Twitter feed warns Australian swimmers when sharks are nearby

BEIJING - eLong, Inc., a leading mobile and online travel service provider in China, announced that, effective January 2, 2014, listing of the company's American depositary shares will be transferred to the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

NASDAQ-listed companies are classified in three listing tiers: NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Global Market and NASDAQ Capital Market. The NASDAQ Global Select Market is the highest of the three tiers. Prior to transfer to the NASDAQ Global Select Market, eLong shares traded on the NASDAQ Global Market.

"We are delighted that NASDAQ recognized our high quality business and governance standards by selecting eLong for inclusion in its top tier market," said Guangfu Cui, eLong's Chief Executive Officer.

American depositary shares of the company will continue to trade under the ticker symbol LONG.

eLong, Inc. is a leader in mobile and online hotel reservations in China offering consumers a leading hotel network of approximately 240,000 bookable domestic and international properties in 200 countries worldwide. eLong uses innovative technology to enable travelers to make informed hotel and air ticket booking decisions through its convenient mobile (iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Phone) applications, websites and easy to use tools such as destination guides, photos, virtual tours, maps and user reviews. eLong provides 24-hour customer support and the ability to fulfill domestic and international air ticket reservations across China. eLong's largest shareholders are Expedia, Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.PERTH - Scientists in Western Australia are using Twitter to warn surfers and swimmers when sharks are nearing shore.

At least 320 sharks, including Great Whites, have been equipped with transmitters that update a Twitter feed with information about their movements up and down the coast, according to Independent.

When a tagged shark comes within about one kilometre of a beach it triggers an alert, which is converted into a message on the Surf Life Saving WA Twitter feed (@SLSWA).

The tweet contains details of the shark’s size, breed and approximate location.

Chris Peck, from SLSWA, told Sky News that the system is far quicker than traditional warnings on local radio and in newspapers.

He said: “You might not have got some of that information until the following day in which case the hazard has long gone and the information might not be relevant.

”Now it's instant information and really people don't have an excuse to say we're not getting the information, it's about whether you are searching for it and finding it."

According to the Australia Shark Attack File, there have been five shark attacks in Western Australia in the past year, including one fatality. Chris Boyd, 35, was killed by a Great White while surfing in November.

However, environmental groups have not welcomed the scheme. Ross Weir, from the group Western Australians for Shark Conservation (WASC), said: ”This is a simple knee-jerk reaction, based on zero science.

“It's not going to have any positive benefit for beach goers and their safety and it’s certainly going to have a decimating effect on any great white sharks or other endangered shark species.”

The government in Western Australia has recently launched a controversial scheme which will see professional fishermen hunt and kill any large sharks that go near popular beaches, with one kilometre “kill zones” set up around the busiest stretches of shoreline.

Conservationists have said they will consider direct action to disrupt any culling of sharks.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews