YCLOAK

Bacon, Sugary Sodas, Too Few Nuts Tied to Big Portion of US Deaths

By Yscien on Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Gorging on bacon, skimping on nuts? These are among food habits that new research links with deaths from heart disease, strokes and diabetes.

Overeating or not eating enough of 10 specific foods and nutrients contributes to nearly half of U.S. deaths from these causes, the study suggests.

”Good” foods that were undereaten are nuts and seeds; seafood rich in omega-3 fats, including salmon and sardines; fruits and vegetables; and whole grains.

”Bad” foods or nutrients that were overeaten include salt and salty foods; processed meats including bacon, bologna and hot dogs; red meat including steaks and hamburgers; and sugary drinks.

The research is based on U.S. government data showing there were about 700,000 deaths in 2012 from heart disease, strokes and diabetes, and on an analysis of national health surveys that asked participants about their eating habits. Most didn’t eat the recommended amounts of the foods studied.

The 10 ingredients combined contributed to about 45 percent of those deaths, according to the study.

More detail on risks, benefits

It may sound like a familiar attack on the typical American diet, and the research echoes previous studies on the benefits of heart-healthy eating. But the study goes into more detail on specific foods and their risks or benefits, said lead author Renata Micha, a public health researcher and nutritionist at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

The results were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Micha said the foods and nutrients were singled out because of research linking them with the causes of death studied. For example, studies have shown that excess salt can increase blood pressure, putting stress on arteries and the heart. Nuts contain healthy fats that can improve cholesterol levels, while bacon and other processed meats contain saturated fats that can raise levels of unhealthy LDL cholesterol.

In the study, too much salt was the biggest problem, linked with nearly 10 percent of the deaths. Overeating processed meats and undereating nuts and seeds and seafood each were linked with about 8 percent of the deaths.

The Food and Drug Administration’s recent voluntary sodium reduction guidelines for makers of processed foods is a step in the right direction, as are taxes that some U.S. cities have imposed on sugar-sweetened beverages, Micha said.

A journal editorial said public health policies targeting unhealthy eating could help prevent some deaths, while noting that the study didn’t constitute solid proof that ”suboptimal” diets were deadly.

The study’s recommended amounts, based on U.S. government guidelines, nutrition experts’ advice, and amounts found to be beneficial or harmful in previous research:

‘Good’ ingredients

— Fruits: 3 average-sized fruits daily

— Vegetables: 2 cups cooked or 4 cups raw vegetables daily

— Nuts/seeds: 5 1-ounce servings per week — about 20 nuts per serving

— Whole grains: 2½ daily servings

— Polyunsaturated fats, found in many vegetable oils: 11 percent of daily calories

— Seafood: about 8 ounces weekly

‘Bad’ ingredients

— Red meat: 1 serving weekly — 1 medium steak or the equivalent

— Processed meat: None recommended

— Sugary drinks: None recommended

— Salt: 2,000 milligrams daily — just under a teaspoon.
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Science

Study: Diabetes Linked to Cancer in Asia

By Yscien on Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Researchers at New York University’s School of Medicine found that diabetes increased the risk of cancer death among Asians by an average of 26 percent, a statistic similar in the West.

Data for the new study drew on an analysis of 770,000 people with Type 2 diabetes throughout East and South Asia. Diabetics were followed for an average of 13 years to see if they developed cancer and what types. During that time more than 37,300 cancer deaths were identified.

Yu Chen, an epidemiology professor at the NYU School of Medicine’s Department of Population Health who was the study’s lead author, says Asians with Type 2 diabetes are more likely to be diagnosed with rarer cancers than Westerners, including cancers of the liver, thyroid and kidney which was double the risk compared to non-diabetics in Asia.

There was also a more than two and a half times increased risk of cancer of the endometrium and a 1.7 times higher risk of breast cancer among diabetic Asians compared to those who were not diabetic.

The number of cancers of the gallbladder and bile ducts in Asia were comparable to those in the West, according to Chen. Those sites are closer in the body to the pancreas, where insulin is made.

Chen thinks there may be several mechanisms at work, but data suggests that insulin may in some way stimulate the growth of cancer.

“Patients with diabetes that have high levels of insulin, some cancers are very sensitive to insulin, so it may promote the tumor growing,” she said.

The findings were published in the journal Diabetologia.

Chen said the study was undertaken because there’s been little research on an association between diabetes and cancer in Asia.

She said the research suggests Type 2 diabetes should be added to the list of cancer risk factors, along with diet and cigarette smoking.

“Cancer prevention needs to take into account for diabetes the lifestyles related to diabetes – [which] may reduce the risk of diabetes and also cancer,” she said.

Chen suggested that diabetics should receive more cancer screenings, in addition to medical interventions to reduce the risk of diabetes overall.
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Science

Brazil Launches Database to Fight Illegal Amazon Logging

By Yscien on Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Brazil’s federal environmental agency, Ibama, launched on Tuesday a centralized database to track timber from source to sale, a vital step in the fight against illegal logging in the Amazon.

The system, known as Sinaflor, allows individual trees to be electronically tagged and monitored as they are cut down and pass through the supply chain, with regulators able to check the database via their cell phones while on patrol.

With built-in satellite mapping, timber being sold as legal can be checked against the exact area of licensed commercial production it is claimed to originate from.

The system marks a step change from the current system, which environmentalists criticize as being open to fraud and human error as databases are isolated, poorly managed and cannot be easily accessed to verify documentation attached to timber.

“The new system offers a much more comprehensive process of control,” Suely Araújo, president of Ibama, said in an interview in her office in Brasilia. “What’s not in Sinaflor will be illegal timber.”

The system is the result of four years of work and was envisioned under the forest code passed into law in 2012, which gave the federal government power to create and manage a national system to regulate the supply chain of timber.

Illegal logging is one of the greatest threats to the preservation of the Amazon. In the year until July 2016, Amazonian rainforest six times the size of Los Angeles was cut down.

That was the second rise in two years, ending a 10-year period in which deforestation was dramatically reduced. Brazil’s Environment Ministry, under which Ibama falls, has vowed to reverse the trend.

Sinaflor has already been piloted in the state of Roraima and is being introduced this week in Rondonia. The states are legally obliged to use the system, and Araújo expects to have it up and running across the country by the end of the year.

“When we manage to implement it in the whole country, I think it will be a step change in terms of control,” Araújo said.
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Economy

Fearing Cuts to Bread Subsidy, Egyptians Protest

By Yeco on Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Hundreds of Egyptians protested around the country on Tuesday, blocking roads and surrounding government offices, after a change to the way bread rations are managed raised fears that the government was cutting food subsidies by the back door.

Bread subsidies are an explosive issue in Egypt, where over 70 million receive state rations. Core inflation in the country has soared above 30 percent since Egypt floated its currency in November, securing a $12 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support a government austerity program.

Protests began on Monday after changes to a bread subsidy scheme left some people without their ration.

Unrest grew on Tuesday, with angry crowds gathering in the port city of Alexandria, in at least one poor Cairo neighborhood, and several other cities across Egypt.

Supply—Uprising became the top trending Twitter hashtag for Egypt as Egyptians posted pictures of confused people outside bakeries and in the street.

“We were surprised when the bakers refused to give us bread with the excuse that the Supply Ministry reduced their rations,” said Ahmed Faraj, an Alexandria resident.

