IT’S NOT yet dark, but the two girls sitting at a table in a Bogota bar flick on the lamp on their wooden table. That’s the signal to the bartender, in Colombia’s first-ever bar for the deaf, that they want a drink.

The Sin Palabras Cafe Sordo – No Words Deaf Cafe – is the first of its kind in the country, says Maria Fernanda Vanegas, one of three owners.

It’s located in the trendy Chapinero neighbourhood of the Colombian capital, surrounded by heavy metal, gay and reggae joints.

“Its aim is for us, people who can hear, to adapt to the deaf, and not the other way round, which is always the case,” says Vanegas.

The No Words Cafe has large screens playing music videos with the lyrics in sign language, and a dance floor that pulses with music to dancers who cannot hear it.

The menus are also translated into sign language and there are games such as Jenga or dominoes for customers to play.

Vanegas and her partners, Cristian Melo and Jessica Mojica, all have good hearing, but dreamed of opening a cafe for the more than 50,000 people in Bogota who do not.

Colombia has more than 455,000 deaf or hard-of-hearing people, according to the last census carried out in 2005.

People with normal hearing also frequent the bar, which is as noisy as any other in the capital. But the difference is that here, most of the talking is done with hands.

“It’s the first time I can feel the music,” says Erin Priscila Pinto, a first-time client enjoying a drink with her old friend, Carol Aguilera.

“That makes me really happy, because it’s the first time I can dance,” says the 23-year-old photography student.

All six waiters at the bar are deaf too, and even though many of the clients do not know sign language, they manage to convey their orders with gestures or by writing them down.

The bar also features small cards showing the basics of sign language for drinkers interesting in expanding their repertoire.

“I feel much more at ease with waiters who are deaf – everything is much easier,” says Pinto.

There is no need to actually speak in the bar.

“Communicating with people with normal hearing can be a bit tricky at first because we don’t understand them,” says waiter Juan Carlos Villamil, 26. “But we get by somehow or other.”

Some new clients are surprised at first, but they end up getting the hang of sign language, he says.

The idea for the cafe came to the owners when they saw a group of deaf people having a coffee and asked them about their social lives. Now they want to open more bars like this across Colombia and elsewhere.

It’s not all plain sailing, however.

Some “odious” guests occasionally take advantage of the waiters’ deafness to slip out without paying, or they smash glasses, says Vanegas.

The bar opened on June 16, and with its exhibitions, story-telling and other cultural performances by hearing-impaired artists, it’s already well on its way to becoming one of Bogota’s more hip watering holes at weekends.

“We want to show the world that deaf people have talent,” says Vanegas, as Pinto uses her phone to record a video to show her mother the bar where people listen with their eyes and speak with their hands.

If you’re looking for an affordable smartphone with 4G LTE connection, the latest Android operating system, 5-inch display, and 8-megapixel camera, the new Nokia 3 could well be the answer.

Priced at slightly less than Bt5,000, Nokia 3 boasts a premium design with a frame forged out of a single piece of aluminium and a back cover made of polycarbonate.

The 5-inch IPS LCD display with 1,280×720 pixels is protected with sculpted Corning Gorilla Glass and the phone comes in Silver White, Matte Black, Tempered Blue and Copper White colour options. The Matte Black version I tested looked solemn in my hand.

To make it more affordable, Nokia 3 is powered by the cheaper MediaTek MTK 6737 quadcore processor running at 1.3 GHz, so obviously it’s not blazing fast as those fitted with Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. And it has only 2 gigabytes of working memory or RAM, compared to 3GB or 4GB of other models and 16GB of storage.

That said, I found Nokia 3’s speed was acceptable. The response of the touch screen and menus as well as applications were okay, never annoyingly slow.

Surprisingly for a smartphone of this price, Nokia 3 can also play High-Resolution Audio format of FLAC 24bit/192kHz. I tested it with Sony’s MDR1ABT phones and I found that the sound quality was good with details of the musical instruments clear and the bass powerful.

The Nokia 3 has two nano SIM slots and an extra microSD slot, meaning if you use two SIMs, you can still expand its storage.

Nokia 3 runs on pure Google Android 7.0 operating system without any interface, which avoids the slowing down you might expect.

