The private investigator who spies using drones

Chris Wright is a problem solver. Her clients come to her with an issue, a question, a mystery, and she figures out the best way to find the answer – using whatever tools she can. “I use a combination of new technology and old technology, because I have to solve a problem. So I’ve used everything from geese and dogs to Roombas to drones to GPS.”
Wright is a private investigator – and owner of the Wright Group – based in Anaheim, California. She’s worked in the business for more than 40 years, and has seen the tools available to investigators change dramatically. Early on, stakeouts in vans were important. More recently new technology in the form of tiny cameras and social media has begun to play a role. And she’s embraced those changes. Today, when the problem calls for it, she uses drones to do her work.
She gives me a few examples. If two people are meeting in a public place, a drone can be a helpful way to discreetly watch them. “We stay at about 50-75 feet [15-23 metres] above so nothing can be heard.” Drones are also helpful for aerial surveillance of locations that are hard to access on foot. And if a school or church is worried someone might be stealing or vandalising property, drones or small off-road vehicles (“Roombas on steroids” as she calls them) can film the property.
For further details, http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150318-i-use-a-drone-to-spy-on-people

TED 2015: Bill Gates warns on future disease epidemic

The world needs to prepare for the next major health crisis, Bill Gates has told delegates at the Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference.

While Ebola seems to be being kept under control currently, next time "we may not be so lucky" the Microsoft co-founder warned.
He said that there were plenty of technology tools that could be used to contain the spread of a virus.
And, he added, governments should learn from how nations prepare for war.
"Nato plays war games to check that people are well-trained and prepared. Now we need germ games," he said.
He also called for a reserve "medical corps" similar to the reserve armies that civilians can join.
Technology can play a big role in helping prevent the spread of a virus, he told the Ted audience.
The proliferation of mobile phones mean that citizens can easily report where disease breaks out and satellite mapping can quickly collate where the problem areas are.
Meanwhile advances in biology have drastically cut the time it takes to develop vaccines for new viruses
During the Ebola crisis, technology firms such as IBM contributed tracking systems that allowed the authorities to create detailed maps of outbreaks based on text messages from citizens.
Bill Gates has long had an interest in global problems such as poverty and disease and the Gates Foundation, which he set up with his wife, has contributed millions to help solve the issues.
For further details, http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31956344

Who will look after Japan's elderly?

Several times a night, Midori Ide wakes up to help her 96-year-old grandmother use the toilet. To make sure she can assist immediately, Midori sleeps right next to her grandmother.

It is not a duty that many 29-year-olds would enjoy. But she tells me she feels guilty that she can only do it once a week.

Midori works the other six nights of the week at a nursing home caring for other elderly people while her grandmother stays at a different facility.

"It's a dilemma but I need to earn money because my family isn't wealthy," she said.

"I also want to continue working because ever since my grandfather died when I was 15, I've decided to become a care worker and it is my calling."

But it comes at a cost. Midori dreams of going abroad. She misses spending time with her friends.

"I don't want my grandma to hear this but I am almost 30 and I worry if I can start my own family one day," she whispers.

"But I don't want to think about when my grandmother will stop waking me up. I want to be with her when she achieves her dream of turning 100," she says.

'Too tired'

Midori is one of 177,600 people in Japan aged between 15 and 29 who are caring for a family member. Not many would be as content as her with their decisions.

There is also a growing number of households where one elderly person is looking after another in need of nursing care.

Just last month, a 71-year-old husband was arrested for killing his wife who had dementia. "I got too tired from looking after her," he confessed, according to local media. "I wanted to take my own life, too."

It was not a one-off tragedy. And they are the real people behind some staggering statistics about Japan's ageing and shrinking population.

Today, more than a quarter of Japan's population is aged over 65. This is set to increase to 40% by 2055, when the population will have shrunk from the current 127 million to 90 million.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has warned that Japan will need to add one million nurses and care workers by 2025.

Temporary home

Encouraging immigration may seem like a simple solution - but it's not a popular one.

Japan is still one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world, with foreigners making up less than 2% of the population. Opening up Japan to large-scale immigration is a very sensitive subject.

In 2008, the government started allowing foreign nurses and care workers in.

But the bar is set high. Having to pass the national exam in Japanese is incredibly difficult and only 304 foreign nurses and carers have so far managed to make Japan their temporary home.

For further details, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31901943