Most protests drew small crowds and dissipated quickly, but offered the first major evidence of public anger over rising living costs.

“We are suffering from high prices. We have nothing left to live on but bread and now the government wants to deprive us of it,” said Samia Darwish, a 50-year-old homemaker in Alexandria.

Sale of bread subsidized

Egypt operates a system in which each family receives a plastic card to buy five subsidized loaves per person per day.

The government then pays bakeries a subsidy per loaf.

Bakers also receive “gold cards” to sell bread to individuals without a smartcard — generally those waiting for cards.

The Supply Ministry issued a statement on Monday denying it planned to cut bread subsidies after local media reported that rations would go from five to three loaves a day.

However, last week it did reduce the amount bakers can sell via the “gold card” scheme, according to a document seen by Reuters. The move is likely aimed at reducing misuse of those cards, which costs the government hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

Bread sales lead to black market

A Reuters report last year revealed flaws in the system allow bakers to overstate sales to profit from the black market, where they sell subsidized flour to private bakeries at a profit, costing the government billions of pounds.

The dangers are not lost on President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, in a country where economic discontent has helped unseat two presidents in five years. He has promised prosperity and stability in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, and has committed to protecting the poorest from the pain of austerity.

“We want the president to know that the poor are dying of the high prices,” said Gamal Ahmed, from Alexandria.

Abdel Aal Darwish, the head of the bakeries division at the Alexandria Chambers of Commerce, called on the government to reverse the move and issue all Egyptians with cards.
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Essential

You programmer and developer

By YouCloak on Wednesday, March 8, 2017

A programmer, computer programmer, developer, dev, coder, or software engineer is a person who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to programming may also be known as a programmer analyst. A programmer’s primary computer language (Assembly, COBOL, C, C++, C#, Java, Lisp, Python, etc.) is often prefixed to these titles, and those who work in a Web environment often prefix their titles with Web. The term programmer can be used to refer to a software developer, Web developer, mobile applications developer, embedded firmware developer, software engineer, computer scientist, or software analyst. However, members of these professions possess other software engineering skills, beyond programming; for this reason, the term programmer, or code monkey, is sometimes considered an insulting or derogatory oversimplification of these other professions. This has sparked much debate amongst developers, analysts, computer scientists, programmers, and outsiders who continue to be puzzled at the subtle differences in the definitions of these occupations.

Testing and debugging

Programmers test a program by running it and looking for bugs (errors). As they are identified, the programmer usually makes the appropriate corrections, then rechecks the program until an acceptably low level and severity of bugs remain. This process is called testing and debugging. These are important parts of every programmer’s job. Programmers may continue to fix these problems throughout the life of a program. Updating, repairing, modifying, and expanding existing programs is sometimes called maintenance programming. Programmers may contribute to user guides and online help, or they may work with technical writers to do such work.

Application versus system programming

Computer programmers often are grouped into two broad types: application programmers and systems programmers. Application programmers write programs to handle a specific job, such as a program to track inventory within an organization. They also may revise existing packaged software or customize generic applications which are frequently purchased from independent software vendors. Systems programmers, in contrast, write programs to maintain and control computer systems software, such as operating systems and database management systems. These workers make changes in the instructions that determine how the network, workstations, and CPU of the system handle the various jobs they have been given and how they communicate with peripheral equipment such as printers and disk drives.

Types of software

Programmers in software development companies may work directly with experts from various fields to create software – either programs designed for specific clients or packaged software for general use – ranging from video games to educational software to programs for desktop publishing and financial planning. Programming of packaged software constitutes one of the most rapidly growing segments of the computer services industry. Some companies or organizations – even small ones – have set up their own IT team to ensure the design and development of in-house software to answer to very specific needs from their internal end-users, especially when existing software are not suitable or too expensive. This is for example the case in research laboratories.

In some organizations, particularly small ones, people commonly known as programmer analysts are responsible for both the systems analysis and the actual programming work. The transition from a mainframe environment to one that is based primarily on personal computers (PCs) has blurred the once rigid distinction between the programmer and the user. Increasingly, adept end users are taking over many of the tasks previously performed by programmers. For example, the growing use of packaged software, such as spreadsheet and database management software packages, allows users to write simple programs to access data and perform calculations.

In addition, the rise of the Internet has made web development a huge part of the programming field. Currently more software applications are web applications that can be used by anyone with a web browser. Examples of such applications include the Google search service, the Outlook.com e-mail service, and the Flickr photo-sharing service.

Programming editors, also known as source code editors, are text editors that are specifically designed for programmers or developers for writing the source code of an application or a program. Most of these editors include features useful for programmers, which may include color syntax highlighting, auto indentation, auto-complete, bracket matching, syntax check, and allows plug-ins. These features aid the users during coding, debugging and testing.
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Science

Scientists Outline High Cost of ‘Nuisance Flooding’ Along US Coasts

By Yscien on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Minor floods caused by rising sea levels may end up costing U.S. coastal communities as much money and resources as major hurricane disasters, U.S. scientists said.

As climate change causes sea levels to rise, such “nuisance flooding” is expected to become more frequent and costly for cities like Washington, San Francisco, Boston and Miami, researchers said.

Over the last 20 years, Washington has endured more than 94 hours a year of nuisance flooding. By 2050, the capital could see as many as 700 hours of flooding a year, the scientists estimated in a study published in the American Geophysical Union journal Earth’s Future.

“Since these events are not extreme, they don’t get a lot of attention,” said Amir AghaKouchak, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California-Irvine and co-author of the study.

Inconvenience to public

The National Ocean Service defines nuisance flooding as “flooding that leads to public inconveniences such as road closures” but rarely causes death or injury. Such floods can overwhelm storm drains, slowly degenerate infrastructure and strain city resources.

Roads and sidewalks were not built to be under saltwater for hours on end, and cities usually have to close roads and send in trucks to clean them up, the scientists said.

“They definitely can’t withstand this,” said lead author Hamed Moftakhari, also of UC-Irvine. And the damage leads to “long, drawn-out costs,” he added.

In Boston specifically, “king tides” overwhelm walkways and roads several times a year. The East Coast city is predicted to see up to 100 hours of such nuisance flooding a year by 2030, the UC-Irvine scientists said.

Residents have already noticed the semifrequent inconvenience, according to Mia Goldwasser, Boston’s climate preparedness program manager.

“There are always people sending pictures to the city, saying, ‘Look at all the flooding happening with very little rain,’ ” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview this week. The city has already noted several waterfront hot spots where “it’s going to be worse [in the future] if there’s already flooding.”

More awareness

The flooding has raised awareness among the general public to the everyday realities of climate change, Goldwasser added: “It’s an inconvenience to people when they’re walking and driving and biking, moving around their neighborhood.”

The scientists are using the data as a “call to action” for coastal cities to examine the issue and decide on the best ways to respond to rising sea levels.

“We believe that if you have information on the type of hazard, the potential cost, then you can plan,” said AghaKouchak.

Boston has begun to come up with ideas to mitigate the effects of rising seas on infrastructure, which include floodproofing properties and potentially building a massive seawall.

Some roads and buildings may become corroded by nuisance floods, while others could end up completely under water, Goldwasser said.