The smartphone supports LTE Cat 4 data connection. I tested it on TrueMove H’s LTE network and found that apps downloaded fast and my snapshots were backed up to my Google Photos cloud storage equally rapidly.

I used the Ookla Speedtest app to measure the speed and the Nokia 3 did well, achieving a download speed of 60.77 Mbsp and an upload speed of 31.68 Mbps.

Nokia 3 has 8-megapixel cameras at the rear and the front. Both cameras use image sensor with large pixel size and aperture to capture good quality photos for a smartphone in this price range.

Nokia 3 is a smartphone from HMD Global, a firm from Espoo, Finland that has bought the Nokia phones and tablets operation. HMD designs and markets a range of smartphones and feature phones targeted at a range of consumers and price points.

Nokia 3 is available at most retailers for Bt4,850.

Key Specs

– Networks: GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 – WCDMA: Band 1, 2, 5, 8 LTE: Band 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40

– Network speed: LTE Cat 4, 150Mbps DL/50Mbps UL

– SIM: dual nano SIM

– OS: Android Nougat 7.0

– CPU: MTK 6737, Quadcore 1.3Ghz

– RAM: 2 GB LPPDDR 3

– Storage: 16 GB internal user memory  with MicroSD card slot (support up to 128 GB support)

– Display: 5.0-inch IPS LCD HD (1280 x 720, 16:9), sculpted Corning Gorilla Glass, Polariser, 450 nits

– Camera: Primary camera: 8MP AF, 1.12um, f/2, flash, Front facing camera: 8MP AF, 1.12um, f/2, FOV 84degree display flash

– Connectivity & Sensors: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, BT 4.2, GPS/AGPS, FM/RDS, NFC, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer (Gsensor), Ecompass, Gyroscope, Micro USB (USB 2.0), OTG, 3.5mm ADJ

– Battery: Integrated 2630 mAh battery

– Audio: Single speaker

– Dimensions: 143.4 x 71.4 x 8.48 mm (camera bump: 8.68mm)

– Weight: 155g

AS MOTHER’S DAY is celebrated across the Land of Smiles today, one mum is beaming with joy and pride more than most. Chanoksuang Poonlertlarb’s daughter is Maria Poonlertlarb Ehren, the newly crowned Miss Universe Thailand.

The 25-year-old beauty (whose first name is often transliterated as Mareeya, though she prefers the Western version) will represent the Kingdom in the Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas in November, and she’s already being tipped as a top contender.

Just over 1.8 metres tall in her bare feet, Maria was born in Bangkok. The family spent several years in Hanoi, but she was back in her hometown by age seven.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in international business from Erasmus University in the Netherlands and a master’s in marketing from the Stockholm Business School in Sweden. Her father is a Swedish engineer and her mother is a university lecturer. Maria is fluent in Thai, Swedish, English and Mandarin. Her twin brothers, 12 years older, live in Texas in the United States.

Maria got into show business when she was just 13 and has modelled professionally and acted occasionally ever since. She released the song “Boong” in 2010 and later had a modest hit with “Come Along”.

She saw entering the Miss Universe Thailand competition as a step towards a planned career in women’s rights, and specifically working on issues such as education and teen pregnancy.

Maria and her mum had a chat with us this week – in English, with Maria showing a decidedly American accent – about life, fun and family.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST FONDLY ABOUT MARIA’S CHILDHOOD?

Chanoksuang: She was a very pleasant and joyful child. I was always the one who sang to her until she fell asleep on my shoulder and who put her to bed. I’d sing “Bua Khao” [“White Lotus”] or “Let It Be Me”. I read to her a lot, so she’s always been inquisitive about things.

When her brothers came home from school, if she was still awake, they’d pick her up and dance around with her. She’d always insist on being picked up again and again, tricking them by saying, “Just one last time!”

WHAT MAKES MARIA HAPPY?

Chanoksuang: Our family is very warm and loving. Her brothers contributed a lot to her development. They liked sports. By the time Maria was one she could bounce a ball, counting to more than 100 without slipping, which we thought was very unusual for a little girl.

WHAT MAKES YOU PROUDEST OF HER?

