Future cars would think, navigate and entertain

DETROIT, (MICHIGAN), Mar 7: Global component makers, electronic firms and software companies converged in this motor city as the renowned SAE 2000 exposition opened here today, showcasing future cars which will be intelligent, safe and trouble-free.

Delphi automotive sytems is showcasing its ‘Integrated Safety Systems’ (ISS). "ISS is an all-inclusive, vehicle-wide safety design geared to reduce vehicle collisions, enhance occupant protection and assist post-crash rescue efforts," said Delphi Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President J T Battenberg III.

The company also unveiled its quadrasteer four-wheel steering system which enables full-size vehicles greater ease of manoeuverability while driving or trailering at low speeds. Delphi’s mobile multimedia technologies include voice recognition, communiport radio navigation system, communiport rear-seat audio/video systems and satellite digital audio radio service.

Researchers foresee a day when motorists would no longer need to stop to fill gas. Ronald J Parise, research scientist and president, parise research technologies, in his paper outlined the technology something like this: "You are cruising down the freeway in your electric vehicle in the year 2005 and are about to run out of fuel. No need to panic, exit and stop for more power because you have already purchased your energy units at the local grocery store. Your car sends a signal to one of many power transmitters along with the highway that hear your cry for help. As you continue driving, your vehicle is recharged."

Then there are researchers at the show who said they have found an answer to the driver’s fatigue, "when poor cabin air-conditioners exist, such as low oxygen or high carbon monoxide and dioxide levels, the system triggers an alarm to alert the occupants to lower the windows or allow fresh air to enter the cabin via the ventilation systems. If warnings are ignored, the system automatically switches the ventilation system to fresh air," researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australian Automobile Association and Royal Automobile Club of Victoria, who have developed vehicle air quality monitoring system that prevents unnecessary fatigue, said.

Robert Bosche Corp and its subsidiary, Blaupunkt, said, they are bringing futuristic technology to the present with innovative driver information and entertainment systems. Equipped with communications technology from today and tomorrow, the vehicles are packed with multimedia entertainment capabilities for passengers as well as information systems for drivers.

Researchers said, the consumer in future would demand cars that can give him entertainment features that are easy to operate and affordable.

New vehicle options such as in-car computing, heated mirrors and seats, rear air-conditioning blowers and global positioning systems are quickly "maxing out" the electrical capacity of today’s 12-volt automobile batteries. Ford subsidiary visteon and intel have jointly developed personal computers that can be fitted in your car and you can do your computing while cruising with the help of speech recognition software.

Auto-makers feel while the high-tech cars in the initial stage could cost fortune to the buyers, the prices would come down and these cars could become affordable even by the standards of the developing countries. (UNI)

Bloodbath in Chechnya continues unabated

MOSCOW, Mar 7: The bloodbath in Chechnya continues unabated. Vowing to quell the Chechen uprising till the last rebel was liquidated, Russia’s military commander declared that federal troops have killed more than 2000 Chechen separatists after fierce fighting in the last few days.

Chief of the General Staff of Russian armed forces, General Anatoly Kvashnin’s pledge comes in the backdrop of 20 federal troops being killed in an ambush by Chechen separatists near Grozny. The general had rushed to a military camp in the neighbouring Ingushetia to supervise military operations following the ambush. The radio yesterday quoted acting President Putin’s interview where he stated that the Chechens were not being conquered but were being liberated from outside pressure.

However Putin had conceded Chechen resistance even after their rout. However he was optimistic that Russian onslaught against the militants has been a success and the latter would be henceforth unable to raise their ugly hood. However Kremlin wanted to give the people of Chechnya a choice to take decisions independently on their future, he said.

Reacting to Putin’s stand, British Ambassador in Moscow, Andrew Wood said that Putin was trying to restore Russia’s weight in the world, despite the west lecturing the former on various matters. Wood is on record to have said that Putin is an exceptional personality and resembles none of his predecessors in the recent past, Novosti reports from London.

Russian Duma spokesman Gennadi Seleznov told mediapersons yesterday that Russian military’s presence in Chechnya would be measured in decades. And will take time for this wound in the Russian society to heal.

Meanwhile Russian General Gennadi Spigun is still alive, sources here told newsmen. Spigun’s plane was hijacked by Chechen terrorists and he is being held hostage.

"Work to free him does not stop a single day" Interriro Ministry told Novosti and added that "terrorists keep moving with them and blocking their efforts to free him". (UNI)

I don’t fear illegal Pak rulers: Sharif

DUBAI, Mar 7: Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he does not fear the "illegal Government" of General Pervez Musharraf and charged that members of his political party were being tortured in detention.