“There’s still a lot that we don’t know, that we’re trying to figure out,” she said. “What are the most effective solutions? … How do we actually implement them?”

As for the total cost of the floods over the next few decades, Goldwasser said that’s still to be determined, though it’s expected to be “pretty significant.”
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Economy

Brazil’s Worst-ever Recession Unexpectedly Deepens in Late 2016

By Yeco on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Brazil’s worst-ever recession intensified unexpectedly in the final quarter of 2016, data showed on Tuesday, frustrating hopes for signs of a recovery and stepping up pressure on President Michel Temer and the central bank to do more to promote growth.

Brazil’s gross domestic product contracted by 3.6 percent last year, statistics agency IBGE said, following a 3.8 percent drop in 2015. The nation’s two-year downturn is the longest and deepest on record for Latin America’s biggest nation.

The economic contraction worsened in the fourth quarter, with a steeper-than-expected decline of 0.9 percent, following a 0.7 percent drop in the previous three months.

Investment tumbled 10.2 percent in 2016, in a sharp drop that is partly blamed by economists on Brazil’s chronically high interest rates.

The central bank started to cut its benchmark rate from a decade-high of 14.25 percent in October and is expected to take it to single digits this year.

The disappointing data fueled calls for the central bank to accelerate the pace of rate cuts, currently running at 75 basis points per meeting. Yields on rate futures showed an increasing chance of a steeper cut when the bank makes its next scheduled policy decision in April, according to traders.

“There’s a lot of idle capacity in the economy and that’s a reason for the central bank to move faster,” said Cristiano Oliveira, chief economist at Sao Paulo-based Banco Fibra, responding to Tuesday’s data.

Slow growth rate expected

The majority view among economists is that Brazil will emerge from recession in 2017, but at a very slow growth rate of 0.5 percent, which would be insufficient to reduce unemployment.

The government has forecast growth of 1 percent.

Some economists tempered their views even further following the dismal performance in 2016.

“We see zero growth in 2017, or maybe just a little bit above that,” said Carlos Kawall, chief economist at Banco Safra, in Sao Paulo. “We should not see any big recovery this year; we will have to wait until 2018.”

Green shoots sprouting slowly

Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles rebuked that pessimism by saying after the figures were announced that Brazil is “clearly” starting to grow again, based on indicators ranging from cardboard and motorcycle production to supermarket sales.

A revised forecast for economic growth in 2017 will be announced by March 22, Meirelles said, taking into account the worse-than-expected fourth-quarter data.

Betting that investors’ growing confidence in Brazil would hold, the government reopened on Tuesday a 10-year global bond seeking to raise at least $500 million.

Signs of an imminent recovery include a rebound in vehicle traffic, which appears to have hit bottom in the fourth quarter, according to a senior executive at CCR SA, the country’s biggest toll road operator.

Car output also jumped nearly 15 percent in February, according to the national automakers’ association Anfavea, and farmers hope to harvest a record soy crop this year.

None of that, however, is likely to make for anything more than a shallow and underwhelming recovery, according to Goldman Sachs economist Alberto Ramos.

“A very weak labor market backdrop and still high levels of household and corporate indebtedness should limit the strength of the recovery,” Ramos said.

Tax hikes not ruled out

The downturn has left nearly 13 million people unemployed, caused a record number of bankruptcy filings and led agencies to strip Brazil of its hard-won investment grade credit rating.

It also contributed to the impeachment of former President Dilma Rousseff last year and to the low approval ratings of her successor, President Temer, whose agenda of budget and pension reforms has helped fuel a strong rally in Brazilian equities and currency since last year.

If the economy continues to disappoint, tax revenues could fall short of expectations, putting the country’s budget target at risk. Meirelles said the government could raise taxes or cut spending further if necessary to achieve its 143.1 billion reais ($45.87 billion) primary deficit goal.

Although this recession has been the deepest in Brazil’s history, it has not been marked by the financial upheaval seen in other crises in the country’s turbulent economic past.

Previous downturns were often accompanied by sovereign debt crises, capital flight and hyperinflation, none of which happened during the current slump.
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Economy

Swiss Firms Will Strive for More Gender Diversity in Workplace Leadership

By Yeco on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Swiss firms from food and beverage giant Nestle to banking groups UBS and Credit Suisse pledged new goals on Tuesday for supporting and promoting women.

While Switzerland has Europe’s second-highest proportion of women in the workforce, it trails global standards on gender diversity in boardrooms and in management positions.

Consultancies EY, Deloitte and PwC and staffing agency Adecco all committed to increase female leadership in their Swiss businesses to between 20 and 35 percent by 2020.

This follows a recent survey by EY that found Swiss firms with at least 20 percent women in top management rated their financial situation as better, while studies by UBS have found companies with greater gender diversity consistently outperform.

Women represent just 6.7 percent of Swiss executives, according to Credit Suisse, compared with a global average of 13.8 percent and European average of 12.6 percent. They occupy one out of eight board seats, half the European average.

Hiring plans

Swiss women-in-business initiative Advance has spearheaded the move, with Credit Suisse’s domestic business saying it would strive for equal hiring in campus recruitment, while Nestle committed to grow the proportion of women in management positions worldwide every year.

Siemens Switzerland pledged to reach equal pay in the next three years, while IKEA Switzerland improved its paid paternity leave to two months.

Switzerland was the second-to-last European country to embrace women’s suffrage in 1971, more than half a century after Norway, Germany, Canada and the United States. And it took two decades more for the Swiss supreme court to force one canton to let women take part in local votes in 1990.

IKEA Switzerland head Simona Scarpaleggia, one of just four female CEOs out of 78 in Credit Suisse’s study, helped found Advance in 2013 and says the Swiss system needs to change to make things more straightforward for working mothers.

“Either you give up your time, which happens most often, or you get private support, which is very expensive. It wouldn’t be so complicated to change this system, as many other countries are doing,” said Scarpaleggia, who also co-chairs the U.N. High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, said.

Policy positions

The Swiss government hopes women will help fill a growing shortfall of skilled labor, but it eschews many policies, such as quotas and more parental leave, that promote women elsewhere.

It is among the handful of developed countries that give new fathers no time off, meaning infant care falls largely on women.

High child care costs mean many new mothers opt out of their professions or return part time, generally not returning to full time until children reach age 9, statistics show.

Many women step off the ladder later in their careers, tired of being pigeonholed and passed over for promotions.

“Companies are surprised that, if they look at the statistics, it’s often women between 45 and 50 who are leaving,” said Nia Joynson-Romanzina, who left UBS in 2015 to found consultancy iCubed.

The Advance initiative is seeking to “change Switzerland one company at a time,” Citi Country Officer Kristine Braden said.

“I’m quite optimistic because, despite the conservative approach, Swiss people are very pragmatic,” Scarpaleggia said.
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Economy

US Trade Deficit Hits Highest Level in Nearly 5 Years

By Yeco on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

The U.S. trade deficit in January hit the highest level in nearly five years.

Tuesday’s report from the Commerce Department says the gap between what Americans sell to foreigners and what U.S. customers buy from overseas grew by 9.6 percent for the month to $48.5 billion.

U.S. exports rose six-tenths of a percent, as American companies sold more cars overseas, but U.S. commercial aircraft sales faltered. Export gains were overwhelmed by a surge in imported cell phones and autos, along with rising costs for oil imports.

