HONDA

Honda's July global output jumps on demand for Fit

TOKYO (AP) - Honda reported that its global production in July jumped 17.7 percent to 342,152 vehicles, a record for that month, highlighting the Japanese automaker's solid growth amid serious trouble at American rivals.

While soaring gas prices have hurt the world's auto industry, Honda's global sales have grown, led by the Fit subcompact, which was the best-selling car in Japan in July for the ninth month in a row.

Mazda Motor Corp. also reported robust global production for July - up 25.5 percent to 126,025 vehicles.

The Hiroshima-based partner of U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. credited healthy demand for Mazda2, sold as the Demio in Japan, and Mazda6, or Atenza in Japan, for the production increase.

Honda Motor Co., the country's second-biggest automaker, produces more autos overseas than at home. Output abroad shot up 19.3 percent to 229,996 vehicles, while domestic production rose 14.5 percent to 112,156, the first rise in 11 months.

Behind the growth was record production in North America and Asia in July, it said.

July's total output was shy of Honda's monthly production record of 363,532 vehicles last October.

All the world's automakers are struggling to shift their product offerings from the more profitable but gas-guzzling trucks and sport utility vehicles to smaller models.

Honda's exports declined in July for the third straight month at 56,415 vehicles, down 6.9 percent from a year ago.

Despite a falling dollar that hurts the earnings of global Japanese exporters, Honda reported a record 179.6 billion yen (US$1.68 billion) profit for a fiscal first quarter.

U.S. auto sales slumped to a 16-year low in July as automakers failed to keep up with consumers' growing demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

American sales at Ford, General Motors Corp. and even Toyota Motor Corp. are falling by double-digits.

Honda had reported U.S. sales increases in the last few months as consumers flocked to its fuel-efficient cars.

But Honda's sales fell 2 percent in July, as a 22 percent drop in truck and SUV sales dragged on a 14 percent surge in Honda's car sales.

SOURCE: http://thestar.com.my

HYGIENE SURVEY

Home hygiene survey
Tan Teong Li



THE Hygiene Council, a global initiative supported by Dettol, recently revealed the following results in the annual Dettol Global Hygiene Survey.

The survey is based on interviews conducted with over 10,000 people from 10 countries about hygiene practices in the home and community.

• 70% of swabs and samples taken in Malaysia were highly contaminated. The dirtiest items were cloths – 100% were heavily contaminated.

• Malaysian homes had the most heavily contaminated sites (70%), with Indian homes coming in second (57%) and German homes (6%) being the least contaminated.

• Most Malaysians (47%) agree that hand washing is the most effective way to prevent the spread of germs. However, 31% said they spend less than 20 seconds in the process.

• Most Malaysians (71%) believe that the rubbish bin posed the highest risk of transmitting germs to family members.

According to the survey, which included 1,000 Malaysians, more people agreed that hand washing is the most effective way to prevent the spread of germs (47%), followed by disinfecting surfaces (29%), keeping animals out of homes (12%), avoiding kissing (7%) and disinfecting laundry (2%).

A large majority (80%) said that their children wash their hands before eating. However, when asked how long they spent doing it, 34% said five seconds and another 34% said 10 seconds.

Asian Hygiene Council chairman Dr Christopher Lee said: "The optimum time for washing hands is 20 seconds.

"Washing hands is the most inexpensive, simple and highly effective method for significantly preventing the spread of diseases."

The kitchen cloth is universally one of the most contaminated items in the home. Some 89% of kitchen cloths across the world have unsatisfactory levels of bacteria and 78% are heavily contaminated (it is 100% in Malaysia).

This means that when cleaning up, bacteria will be spread all over the kitchen – the opposite effect of cleaning.

Overall, Malaysia had the most contaminated homes in the study, followed by India.

Malaysia had the dirtiest bathroom taps, with 95% failing the standard and 75% being found to be heavily contaminated. Detailed results showed high levels of E. coli (on 50% samples).

"Greater emphasis needs to be placed on using simple, effective hygiene habits such as proper and regular hand washing and surface disinfection," said Catherine Tantoco, marketing director of Reckitt Benckiser (Malaysia and Singapore), the manufacturers of Dettol.

"The public should use disinfectant on frequently touched surfaces such as light switches, door handles, bins and toys.

"Dettol is committed to promoting good hygiene practices in the community not just through the quality of its products but also through public education initiatives.

"As a brand, we continue to be trusted by doctors and mothers because we are scientifically proven to kill germs and prevent the spread of infection," she added.