Chanoksuang: The whole family was very proud when she beat more than 200 other students around the world for a chance to attend a Nasa space camp.

Maria: It was the most amazing experience of my life. When I was young I had many dreams, and being an astronaut was one of them. When I got to eighth grade there was a competition to go to America for two weeks, to Florida for this Nasa space camp.

WHAT MAKES YOUR MOTHER HAPPY?

Maria: We’re very similar in the sense that we’re sabai sabai. She works very hard, so just relaxing makes her happy. Whatever I do for her it always makes her happy too, and that just makes me want to do more, like playing the piano for her or making her an apple pie. She loves my apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream!

The most important thing is that she loves it when all of her children are home, when my brothers come for a visit. That’s when she’s happiest.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS LIKE TO DO TOGETHER?

Maria: Watching a movie, getting a massage, going out to eat, especially at a buffet.

Chanoksuang: We love buffets! Maria is funny. She likes to start with the salad and everything, then she goes for dessert, and then she goes back for more salad, then more dessert, and so on – it’s never in sequence. She just hops here and there.

Maria: My mother’s oven dishes are very good, though – potatoes, meat, vegetables and lasagna!

HOW HAS YOUR MOTHER HELPED YOU GET THROUGH THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF LIFE?

Maria: My mom has always been very supportive. The question she likes to ask which I think is really important is ‘Is that what you really want to do?’ Both my parents do that, actually. Even though they might have different ideas, they still respect my opinion, my thoughts.

Chanoksuang: Whatever she thinks or she likes, we value her opinion.

WAS BECOMING A BEAUTY QUEEN ANOTHER OF YOUR CHILDHOOD DREAMS?

Maria: I never thought of a beauty pageant as the end goal. I realised that people listen to you because of the title you hold, so the question is what should you do with that.

I want to open a foundation or an organisation that helps the community. I think I’m really in that position now, so it’s a dream come true – and it still feels unreal!

Being a beauty queen is a dream for a lot of little girls. For me, it’s more about what comes after that, what it really stands for.

HOW IMPORTANT WAS YOUR FAMILY’S HELP IN MAKING YOU WHO YOU ARE TODAY?

Maria: Growing up with two brothers was really amazing, because you develop faster by trying to copy them. It’s human nature to mimic, and whatever they ate, I’d eat the same. They left for university when I was very young and I was so sad – I missed my brothers.

Chanoksuang: I missed them too, but luckily I still had her, and that was a big help.

Maria: So my mom got me into a lot of activities – ballet classes, piano lessons, drawing, tennis, taekwondo, even ballroom dancing with her! I’m very lucky to have had all these opportunities.

Chanoksuang: One thing I admire most about her is that everything she does, she does well. Her tennis coach wanted her in the junior league because she was so good. Taekwondo too, because she had long legs and arms and no one could match her reach. She also likes science.

Maria: My family has always been very positive and reinforcing. If I didn’t do something well, my father would say, “Let’s practise until you’re able to do it well.”

Anyone who takes lessons can do anything – not just me. It’s really about surrounding yourself with a good support team that makes you want to do the fullest.

When I was onstage in the pageant, I saw a sign that said “Texas heart Maria”, and I knew instantly it must be from my brothers – so sweet.

IT’S MOTHER’S DAY – WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY TO YOUR MUM?

Maria: I think it’s important to know that we’ll always be together and support each other. My mom has supported me my whole life and I want to give that back.

Ever since I was a kid I’ve always said that if I get married, my husband can stay out in the garage and my parents will be with me in the house.

Sony’s much-acclaimed Cybershot RX10 digital camera has been much improved for its third edition, complete with a newly developed 25x super-telephoto lens with an extensive focal range.

The large-aperture, high-magnification zoom lens with 600mm equivalence lets you to get close to difficult subjects. And the 24-mm-equivalent focal length ensures excellent scenery shots.

Together these features make the RX10 III the perfect allpurpose camera for travellers.

In other improvements over the RX10 II, this one has a 24600mm lens with f/2.44 aperture (up from 24300mm with a constant f/2.8 aperture). The wide-angle 24mm focal length just adds to the resulting extra brightness.