The head of the White House National Trade Council, Peter Navarro wrote in the Wall Street Journal recently that the trade deficit hurts economic growth and could be a threat to national security.

In a note to journalists, analysts at Wells Fargo Securities say growing exports and imports are also a sign of improving economies in the United States and key trading partners. They blame some of the trade gap on the strength of the U.S. dollar, which means American-made products are more expensive, and harder to sell on global markets.

Other concerns came to light in a survey of hundreds of economists across the nation by the National Association for Business Economics. Many of these experts said expected increases in government spending could increase the deficit.

In a VOA interview, survey committee chair Richard DeKaser said members have concerns about efforts to limit immigration to the United States, and would support allowing more arrivals for highly-skilled migrants.

Housing market

A separate report from a private company says U.S. home prices jumped a strong 6.9 percent during the past year. Tuesday’s report from CoreLogic also forecasts a 4.8 percent price gain over the next year, which is well above the expected rate of inflation. The authors say prices are rising because of economic recovery, limited supply of homes for sale, and continued low mortgage interest rates.

Economists have been watching the housing market with particular care since severe problems in this sector contributed to the Great Recession.
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Economy

Study: Healthy Sex Life Leads to Better Job Satisfaction

By Yeco on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

The secret to better job satisfaction may be as easy as having a healthy sex life, a new study suggests.

According to researchers at Oregon State University, married employees who “prioritized sex at home” were better workers and enjoyed work more.

On the other hand, the research showed that people who bring work-related stress home “impinges on employees’ sex lives,” leading researchers to recommend leaving work at the office.

The reason sex helps workers enjoy work more is that it releases dopamine and oxytocin, both of which are mood enhancers the effects of which can last into the next day. They added that the effects can last for at least 24 hours and worked equally among men and women.

“We make jokes about people having a ‘spring in their step,’ but it turns out this is actually a real thing and we should pay attention to it,” said Keith Leavitt, an associate professor in OSU’s College of Business and an expert in organizational behavior and management. “Maintaining a healthy relationship that includes a healthy sex life will help employees stay happy and engaged in their work, which benefits the employees and the organizations they work for.”

“This is a reminder that sex has social, emotional and physiological benefits, and it is important to make it a priority,” Leavitt said. “Just make time for it.”

For their study, researchers followed 159 married employees for two weeks and had them fill out two brief questionnaires each day. Those who had sex reported better moods the next day, particularly in the morning, which allowed them to be more engaged.

“Making a more intentional effort to maintain a healthy sex life should be considered an issue of human sustainability, and as a result, a potential career advantage,” Leavitt said. “Employers [in the U.S.] can steer their employee engagement efforts more broadly toward work-life balance policies that encourage workers to disconnect from the office,” he said.

The French recently enacted a law that bars after-hours email and gives employees a ‘right to disconnect.’

“Technology offers a temptation to stay plugged in, but it’s probably better to unplug if you can,” he said. “And employers should encourage their employees to completely disengage from work after hours.”

The study was published this month in the Journal of Management.
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Technology

German Court Rejects Injunction for Facebook in Syrian Selfie Case

By Ytech on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

A German court rejected a temporary injunction against Facebook on Tuesday in a case brought by a Syrian refugee who sued the social networking site for failing to remove faked posts linking him to crimes and militant attacks.

The Wuerzburg district court said in a preliminary ruling that Facebook is neither a “perpetrator nor a participant” in what it said was “undisputable defamation” by Facebook users, but simply acting as a hosting provider that is not responsible for preemptively blocking offensive content under European law.

The posts in dispute featured a picture showing Anas Modamani, a 19-year-old from Damascus, taking a selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel in September 2015 at a refugee shelter in the Berlin district of Spandau.

Modamani’s image was subsequently shared on Facebook on anonymous accounts, alongside posts falsely claiming he was responsible for the Brussels airport bombing of March 2016 and setting on fire a homeless man in December last year by six migrants at an underground station in Berlin.

The court rejected the need for a temporary injunction sought by Modamani to require Facebook to go beyond measures the company had taken to block defamatory images of him for Facebook users in Germany using geo-blocking technology.

In a statement following the decision, Facebook expressed concern for Modamani’s predicament but said the court’s ruling showed the company acted quickly to block access to defamatory postings, once they had been reported by Modamani’s lawyer.

The case has been closely watched as Germany, a frequent critic of Facebook, is preparing legislation to force the social networking website to remove “hate speech” from its web pages within 24 hours or face fines.

After the ruling, Modamani’s lawyer in the case, Chan-jo Jun, told a news conference he was disappointed such imagery continued to circulate online and more must be done to force Facebook to delete hate-filled content on its own accord.

“We have to decide whether we want to accept that Facebook can basically do whatever it wants or whether German law, and above all the removal of illegal contents in Germany, will be enforced. If we want that we need new laws,” Jun said.

Modamani’s complaint maintained that defamatory images based on the selfie posted to Facebook were still viewable online outside of Germany, or by users within Germany using a sophisticated Tor browser.

But the court found that the risk of average German users seeing the illegal content was not sufficiently credible and therefore a temporary injunction was unnecessary at this stage.

The ruling said there remained a legitimate issue over whether it was technically feasible for Facebook to do more to block such images, but this would require testimony by experts.

Tuesday’s decision is subject to appeal within one month of the yet-to-be-published written judgment, a court statement said. Jun declined to say whether an appeal was planned, saying the decision remained up to his client.
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Technology

Facebook Rolls Out ‘Fake News’ Dispute Tool

By Ytech on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Facebook has launched a tool it says will help flag so-called fake news.

The tool adds a “disputed news” flag on stories that have been deemed fake by what Facebook says are third parties, including Snopes, Politifact and Factcheck.org.

Facebook announced the disputed news flag in December, but it appears it only has gone live in the past day or so, according to news reports.

If a story is flagged by some of Facebook’s 1.86 billion users, the company will determine which to send to the third parties. If the story is fake, it will still be on Facebook, but will carry a notice that it was disputed along with an explanation about why.

Disputed stories can still be shared, but users will be warned they are sharing fake news.

According to USA Today, one fake news story about how President Trump’s Android phone was the source of White House leaks came from a fake news site called “The Seattle Tribune.” The story now appears with a disputed flag as well as links to third party explanations as to why.

A May 2016 survey from the Nieman Lab said 44 percent of Americans get their news from Facebook.
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Technology

In a Robot Future, Humans Are Still Stars, Technophiles Say

By Ytech on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

From lasers that cut denim at a factory, to drones that irrigate crops, it’s not a new story that machines are doing more work than ever. But people have long feared that robots are coming for their jobs, so technology evangelists now are calling on their peers to build a future in which the impact on human is lessened.

Tim O’Reilly, the founder of O’Reilly Media, a technology consulting company, thinks the solution is a “hybrid,” mixing humans and machines. He sees that happening already. O’Reilly says most software, for example, is actually a service that depends on human beings in the background to keep it updated and running.

This could be a paradigm shift for Silicon Valley acolytes. Out with the old: a reputedly cold, relentless push for efficiency through algorithms and automation, no matter the consequences for the working class. In with the new: innovation with a human face.