The work of the Asian Hygiene Council is supported by Dettol through an educational grant.

ARTICLES SOURCE: http://www.sun2surf.com

TRAVEL INSURANCE

5 Key Benefits Of Travel Insurance

by Gary Zivkovich

The travel insurance is most essential for the business travelers group as well as normal citizens.

The insurance company as well as travel agencies also provides the coverage while you are on travel for either longer time or for the shorter travel plan. Based on your needs, the insurance company as well as travel agencies provides the better option to the travelers those feet to their needs.

There are various types of benefits offered by the insurance companies or travel agencies.

1. The travel insurance companies offer maximum coverage to the insured person to gives more benefits incase of accident or any types of illness.

2. The travel insurance provider provides deductibles based on your needs. It is based on the types of policy terms.

3. Some travel insurance agencies gives deductibles or co-payment against the some percentage cover under the medical expenses. It is based on the individual companies to decide the term or percentage of co-payment.

4. The travel insurance does not pay if they suspect the misuse of drugs or involvement in the narcotics activities.

5. The insurance company provides the coverage incase of mobilization of ill or injured person based on your needs. The transportation cost will cover under the medical expenses. Same way the insurance company also gives the discharge cost from the hospitals of the insured person.

It is up to you to select the plan based on your needs. It is most important to select the proper plan according to the risk associated with you.

articles source: http://www.goarticles.com

CHIKUNGUNYA

Introduction

What is Chikungunya?

Chikungunya fever is a viral disease transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito.

Signs and Symptoms

The incubation period of chikungunya fever is usually 3-7 days. The symptoms are very similar to that of dengue, but unlike dengue, hemorrhagic or shock syndrome does not take place with chikungunya fever.

The infected person may experience the following symptoms:

• fever
• chills
• headache
• fatigue
• nausea
• vomiting
• muscle pain
• rash
• joint pain.

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Treatment

There are currently no medications or vaccines for the treatment of chikungunya fever. However lots of rest, a nutritious diet, plenty of fluids and mild pain medications may relieve symptoms of fever and body aches. If you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above, you are advised to see a doctor immediately.

Prevention

Tips when travelling:

• Use insect repellent on exposed skin surfaces when outdoors, especially during the day.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors.
• Where possible, stay in accommodations that have secure screens on windows or air-conditioning to keep the mosquitoes out.

However if you still develop a fever, see a doctor immediately to test your blood for any signs of the chikungunya virus. If your blood test shows positive signs of the virus, stay indoors to limit mosquito bites in order to avoid further spread of the infection.

At home, the prevention of chikungunya fever is similar to that of dengue fever. Clear any stagnant water in flower vases, flower pots, roof gutters and watering cans to prevent the breeding of its carrier, the Aedes mosquito



ARTICLES SOURCE: http://www.myhealth.gov.my

ELECTRICAL SAFETY

Free electrical safety tips

by Sir Sparks



One of the most common concerns of our customers is the safety of their electrical installation; almost everyone is understandably wary of something they can neither see, smell nor hear, yet is capable of killing or setting fire in an instant. There are a few basic do it yourself safety rules that will help you reduce the risks, we would like to deal with a few of the more simply detectable ones in this article.


Current National Electrical code, or NEC, requires the use of GFCI protection on receptacles and other equipment in certain wet locations such as bathrooms, swimming pools and yards, These areas are mainly where the presence of water will greatly increase the risk and severity of electrical shock, this GFCI protection will eliminate almost all fatalities and is a critical safety measure. Make sure at least once a month that your device protection works. This is the simple action of pressing a Test button to see if the receptacle or circuit breaker automatically disconnects, if it does it is working correctly, and you can simply reset it.


Another important safety measure is the regular inspection of extension cords, a damaged cord can be a significant risk of both electrical shock and fire, yet a quick visual inspection for cuts or chaffing to the cord will eliminate most of the risk. Never use electrical tape to make temporary repairs, if it is damaged simply throw it away, the extra few dollars spent could easily save your, or a loved ones life.


A common practice in most homes is the use of multiple outlet extension cords; often tucked away behind stereo equipment or TV's, this modern entertainment equipment requires a lot of power which can easily overheat these multiple outlets, even worse they are in a hidden location often with very poor ventilation increasing the risk of fire drastically. Visually check behind the back of your entertainment equipment, if it looks like spaghetti then you need extra receptacles added, both for safety and convenience.


An over zealous electrical do-it-yourselfer is probably one of the greatest risks of all, and yet is possibly the most difficult to detect. Whereas a poor carpentry or other trade job is easily recognized, behind the wall or in attic wiring mistakes often go unnoticed by the homeowner, yet is serious potential fire risk, even worse a fire starting in a location not visible until it's too late.


The only sure way to protect against this last risk is by contacting a professional licensed electrical contractor to check out your wiring, some of these professionals will even make a basic safety check free of charge. Other important yet simple things they should check on are;

Tightness of all terminations in electrical panels. Inspection for signs of overheating in panels. Correct identification of circuits Compliance with National Electrical Code. Correct polarity and grounding of receptacles Correct operation of Arc Fault Devices. Correct Service entrance wiring and grounding.


If you are not the first owner of your home, or it is an older home the risks are much greater. both for deteriorated wiring and previous do-it-yourself work. Even with a new home remember that during our recent housing boom a County/City Electrical Inspector often had a busy schedule, and could only make the briefest of inspections.



articles source: http://www.goarticles.com

Tips for avoiding spam

by Wayne Dunne

Spam is an ongoing problem for all internet users. But by changing your behavior online you can reduce your exposure to spammers and thus help reduce the amount of spam messages that you receive.

The tips in this post can help prevent more spam from reaching you.

Tip #1 - Do not click on the Unsubscribe link on HTML based spam

Clicking on the link will only confirm to the spammer that your email address is active. Trying to unsubscribe in this circumstance will only lead to even greater amounts of spam.

Tip #2 - Do not publish your email address on your website

As a rule of thumb, do not do this. Spammers regularly harvest websites for email addresses knowing that these accounts will be active. If you wish to provide a way for visitors to your website to contact you then do it using a contact form.

Tip #3 - Do not open attachments from people that you do not know

Opening attachments from senders that you do not recognise is giving the sender an opportunity to take control of your system, do not do this. Even if when you do know the sender do not open it unless you are expecting an attachment from them. A virus could have infected their system and be trying to replicate. If you are unsure always delete first and then contact the sender. If the attachment was valid they can always resend it.

Tip #4 - Do not load images in HTML emails

Spammers can use images within HTML to confirm that your email address is active. These images load from a remote server which alerts the spammer to the fact that you have viewed them.

Tip #5 - Report spam offenders

When you receive spam report the sender using a services like spamcop, by doing this you can aid others in preventing spam.

Tip #6 - Do not use your main email address for email lists

If you need to sign up for email lists then sign up to these lists using an account from a free provider such as yahoo or gmail.

Tip #7 - Do not allow companies to share your information with third parties

When you sign up for a product or services online be sure to uncheck any boxes during sign up that gives permission for the company to share your information with third parties.

Tip #8 - Do not list your email address in online directories

When on websites with options such as to list your contact details in an online directory you should always decline.

Tip #9 - Do not click on any links in spam emails

When you receive a spam message containing a link to a website do not click on the link. By clicking the link you are telling that spammer that your account is active and the consequence will be more spam being sent to you.

Tip #10 - Avoid using a common firstname as an email address

Many spammers try to brute force valid account names on a mail server. They will simply try to send mail to hundreds of different combinations of address at your domain in an effort to figure out valid addresses. Examples of this would be to try sending emails to john@yourdomain.com , ann@yourdomain.com , bob@yourdomain.com , xzy@yourdomain.com to see if any of them are successful. If an email to ann@yourdomain.com is successful then the spammer will know that he has hit a valid account and will use it in the future to send spam messages to this account.

Tip #11 - Use temporary or throwaway accounts

Sign up for free email accounts that will allow you to redirect mail. Set up an account with the free provider and redirect it to your own account. Any emails sent to this account will now come in to your main account. Once the spam levels on your temporary account get too high then simply turn off the redirection of mail and if at all possible close the account and go get yourself a fresh account following the same guidelines. Each time the temporary account becomes a target of too much spam for your liking, drop it and start with a fresh account.Use the temporary account for untrusted communications such as sign up forms on websites or any place else you deem appropriate.

articles source: http://www.goarticles.com

AFFILIATE MARKETING

For Success With Affiliate Marketing Choose the Correct Affiliate Site Topic

by Jude Wright

Many people slap up a website, add a bunch of banners and think that they are going to make a ton of money. Sorry...not true. It takes a lot more than some pretty banners and minimal content to make a website profitable. To make money with affiliate marketing, you first need to make sure that you are choosing the correct affiliate programs and topics. If most people really paid attention, they would realize that they chose a program simply because it pays more than others. This high pay will not mean much if they cannot sell the program to make money.