Thanks to an improved Optical SteadyShot algorithm, the RX10 III has a better exposure compensation, with 4.5 stops compared to its predecessor’s three stops.

The RX10 III has triple rings on the side of the lens for focus, zoom and aperture, up from the single ring-plus-aperture ring previously. So it’s much smoother to operate.

There’s an extra control button, called Focus Hold, on the lens barrel so you can lock the focus distance. Alternatively, the same button can customised for other uses as, as can two other buttons up top. You can now assign up to 58 more options to the custom buttons, up from 40 previously.

Serious photographers will appreciate the improved shape of the grip. It feels more secure when the camera is held at eye level.

You can now change the first three characters of file names from the default “DSC”. This is handy, for example, when you want different photo designations for different trips.

With the ultra-telephoto zoom, choose Zoom Assist and then press and hold the C (Custom) button and the lens will automatically zoom out so you can reframe your subject and zoom back in when you release the button.

Anyone who’s ever lost track of a subject at long range will be grateful for this.

For all of these advances, there is one drawback to the RX10 III. The builtin ND filter found on the RX10 II is gone, and that was quite useful when shooting in bright sunlight.

The RX10 III is a little larger and weighs 282 grams more its predecessor – apparently because of the longer lens – but that’s not really much of a drawback.

Such quibbles weren’t enough to stop the RX10 III from winning the Red Dot Award for product design in the compact-camera category.

As for other specifications, the RX10 III has a 1.0 type stacked 20.1 MP Exmor RS CMOS sensor with a DRAM chip and advanced signal processing, along with a powerful Bionz X image processor.

These components work together to ensure high image quality throughout the entire zoom range and to capture 40x super-slow-motion video at up to 960 frames per second.

You also have an ultrafast Anti-Distortion Shutter with a maximum speed of 1/32,000 second and can take high-resolution 4K movies.

The impressive autofocus system relies on spatial object detection to predict the subject’s motion before the shutter is activated. The AF response is incredibly fast and efficient when the shutter is pressed halfway, locking onto the subject in as little as 0.09 seconds.

The stacked sensor and powerful image processor also allow the camera to achieve a readout of 20-megapixel image data, resulting in continuous shooting at up to 14fps with reduced blackout. This is wonderful for shooting sports and other fast action.

A wide sensitivity range of ISO 644 to 12800 and images with exceptionally low noise, even at higher sensitivity settings, are possible thanks to the back-illuminated CMOS sensor and Bionz X processing engine.

You have an impressive 24600mm Zeiss VarioSonnar T lens with large maximum aperture of F2.4F4.0. At the maximum 600mm focal length, the aperture is f/4.0, very good for such range, so your zoom shots will be exceptional.

The aperture unit itself has nine blades that are designed to create a near-perfect circle in the F2.4F11 range. The result if a lovely bokeh effect – the subject standing out against a soft-focus background.

Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation helps reduce camera shake and image blur, even at those longer focal lengths. It’s equivalent to shooting at a shutter speed 4.5 stops faster than your actual setting.

Builtin WiFi means you can link in a PlayMemories Mobile phone app to use your phone as a viewfinder or remote control and post photos and videos online. This applies to NFCenabled Android devices, which only need to be tapped against the camera to connect.

The RX10 III is quite easy to use. Rookies can choose Intelligent Auto or Superior Auto. The latter is better, since it has the same automatic scene-recognition as Intelligent Auto but works better in dark or backlit situations. It takes multiple shots at different exposures and churns out a nice composite.

More experienced photographers will go for Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual Exposure. They’re all on the mode dial, alongside Memory Recall, Movie and Scene Selection.

In my test I mostly shot with Superior Auto. The camera recognised the conditions and selected the best mode, such as Backlight or Handheld Night Scene.

At 24-mm-equivalent focal length, the RX10 III captured beautiful landscapes with fully saturated colours and good detail.

The 600-mm-equivalent zoom pulled in faraway objects superbly. Shooting on Hua Hin Beach, I was able to get great zoom shots of Khao Takiab, which looked tiny to the naked eye.

Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation worked very effectively. At the highest zoom, I managed to capture sharp and clear shots without a tripod. And the autofocusing was really fast, pulling me into a jetski skimming across the waves for more crisp images.

The RX10 III’s backlighted sensor is terrific in low light. I got clean shots at night with great light effects in Handheld Night Scene mode, the camera snagging four shots for a superior single composite.

Sony’s Cybershot RX10 Mark III has a suggested retail price of Bt56,990.

KEY SPECS

– Sensor: 1.0-inch-type Exmor RS CMOS, aspect ratio 3:2 with 20.1 effective megapixels

– Lens: Zeiss VarioSonnar T with 24600mm equivalent focal length, f/2.44

– Focus area: Wide, centre, flexible spot

– ISO: ISO 64/80128000

– Light metering: Multi pattern, centreweighted, spot

– Exposure compensation: Plus or minus 3.0 EV, 1/3 EV step

– Shooting modes: Auto, P, A, S, M

– Screen: Three-inch TFT LCD with 1,228,800 dots

– Viewfinder: 0.39-type electronic (XGA OLED), 2,359,296 dots

– Highest movie resolution: 4K – 30p 100M

– Interface: Multi/Micro USB Terminal 10, HighSpeed USB (USB 2.0), Micro HDMI, Microphone (3.5mm stereo minijack), Multi Interface Shoe, Headphones, NFC, WiFi 802.11n

– Battery: Approximately 42 shots per charge

– Dimensions: 132.5x94x127.4mm

– Weight: 1,095 grams with battery and Memory Stick Duo

The curtain rises on Bangkok’s 19th International Festival of Dance and Music next month with two performances by the Ekaterinburg Ballet and Opera Theatre, one of the oldest ballet theatres in Russia.

The company will present the world premiere of the two-act “Katya and the Prince of Siam” on September 11 and a three-act “Cinderella” on September 13, both at the Thailand Cultural Centre.

Recognised as the keeper of Russian and international ballet traditions, the Ekaterinburg Ballet and Opera Theatre has been honoured with eleven Golden Mask awards, most recently in April.

The company’s foundation was laid in the early 20th century with its first staging of “The Magic Flute”. Ever since, a host of distinguished Russian choreographers – among them Leonid Yakobson, Pyotr Gusev, Yuri Grigorovich, Igor Belsky, Nikolai Boyarchikov, Oleg Vinogradov, Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilyov – have worked ceaselessly at perfecting its capabilities.

The company began its contemporary history in 2011 with choreographer Vyacheslav Samodurov taking over as ballet director. Today its repertoire features Russian classics and original works created by Vyacheslav Samodurov for the ballet.

The Ekaterinburg marked the advent of the 21st century by continuing to reconstruct the ballets of Petipa, a process that began at the Mariinsky Theatre.

It also encourages new talent with “Dance-Platform” – a choreography workshop whose best works are presented onstage.

The world premiere of the new “Katya and the Prince of Siam” on September 11 will feature music by Pavel Ovsyannikov and a libretto by Yana Temiz.

The romantic tale has the handsome Prince Chakrabongse being sent by his father, the King of Siam, to train with Russia’s elite Page Corps. There he encounters a local beauty, Katya, and falls in love.

Choreographed by Vasily Medvedev, an Honoured Artist of Estonia, the dancing speaks of their love and their shared pain as they bridge the cultural divide.

Interestingly, the ballet also incorporates elements of Thai classical dance.

Playing Katya is principal dancer Ekaterina Sapogova, whose several awards include gold medals in the 2012 All-Russia Competition and last year’s Ekaterina Maksimova Fourteenth Open Russian Competition.

The prince is essayed by Kirill Popov, also a principal dancer.

Conducted by Mikhail Granovski of the Bolshoi Theatre, the ballet promises a perfect evening devoted to culture.

The next offering is “Cinderella” on September 13. Sergei Prokofiev composed this sparkling score between 1940 and 1944 and it has since become beloved as the ultimate in fairytale romance.

A full-scale production, it is choreographed by Vladimir Vasiliev, former principal dancer of the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet.

The production is also distinguished by its extravagant sets and spectacular costumes, both designed by the award-winning Vyacheslav Okunev from St Petersburg. An honoured People’s Artist of Russia, Okunev is design director at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in his hometown, art director of the Mariinsky Theatre, State Prize winner of the Republics of Moldova, Belarus and Kazakhstan and winner of the top Golden Light Stand of St Petersburg.