“It’s so important that we have to think about not using technology to replace people — but to augment them, to do something that was previously impossible,” O’Reilly said last week in Ho Chi Minh City at Apricot, an annual summit organized by the Asia and Pacific Internet Association and APNIC, the regional registry for domain names.

With more skills, people can work alongside robots. Lyft and Uber rely on software that’s intended to make drivers more productive. They’re not completely different from airplanes, which are flown mostly by computers, but there might never be a day when passengers feel comfortable flying without at least one human at the helm.

Jonathan Brewer, a trainer at the nonprofit Network Startup Resource Center, believes the next stage of development should improve on the one before it, when the exploding numbers of factories and machines left so many people with undrinkable water and unbreathable air. Now, he said, technophiles must consider how their inventions help people.

At an Apricot workshop, Brewer described sensors that alert residents an hour before a mudslide will hit, for example, and other “life-saving devices that cost very, very little money.”He says there doesn’t seem much point in having droids to clear tables and dig up copper ore if humans aren’t in a position to use the results of their labor.

O’Reilly illustrated the hybrid approach with the so-called Mechanical Turk. Not Amazon’s tool to outsource small tasks, but the 18th-century machine that seemed to beat humans at chess. In fact, there was a man inside all along, and that is the point. Looking out over an audience of programmers, engineers, and other operators building the internet, O’Reilly compared them to the Mechanical Turk: The world needs workers powered by blood, not just those powered by batteries.

“All of you, in some sense, are inside the internet. You go away, it stops working,” he said. “It’s not like a piece of software in a PC era where if you had a copy of Microsoft Windows running on your personal computer, it would keep running without the original programmers. Almost all of the software we depend on today is a service that depends on the work of people like you.”

There may be some wishful thinking, too, in technologists’ optimism that humans will thrive in the robot future. In 2015, consulting firm McKinsey projected that automation could eliminate 45 percent of today’s occupations. That’s why more people in the technology sector are warming to the idea of a universal basic income, which shares the benefits of innovation by giving each citizen a small monthly check.

But Brewer holds out hope in cooperation between people and machines. Many advancements don’t just make lives easier, such as thermostats that adjust the temperature to a dweller’s liking. He said there is technology, for example, that lets city employees know when street lights go out, or trash cans are full, so they don’t have to drive around checking manually, which many local governments do. But once the notice is sent, a human still needs to respond and ensure services are delivered.

For technology, conference-goers said, early adopters first embraced the inexorable, unsympathetic march of change as an indisputable benefit. But in this next phase, people are rethinking disruption, or at least wondering how to soften the blow on humans.
…

Technology

Self-driving Bus With No Back-Up Driver Nears California

By Ytech on Tuesday, March 7, 2017

A pair of $250,000 autonomous buses began driving around an empty San Francisco Bay Area parking lot on Monday, preparing to move onto a local public road in California’s first pilot program for a self-driving vehicle without steering wheel or human operator.

California and other states are weighing the opportunities of becoming a hub of testing a technology that is seen as the future of transportation and the risks from giving up active control of a large, potentially dangerous vehicle.

In most tests of self-driving cars there is still a person seated at the steering wheel, ready to take over, although Alphabet Inc’s Waymo tested a car with no steering wheel or pedals in Austin, Texas, as early as 2015.

The bus project in San Ramon, at the Bishop Ranch office park complex, involves two 12-passenger shuttle buses from French private company EasyMile.

The project is backed by a combination of private companies and public transit and air quality authorities, with the intention of turning it into a permanent, expanded operation, said Habib Shamskhou, a program manager who strolled in front of a moving bus to show that the vehicle would notice him and react. It stopped.

In a test for reporters, one bus cruised a block-long circuit so consistently that it created a dirt track on the tarmac.

California legislators late last year passed a law to allow slow-speed testing of fully autonomous vehicles without steering wheels or pedals on public roads, with the Bishop Ranch test in mind.

The shuttle buses will test for a few months in the parking lots before operators apply for Department of Motor Vehicles approval under the new law. The vehicles are expected to swing onto the local street late this year or early in 2018.
…

Technology

Heavy Social Media Use Could Lead to Isolation in Young Adults

By Ytech on Monday, March 6, 2017

Young adults who spend a lot of time looking for social connections on social media could instead find themselves feeling socially isolated, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at the social media habits of 1,787 American adults aged 19 to 32, asking them how much they used 11 popular social media sites, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and LinkedIn, among others.

After controlling for various demographic factors, they found that people who used social media more than two hours per day “had twice the odds for perceived social isolation than their peers who spent less than half an hour on social media each day.”

Those who visited social media sites 58 times a week or more “had about triple the odds of perceived social isolation than those who visited fewer than nine times per week.”

Writing in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine add that increased social isolation has been associated with “an increased risk for mortality.”

“This is an important issue to study because mental health problems and social isolation are at epidemic levels among young adults,” said lead author Dr. Brian A. Primack, director of Pitt’s Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health. “We are inherently social creatures, but modern life tends to compartmentalize us instead of bringing us together. While it may seem that social media presents opportunities to fill that social void, I think this study suggests that it may not be the solution people were hoping for.”

“We do not yet know which came first, the social media use or the perceived social isolation,” said senior author Dr. Elizabeth Miller, professor of pediatrics at Pitt and chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

“It’s possible that young adults who initially felt socially isolated turned to social media. Or it could be that their increased use of social media somehow led to feeling isolated from the real world. It also could be a combination of both. But even if the social isolation came first, it did not seem to be alleviated by spending time online, even in purportedly social situations.”

Researchers social media may cause feelings of social isolation by replacing “authentic social experiences;” causing feelings of exclusion stemming from seeing photos of friends having fun at events to which they were not invited; or may lead people to think others have happier or more successful lives due to often idealized presentation of one’s life online.

Researchers say more study needs to be done, but they say doctors should ask patients about social media use if they show symptoms of social isolation.

“People interact with each other over social media in many different ways,” said Primack, “In a large population-based study such as this, we report overall tendencies that may or may not apply to each individual. I don’t doubt that some people using certain platforms in specific ways may find comfort and social connectedness via social media relationships. However, the results of this study simply remind us that, on the whole, use of social media tends to be associated with increased social isolation and not decreased social isolation.”
…

Showcase

Балтийские берега + конкурс Евровиденье 2016 года

By Ysale on Wednesday, May 4, 2016

evrovision2016

Евровидение – с 1956 года самое популярное неспортивное мероприятие в мире! Аудитория составляет более 600 миллионов зрителей!

Станьте и Вы частью легендарного шоу! Окажитесь в числе счастливчиков, которые смогут присутствовать на одном из ярчайших шоу 2016 года в мире!
Мы уже позаботились о входных билетах и забронировали наиболее зрелищные места за разумную цену, чтобы вы смогли поддержать нашу страну на Евровидении!

Джамала представляет Украину на втором полуфинале. Именно шоу жюри второго полуфинала вы сможете увидеть. Места в фанзоне !

Красочное шоу! Непередаваемые ощущения! Мировое шоу с вашим участием!
Возможно в этом году Вы станете свидетелем того, как рождается новая мировая звезда.

И увидеть это все вы сможете в одном из самых интересных городов мира – в Стокгольме!!!

Экскурсия по Таллину и Стокгольму в стоимости тура!!!

День 1. Львов
08.30 Сбор на экскурсию на Львовском ж.д. вокзале.
09:00 Автобусная экскурсия по Львову “Только во Львове…”. Мы увидим и остановимся на фото паузу возле Церкви Святого Юра, проедем по улочкам Старого Львова, совершим небольшую пешеходную прогулку по центру древнего града, подъедем к Высокому замку и по улице Личаковской закончим нашу экскурсию на вокзале.
13.30 Для туристов, НЕ желающих посещать экскурсию- сбор на Львовском ж.д. вокзале. Трансфер на Терминал «А».
14:30 Отправление в тур осуществляется с Комплекса Терминал «А». Пересечение границ.
Ночной переезд в Эстонию.

День 2. Таллин – Стокгольм
Нас приглашает «Рыцарь Балтийского моря – Таллин». Его история началась более 850 лет назад. Столица Эстонии – это город-музей под открытым небом. С первых минут нам становится ясно, что мы попали в другую эпоху. Таллин совместил в себе старинные площади, современные высотные отели, огромное количество зелени и живописный порт. Свободное время. Можно посетить (оплата по меню) пивоварню Beer House, чесночный ресторан Balthasar, рестораны со средневековой кухней Peppersack , Kuldse Notsu Körts. Ресторан “Old Hansa”. Выезд в Украину.
18:00 – Отплытие в Стокгольм на пароме. Ночлег на пароме.
Красивый лайнер идеально подходит для круизных путешествий -это настоящий город на воде который сделает ваше путешествие незабываемым. Шикарные рестораны, уютные, современные кафе и стильные бары, магазины, в которых можно приобрести все, что вашей душе угодно. Сытно поесть и посмотреть феерические танцевальные шоу. Для тех, кто любит сам потанцевать обустроена дискотека. На борту судна оборудована прекрасная игровая комната.
Последние 2 часа перед Стокгольмом паром идет через архипелаг. Швеция насчитывает более 20 тысяч островов, некоторые из них могут быть не более 100 кв.метров. Паром буквально лавирует между островами и маяками, отдельные острова обходит буквально в 50-100 метрах от борта.
Вы можете совместить Вашу поездку в Швецию с праздничной атмосферой на пароме!!!

День 3. Стокгольм
Завтрак на пароме (оплачивается дополнительно). 09:30 – прибытие в Стокгольм.
Стокгольм – столица Швеции, известная не только своей красотой, но и тем, что является самым большим городом в Скандинавии. Мы хотели в сказку… и поэтому мы здесь. Пешеходная экскурсия по центральной части города «Gamla Stan –сердце Стокгольма». Откуда возникло название Старый город? Средневековые улочки и площади здесь имеют особую магию. Прогуливаясь по ним, с головой окунемся в атмосферу уникальных и неповторимых архитектурных сооружений, соборов, памятников и скульптур, которые сохранили память о множестве исторических событий, тайн и загадок, поразительных историй и удивительных фактов. Свободное время. Для желающих экскурсии на выбор:
День 3 – Стокгольм Автобусная экскурсия с фотопаузами «Город на воде – Стокгольм» (18€/10€). Королевский дворец, набереженая озера Мелерен, фото на фоне озера и Ратуши. Мы поднимемся на обзорную площадку, откуда откроется панорамный вид на город, увидим дом, в котором Нобель изобрел динамит, Оперный театр на острове Юргарден, посольский квартал, сделаем замечательные фотоснимки.

«Стокгольмская Ратуша» (13€+билет). Это не только место заседаний правительства города, но и место проведения знаменитого Нобелевского банкета.
«Тайный Фрегат Vasa» (18€+вх билет). Нас ждет единственный в мире сохранившийся до наших дней корабль 17-го века. Он должен был олицетворять..

Славутич-Тур

SeLLines

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СПО №111 Евро 2016! Чемпионат Европы! Все три матча Сборной Украины с Германией, Северной Ирландией и Польшей!

By Ysale on Wednesday, March 23, 2016

euro2016

СПО №111 Евро 2016! Чемпионат Европы! Все три матча Сборной Украины с Германией, Северной Ирландией и Польшей!

ВСЕ МАТЧИ!!! Лилль, Лион, Марсель!!! ТОЛЬКО ОДИН НОЧНОЙ ПЕРЕЕЗД!

Тур с отдыхом на море! Шоппинг и экскурсии…
Все ТРИ Матча Сборной Украины с Германией, Северной Ирландией и Польшей!

День 1. Львов – Краков.
08.00 Сбор на Львовском ж.д. вокзале. Трансфер на Терминал «А».
09:00 Отправление в тур осуществляется с Комплекса Терминал «А».
При желании заезд в Краков. Экскурсия по Кракову (10€/6€). Город – удивительный, красивый и загадочный. Город художников и музыкантов, cо своими легендами и, конечно же, милыми польскими шутками. В нем нужно остановиться, задержаться хотя бы на мгновение… Размещение в гостинице на территории Польши. Ночлег.

День 2. Берлин.
Завтрак. Переезд по Германии.
Германия. Дорога проходит через сонные средневековые города, мимо величественных барочных дворцов и фантастических сказочных замков… Экскурсия: “Величие могущественного Берлина”. Берлин – огромный мегаполис. Нам покажется, что мы перемещаемся в машине времени, здесь можно попасть в будущее и оказаться в прошлом, а прогуливаясь по шикарным улицам и проспектам, сможем увидеть настоящее. Приглашаем перевернуть страничку истории и увидеть Берлин таким, какой он сейчас: могущественный Рейхстаг, дворец Шарлоттенбург, величественный Берлинский собор, колонна Победы, и – визитная карточка Берлина – Бранденбургские ворота. Возможность посещения огромной фанзоны в Берлине. Ночлег в Бельгии.

День 3. Брюссель.
Завтрак. Бельгия. Бесчисленное множество художественных сокровищ и очаровательных живописных городков. Это малиновый звон, бриллианты, брюссельская капуста и писающий мальчик, а еще Брейгель и Рубенс. Нас приглашает столица Бельгии – Брюссель. Город-синтез, город «всех цветов радуги цивилизации», город соборов и вокзалов, парков и виадуков, фламандцев и валлонцев… Обзорная экскурсия «Брюссель- столица Европы». Кипучая современность уживется в Брюсселе с тысячелетней историей, образуя очаровательную, но своеобразную смесь средневековых домов и укреплений, готических соборов, стеклянных небоскребов и неоклассических дворцов.

Cвободное время.

Трансфер на матч в Лилль. Игра Сборная Германии – Сборная Украины (вх.билеты дополнительно). Трансфер в отель. Ночлег в Бельгии.

День 4. Париж.
Завтрак. Переезд во Францию. Франция – страна удивительная, разнообразная и многоликая. Пешеходная экскурсия: “Свидание с Парижем”. Нас ожидают: площадь Конкорд, сады Тюлери, величественный Лувр, красивейший театр мира – Гранд Опера, Бульвар Капуцинок, и в завершении самая поэтическая церковь в Париже – Мадлен!!! Увидев всю эту красоту, понимаем что Париж – сказочный сундук шедевров, что веками создавались самыми великими в мире архитекторами, художниками и скульпторами… и это прекрасно!!! Свободное время.