For example, if you have a website a blog setup it is always good practice to put up affiliate links that have something to do with what your site is about. It is not very likely that you will get buyers from your links if you put up banners about high heels on a video game website. You need to choose the right topics because you want to target certain people.

Even offline, big companies make their money by trying to target the sex and age group of the people they think will be more likely to buy the product. For those high heel banner ads, you will get someone to buy from your affiliate if your website is about women's shoes or overall fashion.

It can be tempting to throw up off topic links if you have a site that gets many visitors but by choosing the correct topic, you are showing these affiliate links to a certain target group. These visitors are on your site because of the topic, the title and what your website is about. They want to look at and read what you have to offer. They won't pay much attention to advertising that has nothing to do with them.

Targeted advertising does not do much in more recent times because people have become almost blind to them. They have learned to look past the flashing banners to quickly find the information that they are seeking. If there is nothing of interest, they will hit the back button and continue on their search.

Another reason to choose the correct topic is so that you are advertising something that you understand. Due to the fact that you should be choosing ads that complement your website; you should know what the product is about. If you have created a site solely to get people to buy, you want to know what you are talking about. Choosing a product that you have never used or even heard of can be difficult when you can't give your visitors information about it because you don't know or understand the topic.

So, if you want to make a "real" business from an affiliate website, choose a topic that you know something about. Everyone has some passion or hobby that he or she just loves to talk about. Build your website around YOUR own interests. You'll be better able to recommend appropriate affiliate programs to match that interest...and you'll be less likely to be bored working on your website.

articles source: http://www.goarticles.com

STAY HEALTHY

How You Can Stay Healthy and Avoid Practically Any Disease

by Daniel Brown

I hear so many people say they don't want to live to be old. In fact, I was talking to my 45 year-old friend just the other day. She said she only wants to live to be 75. I told when she's 74, she might change her mind.

Her fear is (as is most people's), that getting old results in getting sick. But, I'm here to tell you, it doesn't have to be that way! Many of the diseases that are prevalent today are man-made. In other words, they're largely due to modern lifestyle habits such as:

Consistently subjecting oneself to stress Consistently eating high fat foods •Consistently eating a diet low in nutrients Neglecting exercise Exposing oneself toenvironmental toxin

I'm going to make a statement that's gonna sound rather narrow minded, but I truly believe it... Nothing on the earth is more valuable than your health! Not your career, not your money, and not even your family!

I know what you may be thinking... "Nothing is more important to me than my family!"

Let me explain it this way; if you lose your health, your family is gonna suffer with you. Surely, you don't want that! So, if you truly value your family, then you should put a priority on your health and well-being.

Now, there are three areas that will help us live long and healthy, and give us a better chance of avoiding degenerative diseases...

1. Balanced nutrition

A lot of the food we eat in today's world is over-processed with various chemicals and preservatives added to improve taste and increase shelf life. All this processing leads to nutritional deficiencies in our bodies.

Obviously, we should eat balanced meals and provide them for our families on a regular basis. But unfortunately, it can be rather difficult with all the demands that are placed on us day in and day out. That's why it's so important to include natural health supplements in our daily diets!

2. Physical activity

It's a well-known fact that exercise significantly lowers our chances of developing potentially fatal illnesses. One of the ways it does this is by eliminating stress.

So many of us are stressed beyond comprehension. We're so busy running around trying to get things done, we don't even realize how stressed we really are!

It's unfortunate that many of us don't even realize what stress is doing to our bodies! I don't want to go into it here, but it certainly is bad news! Just know that remaining active throughout your life will help you stay healthy and disability-free as you age.

3. Healthy lifestyle

Today's world is much more toxic than it use to be, and it seems to be getting worse! These toxins that we're constantly exposed to cause cellular damage. Therefore, making a deliberate effort to avoid excess food additives, second-hand smoke, and stress, to name just a few, will give us a fighting chance to preserve our health.

Conclusion

Making an effort to live a healthy lifestyle is critical! My 45 year old friend doesn't understand that - she's a smoker with no desire to quit. What does she expect? To live to be a healthy 75 year old, with hopes of just dropping dead in order to avoid sicknesses associated with old age? Well, if she doesn't make any effort, she may not even make it to 75.

articles source: http://www.goarticles.com