He has designed more than 350 opera and ballet productions at leading theatres including Teatro alla Scala, Arena di Verona, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (all in Italy), the Royal Theatre in Glasgow, the Vienna and Berlin state opera houses, the National Opera of Greece, the national theatres of Seoul and Tokyo, and the New York City Ballet.

The two Bangkok performances also mark 120 years of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Russia.

The festival is supported by the Crown Property Bureau, Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, BMW Thailand, B Grimm Group, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Indorama Ventures, Ministry of Culture, Nation Group, PTT, Singha Corp, Thai Airways International and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Katya awaits

– Seats are available at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3191.

– Find out more at http://www.BangkokFestivals.com.

Heineken launched its new campaign to take fans of the popular Dutch beer brand on a journey beyond music with a party last Saturday night at Rockademy.
The Live Access campaign is certainly getting off on the right foot by taking three lucky individuals to experience with “Mysteryland”, an electronic music festival in Haarlem, about 20 kilometres from Amsterdam over the August 26-27 weekend.
“It’s fair to say that Heineken is not only offering its fans music to listen to, but also unprecedented and unrivalled music experiences that tick all the right boxes and suit all tastes,” Pattapanee Ekahitanond, Heineken marketing manager at TAP Group, Heineken’s distributor in Thailand, told XP.

“While music activities in 2017 have become somewhat repetitive and routine, Heineken continues to elevate its music experience offerings to another level with the launch of ‘Heineken Live Access’, which will take some lucky fans to experience Mysteryland, a premier global music festival held annually in the Netherlands.”
The high-energy Mysteryland is on the bucket list of almost all festivalgoers. Its distinct theme is all about “Peace, Love, and Music” while the vast venue of the festival allows audiences to loosen up, be entertained, and enjoy a truly superior music experience.
Mysteryland is celebrating its 24th edition and offering 250 DJ’s and live acts spread over several stages with a wide variety of styles, with performances by the leading artists in house, techno, deep house, hard style, hardcore, drum ’n bass, hiphop, trance, trap and disco. Each part of this musical journey is set against a surreal backdrop of state-of-heart stage designs. Artists participating this year include Deadmau5, Alesso, Armin van Buuren, Axwell A Ingrosso, Above & Beyond, Alok, Charming Horses, Yellow Claw, Benny Rodrigues, Digital Farm Animals, and Made in June.
Wongsatorn Kwantham, aka DJ Map, served as emcee during the launch party, introducing local personalities rapper Patsarakorn “Pok” Chirathivat, model Kanticha “Ticha” Chumma as a fashionista and model, and party organiser Trasher Bangkok, who will be heading to Amsterdam along with the three winners.

“First, we are very thankful that we were chosen as the Thailand representatives and are really looking forward to sharing our experiences from the Mysteryland festival with everyone in Thailand. We hope to be inspired by this uncompromising music experience for our upcoming parties, which we promise will be more different, entertaining, and exciting,” said the leader of the Trasher Bangkok Group.
“I’m very happy to take part in this journey with the Heineken Live Access campaign. The idea of taking a trip with Heineken is magnificent. I love travelling, particularly to attend music festivals, and I always get inspired when I travel abroad. So I’m sure that this trip will be tremendously inspirational in helping me to keep making and improving my music,” Pok Patsarakorn added.
“I’m very excited as I’ve heard of this amazing music festival for a very long time and I have to thank Heineken for initiating this exclusive campaign. Personally, I have a tremendous passion for fashion and showing distinctive styles. I believe that going to a music festival in a perfect outfit will help take the festival to another level. Mysteryland is definitely going to bring together a cool and fashionable group of people so I can’t wait to look sharp for this event and proudly represent both Thais and Heineken,” noted Ticha.

Access to the stage

– Be part of the Heineken Live Access campaign at Mysteryland over August 26 and 27 at Facebook.com/Heineken and instagram@heineken_th.

Krisda Kamolvarinthip, marketing director of Pernod Ricard (Thailand), introduced the campaign during the 20th anniversary celebration of Gourmet Market.