Возможность самостоятельно побывать на Эйфелевой Башне (вх. билеты).

“Тайны реки Сена” (13€/10€). Прогулка по таинственной Сене на кораблике.
“Легендарный Монмартр” (18€/10€). Самый известный холм Парижа, увенчанным короной – Секр Кер. Это место рождения гениев, здесь творили выдающиеся люди Парижа. Жизнь Монмартра продолжает бить ключом… площадь Тертр с сотнями мольбертов радо встречает всех посетителей. Здесь можно купить и увезти с собой маленький кусочек Парижа, запечатлённый на холсте. Нет места более притягательного и волнующего.

Ночная жизнь Франции. Известное кабаре “Мулен Руж” (время 23:00 – 118€) – красочные наряды, яркие перья, роскошные танцовщицы, французский канкан, атмосфера праздника и веселья помогут Вам получить заряд хорошего настроения и почувствовать Париж по -настоящему! Поселение в отель на территории Франции. Ночлег.

День 5. Нормандия.
Завтрак. Свободное время в Париже.
Есть возможность посетить экскурсии на выбор: “Сентиментальная Нормандия” (68€/30€). У этой милой дамы изменчивый и противоречивый «портрет». Мы сможем побывать на берегу теплого жемчужного моря, где потрясающе красивые скалы побережья сменяются роскошными песчаными пляжами и живописными портовыми городками… Старинный Руан – самый большой нормандский город. Мы поспешим в Довиль – к хозяину морского побережья, в город-“подарок”, уставший от суеты сует аристократии. И в завершении – древний и трудолюбивый Трувиль.

Ночлег на территории Франции.

День 6. Париж.
Завтрак. Свободное время в Париже. Есть возможность посетить на выбор: “Банты и бриллианты” (26€/16€+ входные билеты). Королевская резиденция – Версаль. Приглашаем на праздник великолепия, в царство балов, аудиенций, застолий и театральных представлений. Версаль–символ власти короля Солнца и лицо Франции. Здесь все грандиозно: огромный парк с морем цветов, бесчисленные статуи и бассейны, бесконечные парковые аллеи.

«…Мир с трепетом смотрит на Версаль, мир преклоняет колени перед его красотой. И может быть все, что сделал Людовик было не зря, ведь иначе бы мы никогда не увидели рая на земле….». Внешний осмотр Версаля и фотопауза.

Дальше наш путь следует в Фонтеблоо. Фонтенбло – одна из старейших резиденций французских королей. Дворец эпохи Ренессанса – одно из любимых мест монархов. Фонтенбло – сокровищница уникальных произведений искусства, здесь сохранены в отличном состоянии все архитектурные сооружения прошлых веков: часовни, галереи и королевские покои. Посещение замка.

Для тех, кто уже был на классических экскурсиях по Парижу и хочет чего-то новенького на выбор: Париж завтрашнего дня: прогулка в квартал Сен-Мартен (18€/10€). Квартал, переживший за последние десятилетия глобальные изменения, превратившись из гадкого утенка в прекрасного лебедя, не перестает радовать парижскую публику. Отныне окрестности канала Сен-Мартен представляют из себя квинтэссенцию увлечений и радостей парижской золотой молодежи. Здесь Париж отдыхает от самого Парижа, от присущих ему толп туристов, музейных очередей, от городского шума большого города. Это место успешных, живущих в гармонии с собой и окружающим миром парижан, получающих от жизни сплошное удовольствие.

Квартал Марэ. От тамплиеров до Виктора Гюго (18€/10€). Прогуливаясь по улочкам и укромным дворикам квартала, мы увидим замок королевы Марго, излюбленное место дуэлей дворян ХVII века, самый старый дом в Париже, принадлежавший алхимику Николя Фламелю, древнейшие подвалы города, резиденции графа Калиостро и просвещенной куртизанки Нино де Ланкло, особняк камеристки Анны Австрийской и другие места, связанные с легендарными персонажами, чьи судьбы и померкшая слава неразрывно переплелись с судьбой квартала.

Код Да Винчи, прогулка в квартал Сен-Жермен, или Энциклопедия парижской жизни (18€/10€). Квартал Сен-Жермен — это одно из самых уютных, гармоничных и излюбленных мест Парижа. Ослепительный бульвар Сен-Жермен, залитый по вечерам теплым театральным светом, приют вольготно прогуливающихся горожан. Квартал-витрина, квартал-аттракцион, сохранивший всю прелесть подлинного Парижа. Здесь было открыто одно из самых старых кафе Парижа, где Вольтер выпивал по сорок чашек кофе в день. Здесь же разместились легендарные литературные кафе Cafede Flore и Les Deux Magots, где сиживал в свое время Хемингуэй. А в церкви Сен-Сюльпис, где венчался Виктор Гюго, можно отыскать нулевой меридиан или линию розы по описаниям Дэна Брауна.

Ночлег на территории Франции.

День 7. Дижон.
Завтрак. Переезд в Бургундию. Добро пожаловать в Бургундию, страну знаменитых вин Жевре-Шамбертен, Поммар, Романе-Конти и Монтраше. Это край виноградников, безмятежных городков и крыш с глазурованной цветной черепицей. Вечерняя прогулка с сопровождающим “Дижон – город Бургундских герцогов и вин”. Дижон находится в зелёном кольце холмов и виноградников, это город прекрасной старинной архитектуры, в нём десятки дворцов и храмов
Трансфер на матч в Леон. Игра Сборная Украины –Сборная Северной Ирландии (вх.билеты дополнительно).

Трансфер в отель. Ночлег во Франции.

День 8. Отдых на лазурном берегу…
Завтрак. Отдых на море на лазурном берегу.
Ночлег на территории Франции.

День 9. Отдых на лазурном берегу…
Завтрак. Отдых на море на лазурном берегу …
Ночлег на территории Франции.

День 10. Отдых на лазурном берегу…
Завтрак. Отдых на море на лазурном берегу …
Ночлег на территории Франции.

День 11. Отдых на лазурном берегу… – Монако – Ницца – Сен-Поль-де-Ванс – Канны – Вентимилья – Ментон.
Завтрак. Отдых на море на лазурном берегу …
Лазурный Берег создан для счастья. Люди на Земле делятся на тех, кто в него влюблен, и тех, кто там не был…

Возможность посетить экскурсии: “Роскошь и красота” (43€/30€). Сегодня нас покорит панорама у подножия средневекового городка Эз, мы посетим завод Фрагонар, нас пригласит Княжество Монако. Монако выглядит как декорация к фильму о чужой богатой жизни. Роскошь здесь спокойно сочетается с умеренностью, старушки в бриллиантах ездят на рейсовых автобусах, а у магазинов Zara паркуются дорогущие Ferrari. И все всем довольны. Море, солнце, яхты, казино, роскошные гостиницы и рестораны…

Красавица-Ницца (13€/10€). Ницца томно изогнулась вдоль бухты Ангелов. Этот город манит к себе художников и поэтов, туристов и знаменитостей, персон королевских кровей и интеллигентов со всего света.

