The app transmits a caller's position and send back the taxi's position and possible arrival time to the cell phone.

 

　　Shanghai Dazhong Taxi Co started its service early this month and Shanghai Qiangsheng Taxi Co is expected to launch a trial next week.

 

　　Both companies now offer only Chinese versions of the smartphone services, while developer of Qiangsheng's system said they will consider introducing an English version after the Chinese one runs smoothly.

 

　　Dazhong's system, now only for iPhone, can be downloaded from www.96822.com. It can search for vacant cabs within 500 to 1,000 meters to the caller and send the cab's position, plate number and booking number to the caller's smartphone.

 

　　Qiangsheng's system can be used by iOS and Android.

 

　　GLOBAL TIMES

 

　　New air rescue only for the rich

 

　　A year after the Beijing Red Cross announced its new emergency air rescue service, it has only been used twice, by a foreigner and a patient covered by a foreign insurance policy.

 

　　The service is out of reach to most Chinese. Even in life-threatening situations, people must pay upfront to use the service.

 

　　Official from Beijing Red Cross says the air emergency rescue services can cost over 100-thousand yuan or 16-thousand US dollars a trip, which is too expensive for most people.

 

　　To make the service more accessible as it enters its second year, the Beijing Red Cross is negotiating with insurance companies to launch air rescue insurance next year.

 

　　When a patient phones 999, the center will contact with the airline companies first and to apply for a flight.

 

　　During the same time, the emergency center will send doctors to the patients to see whether their condition is suitable for the air transportation.

 

　　JAKARTA POST

 

　　"Charity initiatives to mark Xmas, NYE events"

 

　　As Christmas is a perfect moment for sharing, the InterContinental Bali Resort in Jimbaran is one of Indonesia's hotels holding a special charity initiative in the spirit of giving back to the local community.

 

　　A tree decorated with wooden angels will be displayed in the hotel lobby.

 

　　These angels can be purchased for a small donation and the funds raised will go to the children of Panti Salam orphanage for their education and daily living costs.

 

　　Designed to transcend boundaries and embrace diversity, the program will celebrate the spirit of the festive season by taking different needs into careful consideration.

 

　　Visiting an orphanage located in the north part of Denpasar to share the joy of Christmas with the children is one of the items on the year-end agenda for Harris Hotel and Resort Sunset Road.

 

　　So the orphans have more fun at this special moment, the team will also bring them Christmas cupcakes prepared by the hotel's chefs.

 

　　REUTERS

 

　　"Whole grains linked to lower prediabetes risk"

 

　　A new research shows that eating whole grains is associated with a decreased risk of prediabetes, a blood sugar elevation that can precede diabetes in adults.

 

　　Swedish residents who ate food containing more than 59 grams of whole grains per day were 27 percent less likely to become prediabetic compared with residents who ate 30 grams or less.

 

　　The American Diabetes Association estimates that one in four Americans older than 20 have prediabetes.

 

　　Nearly a quarter of people with prediabetes eventually develop full-blown diabetes.

 

　　Previous research has linked whole grain rich diets with a decreased risk of diabetes, but the new study makes the connection to the disease precursor.

 

　　Whole grains range from oatmeal to popcorn, from brown rice to whole wheat - as long as the entire kernel is consumed.

 

　　A similar Dutch study found losing weight was the most important factor for people with prediabetes to revert back to normal blood sugar level.