The Gourmet Market World Best Taste 2017 event was honored by chefs Carlos Afonso, Pepe Lopez, Dominique Villenave, Jess Barn, Patharawarin Timkul, and Julian G Davies from Thammachart Seafood, all of whom made special dishes for this special occasion on three themes. Joining them for the gustatory event at Helix Garden, The EmQuartier, were celebrities Pimpisa Chamanan, Preechanan Chamanan and Wanchana Eiampikul.

The Latino Fiesta theme had chef Afonso cooking up Iberico with White Asparagus using Portuguese Iberico ham, treated for 40 months, and the best white asparagus from Peru, served with Jacob’s Creek Shiraz Rose. He also prepared Grilled Sausages using Portuguese sausages, served with Jacob’s Creek Grenache Shiraz. Michelin Star chef Pepe Lopez, meanwhile, presented Paella in three variations – the Rubia with curry powder and tiger prawn, the Morena with squid ink and dried fish flakes, and the Peliroja, with mussels and clams, served with Jacob’s Creek Grenache Shiraz.

The second theme, European Foodival, saw chef Villenave from France prepare Pasta in Cheese Wheel, made with fresh Italian pasta and Grana Padano cheese from Galbani, served with Jacob’s Creek Cool Harvest Unoaked Chardonnay. Chef May Patharawarin made Charolais Beef Steak, using premium Charolais beef from France, served with Jacob’s Creek Reserve Cabernet, and Bread Pudding Blueberry served with Cocktail Forget Me Not by Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Moscato Rose. Chef Barnes presented Grilled Dorper Lamb, using the best grass-fed Australian lamb, served with Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Shiraz.

The third theme, Feasts of the East, saw the Tsukiji Market from Japan brought to Bangkok with Yakara fish, Taraba crab, and Suwaji crab all going into fresh sushi and sashimi. Kyoho grapes, the best grapes of this season, were also featured in this event. Chef Julian from Thammachart Seafood created the dishes, served with Jacob’s Creek Cool Harvest Sauvignon Blanc.

Jacob’s Creek Our Table runs from today to August 23, 2017 at Gourmet Market at Siam Paragon, The EmQuartier and The Emporium. For more information, visit Facebook Jacob’s Creek #OurTable #JacobsCreekTH

The company has teamed up with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), regional cancer hospitals under the Department of Medical Services and the Bangkok Hospital Group in continuing the “Wacoal cares for your breasts. Mammogram saves your life.” campaign, offering VIP cards for free mammogram and ultrasound examination for the eighth consecutive year.

The campaign is part of the Wacoal Pink Ribbon breast cancer awareness campaign that has continued for 17 years to help keep Thai women safe from the disease.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer found in Thai women, Wacoal Pink Ribbon aims to make women realise the importance of regular breast self-exams as well as receiving mammogram and ultrasound exams which are considered the most effective way to screen for breast cancer to date because they can detect breast cancer as small as two millimetres in diameter, an early stage with no noticeable symptoms. Women aged 35 years and older should undergo such screenings every year. If they have a family history of breast cancer or immediate family affected by the disease, they should receive screenings every year from the age of 30 onwards.

Wacoal now offers VIP mammogram and ultrasound examination cards to His & Her card members who purchase Wacoal lingerie products worth a combined total of Bt12,000 between July 1 and October 31. The special privilege in this year’s campaign is that the customers can choose to receive the examinations themselves or pass on the card to their loved one for use, or donate the card to the underprivileged people as part of the NCI’s Charity Mammogram activity.

The VIP card holders can receive breast cancer screening until December 31, 2017 at 28 participating medical institutions, including the National Cancer Institute, regional cancer hospitals, Bangkok Hospitals (except Bangkok Hospital Samui, Bangkok Hospital Surat and Bangkok Muangraj Hospital) and Samitivej Hospitals (except Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital).

For more information, call (02) 296 9979.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that deficiency in a key molecule among pregnant women stopped embryos and babies’ organs from developing correctly in the womb, but could be treated by taking the dietary supplement vitamin B3, also known as niacin.

“Now, after 12 years of research, our team has also discovered that this deficiency can be cured and miscarriages and birth defects prevented by taking a common vitamin,” said Sally Dunwoodie, a biomedical researcher at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.