“Большой Лазурный Пирог” (38€/18€). Начинаем знакомство с Сен-Поль-де-Ванс! Город гордится своей средневековой архитектурой и особой доброжелательностью жителей! Сен-Поль-де-Ванс притягивает, словно магнит… А дальше нас ждут Канны – оазис международной элиты, рай для гурманов и кинозвезд, город шикарных вилл и экстравагантных дворцов, расположенный на берегу залива Ля Напуль. Канны открыты для желающих круглый год. Девиз Канн «Жизнь – это праздник». Самое время заглянуть на этот праздник…

«Цветочная Ревьера и Лазурное побережье» (38€/30€). Вентимилия уютно расположен на реке Фьюмо. В маленьких кафе, на набережной, можно выпить чашечку настоящего итальянского экспрессо. Переезд в Ментон. Ментон единственный город в Европе, где лимонные деревья цветут и плодоносят круглый год. Ментон – это царство садов, он является и “выставкой” всех архитектурных стилей, сформировавших на свой лад этот город в сердце Ривьеры. Ароматы, оттенки красок, покой… поэтому Ментон называют “Жемчужиной Франции”.

“Чудеса лазурного берега” (38€/30€+вх.билеты). Начнем путешествие с Вильфранш-сюр-Mep. Маленький рыбацкий городок, Вильфранш сохранил свой исторический облик города XVII века, с его портом, разноцветными фасадами домов и крепостью. Рейд Вильфранш – привилегированное место отдачи якоря самых престижных теплоходов во время их круизов. Нам предоставится возможность увидеть жемчужину мыса – виллу баронессы Ротшильд. Ее хозяйка создала настоящий райский уголок. Вилла утопает в зелени и окружена семью садами. Настоящим чудом являются музыкальные фонтаны, которые наполняют аллеи парка музыкой.

Ночлег на территории Франции.

День 12. Марсель.
Завтрак. Экскурсия «Город, открытый миру- Марсель» (13€/10€). Удивительный город, основанный более 26 веков тому назад, по праву считается старейшим во Франции. Крупнейший порт Средиземного моря, «ворота востока», родина великого Зидана и Марсельезы.То соблазнительный, то мятежный, Марсель делает все, чтобы понравиться своим гостям.

Трансфер на стадион. Игра Сборная Украины –Сборная Польши (вх.билеты дополнительно). Ночной переезд в Венецию.

День 13. Венеция.
Нас приглашает «красавица на воде», “обрученная с морем”, как говорят о Венеции – самом изящном и таинственном городе Италии. Для всех желающих экскурсия в Венецию (38 евро/30 евро+вх.билеты). Этот город – прекрасная сказка, застывшая в камне. Мы сможем увидеть “Тайны венецианских каналов” (23€/16€), совершить прогулку на гондоле. Также мы сможем посетить “Дворец Дожей” (18€+вх.билет) – поистине загадочное здание, хранящее средневековые секреты и легенды города. “Секреты Венеции и ее кулинарные шедевры” (33€/23 €). Ночлег на территории Словении.

День 14. Львов.
Завтрак. Переезд в Украину.
Время прибытия во Львов ориентировочно 24:00 (зависит от прохождения границы). Место прибытия во Львов – Комплекс Терминал «А». Переезд на поезда на на ж.д. вокзал. До новых встреч!.

Стоимость 618 евро. Стоимость тура ВКЛЮЧАЕТ:
• страховка (групповая);
• Проезд по маршруту автобусом туркласса;
• Сопровождение гида-руководителя по маршруту;
• Проживание в отелях 3* с завтраками;
• Экскурсионная программа.

Дополнительно оплачивается:
• Минимум одна рекомендованная экскурсия из предложенных в программе (при заказе туре);
• гарантийный платеж от невыезда – 13 €;
• гарантированный номер места – 11 € (только места с 1 по 16). Если услуга не заказывается – гарантированные места подтверждаються по мере поступления заявок;
• индивидуальная страховка (при личной подаче);
• Входные билеты в экскурсионные объекты;
• Входной билет на матч не входит в стоимость тура.

Стоимость 1 билета на 1 матч:
категория 1 – 188 евро
категория 2 – 151 евро
категория 3 – 88 евро
категория 4 – 66 евро

• Факультативные экскурсии;
• Проезд в общественном транспорте;
• Личные расходы (обеды, ужины, сувениры);
• Консульский сбор + Визовый Центр = 35€ +30 Є;
• Кроме категории граждан, освобожденных от оплаты Консульского сбора, по договору об упрощение визового режима: пенсионеры, дети до 18 лет, студенты дневного стационара до 21 года. Оплачивается при каждой подаче.
При отказе НЕ возвращается, кроме случаев отказов именинникам.

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СПО! EURO2016 Вперед к победе! Матч №3: Украина – Польша!!! Гарантированные билеты на матч!!!

By Ysale on Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Hipark-Résidence-Marseille

СПО! EURO2016 Вперед к победе! Матч №3: Украина – Польша!!! Гарантированные билеты на матч!!!

День 1. Марсель.
Прибытие в Марсель (Авиньон). Поселение в отель в Марселе (Авиньоне).
Свободное время. Ночлег в отеле в Марселе (Авиньоне). День 2. Марсель

Завтрак. Свободное время.
Всех желающих приглашаем на обзорную экскурсию по Авиньону (оплачивается дополнительно: 25€, для проживающих в Марселе дополнительно оплачивается трансфер на экскурсию: 30€). Романтичный 100-тысячный Авиньон, расположенный на левом берегу реки Роны и канале Дюранс, ныне является административным центром департамента Воклюз в Провансе. Это один из интереснейших городов Франции, как по своему богатому архитектурному облику, так и по связанным с ним историческим событиям. Его называют городом церквей, колоколов и органов, «звенящим городом», городом-крепостью и «городом пап».

На протяжении нескольких десятилетий XIV века, в пору «Авиньонского пленения» римских понтификов, город являлся столицей католического мира, а с возвращением курии в Ватикан был задвинут на обочину истории и зажил тихой провинциальной жизнью. Переезд в Марсель.

Свободное время в Марселе.

Приглашаем всех на обзорную экскурсию по Марселю (оплачивается дополнительно 25€). Старые кварталы, залитые светом обрывистые берега, синева моря и безлюдные бухточки, тянущиеся на двадцать километров до самой Ла-Сьота. Таков Марсель – культурная и экономическая столица Прованса. Почувствуйте красоту этого города, который не признает умеренности.
18:00. Посещение футбольного матча между сборными Украины и Польши.

Свободное время в Марселе.

Трансфер в Авиньон (для проживающих в Авиньоне). Ночлег в отеле в Марселе (Авиньоне).

День 3. Марсель
Завтрак. Выселение из отеля. Возвращение на Украину.

Размещение в Марселе: HIPARK MARSEILLE 3*, питание: ВВ, ½ DBL = 266€, SNGL = 463€.

Стоимость тура ВКЛЮЧАЕТ:
– проживание в Марселе (Авиньоне) – 2 ночи;
– трансфер из Авиньона – Марсель – Авиньон в день матча (для проживающих в Авиньоне);
– услуги по оформлению документов для получения визы;
– перевод документов на англ язык.

Дополнительно оплачивается:
– перелет в Марсель (возможны также другие города прилета (Женева, Лион, Париж, Барселона, Жирона и др) в комбинации с билетами на скоростные поезда);
– билет на матч сборных Украины и Польши;
– консульский сбор Франции 65€.

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