Gearbox: 8 speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

Ratios: 1st 3.665; 2nd 2.396; 3rd 1.61; 4th 1.19; 5th 1.0; 6th 0.826; 7th 0.643; 8th 0.556

Final drive / reverse: 3.909:1 / 2.273

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 310 (315) [231] @ 6,000rpm

Specific power: 82BHP/litre

Power-to-weight ratio: 165BHP/ton

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 293 (397) @ 5,000rpm

Specific torque: 105Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight ratio: 211Nm/tonne

0-100 km/h: 6.5-seconds

Top speed: 240km/h

Fuel economy, city / highway / combined: 13 / 8.1 / 10.7 litres/100km

Fuel capacity: 73 litres

Length: 4,990mm

Width: 1,890mm

Height: 1,480mm

Wheelbase: 3,010mm

Track, F/R: 1,628 / 1,659mm

Overhang, F/R: 845 / 1135mm

Aerodynamic drag co-efficient: 0.26

Legroom, F/R: 1,160 / 890mm

Headroom, F/R: 1,045 / 970mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1,480 / 1,450mm

Boot capacity: 493 litres

Kerb weight: 1,877kg

Suspension: Multi-link, coil springs, active dampers, stabiliser bar

Steering: Electric assistance, rack & pinion

Lock-to-lock: 2.55 turns

Turning radius: 5.52 metres

Brakes, F/R: 4 pistons, ventilated discs, 345 / single piston, discs, 315mm

Tyres: 245/45R18

GENEVA – Alcohol kills 3.3 million people worldwide each year, more than AIDS, tuberculosis and violence combined, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Monday, warning that booze consumption was on the rise.

Including drink driving, alcohol-induced violence and abuse, and a multitude of diseases and disorders, alcohol causes one in 20 deaths globally every year, the UN health agency said.

“This actually translates into one death every 10 seconds,” Shekhar Saxena, who heads WHO’s mental health and substance abuse department, told reporters in Geneva.

Alcohol caused some 3.3 million deaths in 2012, WHO said, equivalent to 5.9 per cent of global deaths (7.6 per cent for men and 4 per cent for women).

In comparison, HIV/AIDS is responsible for 2.8 per cent, tuberculosis causes 1.7 per cent of deaths and violence is responsible for just 0.9 per cent, the study showed.

More people in countries where alcohol consumption has traditionally been low, like China and India, are also increasingly taking up the habit as their wealth increases, it said.

“More needs to be done to protect populations from the negative health consequences of alcohol consumption,” Oleg Chestnov of the WHO’s noncommunicable diseases and mental health unit said in a statement launching a massive report on global alcohol consumption and its impact on public health.

Drinking is linked to more than 200 health conditions, including liver cirrhosis and some cancers. Alcohol abuse also makes people more susceptible to infectious diseases like tuberculosis, HIV and pneumonia, the report found.

Most deaths attributed to alcohol, around a third, are caused by associated cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

Alcohol-related accidents, such as car crashes, were the second-highest killer, accounting for around 17.1 per cent of all alcohol-related deaths.

China, India drinking more

Binge drinking is especially damaging to health, WHO pointed out, estimating that 16 per cent of the world’s drinkers abuse alcohol to excess.

While people in the world’s wealthiest nations, in Europe and the Americas especially, are boozier than people in poorer countries, rising wealth in emerging economies is also driving up alcohol consumption.

Drinking in populous China and India is rising particularly fast as people earn more money, WHO said, warning that the average annual intake in China was likely to swell by 1.5 litres of pure alcohol by 2025.

Still, Eastern Europe and Russia are home to the world’s biggest drinkers. 

Russian men who drink consumed an average of 32 litres of pure alcohol a year, according to 2010 statistics, followed by other Western countries including Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia and South Africa.

On average, every person above the age of 15 worldwide drinks 6.2 litres of pure alcohol in a year, according to the report.

Counting only those who drink though, that rises to 17 litres of pure alcohol each year.

But far from everyone indulges. Nearly half of all adults worldwide have never touched alcohol, and nearly 62 per cent say they have not touched a drink in the past year, the report showed.

Abstinence especially among women, is most common in low-income countries, while religious belief and social norms mean many Muslim countries are virtually alcohol free.