“The ramifications are likely to be huge. This has the potential to significantly reduce the number of miscarriages and birth defects around the world, and I do not use those words lightly.”

Health Minister Greg Hunt hailed the study as a “historic medical breakthrough”.

“Today’s announcement provides new hope to the one in four pregnant women who suffer a miscarriage,” Hunt said Thursday, citing Australian data.

“And with 7.9 million babies around the world currently being born with birth defects every year, this breakthrough is incredible news.”

The scientists used genetic sequencing on families suffering from miscarriages and birth defects and found gene mutations that affected production of the molecule, NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide).

With Vitamin B3 — found in meat and vegetables — needed to make NAD, they tested the effect of taking the supplement on developing mice embryos that had similar NAD deficiencies as human ones, and found a significant change.

“Before vitamin B3 was introduced into the (mice) mother’s diet, embryos were either lost through miscarriage or the offspring were born with a range of severe birth defects,” the Victor Chang Institute said in a statement.

“After the dietary change, both the miscarriages and birth defects were completely prevented, with all the offspring born perfectly healthy.”

The researchers said the next step was to develop a test to measure NAD levels to identify which women were most at risk from having a baby with a birth defect, and to then ensure they had sufficient Vitamin B3.

They added that current vitamin supplements for pregnant women might not contain sufficient levels of Vitamin B3.

The study was funded by the Australian government as well as private donations.

Yet understanding a nutrition label could allow us to make quick, informed choices, improve your diet and give us a longer, healthier life.

Susan Bowerman, director of Nutrition Training at Herbalife, a registered dietician and a specialist in sports dietetics explains the information found in food packages and says that getting familiar with the serving size is the first step in decoding the nutrition facts label.

“The nutrition food label can provide you with lots of useful information, provided you know how to read it correctly,” she explains, and provides three steps to make ensure you have the right nutritional information on what you are about to eat.

>> Portion Size

Many people assume, often incorrectly, that small packs of cookies, crackers or chips, or moderately sized beverage containers are single servings. But that isn’t always the case.

The current official serving size of a soft drink is about 250ml. But many drinks come in much larger cans and bottles, and they might contain two or more servings. So, if you drink a bottle of green tea, you’ll be drinking two servings. And that means you’ll need to double all the information on the nutrition facts panel (like the calories and the sugar content, for instance) to figure out how much you’ve taken in.

Similarly, for labelling purposes, a serving of potato chips is 30 grams, which is only about 15 chips. But if you’re eating out of a large bag, chances are you’re eating several servings. So, be mindful that you could easily finish a whole bag without realising that it actually contains multiple servings!

>> Nutrients, cholesterol and fibre

Labelling for protein, fat and carbohydrate content is also provided on a per-serving basis. Same goes for sugar, fibre, cholesterol and sodium. As with the example above, you need to know how many servings you’re consuming so you can estimate your intake of these nutrients accurately.

Keep in mind that the total carbohydrate that’s listed includes all forms of carbohydrate – starch, sugar and fibre. Below that number you’ll find separate listings for fibre and sugar. The listing for sugar lumps together both added sugars as well as naturally occurring sugars (like the natural sugar in milk or fruit). So, it’s not always easy to tell where the sugar is coming from without looking at the actual ingredients list.

There is a move in the US to change the Nutrition Facts label to make reading easier. Starting July 26, 2018, all labels should include a separate line for “added sugars” to distinguish them from the naturally occurring ones. Hopefully, Thailand will soon adopt this measure as well.

% Daily Value

The other thing you’ll see on the label is a column with “% Daily Value.” Daily Values are standard recommended levels of intake for various nutrients that are established by the Thai Food and Drug Administration for use on food labels. The information in this column tells you what percentage of the intake for each nutrient is found in one serving, compared with the daily recommended level. Keep in mind that these values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, which means they may not apply to everyone. But even if a 2,000 calorie diet doesn’t apply to you, you can easily use the % Daily Value to calculate the nutrients that you will get from eating a particular food.

“Nutrition Facts labels can really help to guide you to make better choices—as long as you are able to compare the amounts of food you are actually eating to the serving sizes that are listed on the package,” says Bowerman.