"I trust in god and fear him. I do not fear an illegal Government and any decisions it takes," Mr Sharif said in response to questions published today which were sent to him in prison by the Saudi-owned Pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.

Mr Sharif was ousted by Army Chief General Musharraf in a bloodless coup in October and now faces charges, including hijacking, attempted murder and terrorism. Death is the maximum penalty for hijacking.

The charges stem from when a civilian plane carrying Musharraf and 198 passengers in October was briefly denied permission to land.

Mr Sharif charged that leading members of his Muslim League, including former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and head of the Privatisation Commission Kwaja Asif, had been tortured.

He was quoted as saying that they were "blindfolded inside prison, had been tortured and had their political rights violated".

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in January accused the military Government of detaining people since the coup without trial in conditions close to torture.

Asked how he spent his time in prison, Mr Sharif said: "I pray, I write and I read."

He also said he was writing his memoirs "because it is the right of the Pakistani people to know the truth and the facts". (REUTERS)

Impact of tourism on world economy stronger than ever

BERLIN, Mar 7: Earnings from worldwide tourism rose to 455 billion US dollars last year - an increase of 3.2 per cent over the figure for 1998, and the number of tourist arrivals registered world-wide also rose by more than three per cent to 657 million.

"The figures clearly show the part that tourism plays in the world economy," said Jochen Martin, the Managing Director of "Messe Berlin", at the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) trade fair opening press conference Monday.

Martin predicts the 1999 tourism results will also have a positive impact on the ITB fair which kicks off at the Berlin exhibition grounds March 11 and continues until March 15.

Some 8,808 exhibitors - a record number - and 92 additionally represented firms and organistions from 177 countries around the world are to participate at the fair, confirming the ITB’s position as a world market leader in the tourism branch.

All told, 75 per cent of the exhibitors - 6,382 in all - are coming from abroad, Martin noted, when saying the Berlin trade fair "reflects the current state of international tourism, an industry that operates on a global scale".

Figures released by the Madrid-based World Tourism Organisation reveal a more positive tourist trend in the Asia-pacific region, said Raimund Hosch, Messe Berlin’s board management chief.

The region had been able to "cancel out" the decline in the number of tourism arrivals that resulted from the economic crisis of 1988.

"Tourism there has returned to its previous levels, with the number of arrivals rising by 7.5 per cent to 94 million, compared to the weaker results of the previous year."

Singapore reported an 11 per cent tourism increase, Malaysia eight per cent and Thailand 5.6 per cent. The resumption of growth in the sector was taking place parallel with the upturn in the Asian market, claimed Hosch.

Other destinations that had achieved substantial growth were Central America, plus 23 per cent, the middle east, 17.5 per cent and South America, ten per cent.

The nine per cent rise in tourist arrivals in Africa was almost three times the world average, with Morocco increasing results by 22 per cent, Zimbabwe 17 per cent and Zambia, 26 per cent. But Europe had fared less well.

For Europe, 1999 tended to be only a moderate one for tourism, with growth of only one per cent. The best results were attained by Spain, up 8.8 per cent, Greece (5 per cent) and Portugal with three per cent more tourism arrivals.

But several countries in Central and Eastern Europe had suffered a drop in tourist levels. In Hungary the number of tourist arrivals fell 13.8 per cent last year, as did Poland’s by 4.5 per cent and the Czech Republic’s by 1.8 per cent.

But "new" destinations such as Estonia, which had a 10.3 per cent increase, and Latvia (5.8 per cent), were able to attract the interest of the travelling public.

Hosch says that if the WTO is to be believed, China will be attracting the largest number of tourism arrivals by 2020.

Hong Kong, too, will increase its share of the market to become "one of the most heavily visited destinations, while the Russian federation is also tipped to join the ranks of the leading countries.

Together with South Africa, Thailand and Singapore will also continue to climb up the international table, according to the WTO, but they will still fall short of the top ten leading countries.

The ITB fair takes place at a time when Berlin is enjoying a tourism boom. In, 1999 the city received 4.17 million visitors, 16.3 per cent more than the year before. Overnight stays rose by a million to 9.3 million.

Sixty thousand trade visitors are expected to attend the Berlin fair this year, which this year is putting particular emphasis on the growing travel market for the over 50s, said Messe Director Martin.

The tourism sector was becoming increasingly aware of the enormous potential of the senior citizen market, he said. (DPA)

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