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China

Shake Your iPhone, Get A Cab - Handy New Taxi App From China

UNITED DAILY NEWS (Taiwan)

Worldcrunch

BEIJING- There's a new iPhone app circulating in Beijing that breaks a new barrier in cool convenience, and it comes with a rather awesomely descriptive name: “Yaoyao-zhaoche,” which translates from Chinese as shake-shake cab-calling.

According to the United Daily News, after downloading the app and establishing a paypal minimum balance, a quick shake connects the GPS function on your iPhone to participating cab companies. Within 30 seconds, the client will receive a text message informing him of the nearest car’s model, number plate and driver’s name, phone number and the time it will take to arrive. If the client confirms the information, the deal is done.

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Beijing taxis (Herry Lawford)

Once the client gets in the cab, the fee is calculated automatically based on the time and the distance of the journey as tracked by your phone. The charge is then automatically deducted from the client’s Paypal account.

It is the latest attempt to disrupt the traditional system for calling, hailing and paying for cabs, joining the likes of US-based Uber cab.

Currently, this Chinese cab calling system is restricted to only iPhone holders, but the Yaoyao zhaoche company said that they are soon expecting to launch the same service for Android phones. Seeing the good response to this new service system, taxi firms in other Chinese cities such as Hangzhou and Qingdao are already following suit.

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Society

Shakira, Miley Cyrus And The Double Standards Of Infidelity

Society judges men and women very differently in situations of adultery and cheating, and in divorce settlements. It just takes some high-profile cases to make that clear.

Photo of Bizarrap and Shakira for their song “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”
Mariana Rolandi

-Analysis-

BUENOS AIRES — When Shakira, the Colombian pop diva, divorced her soccer star husband Gerard Piqué in 2022, she wrote a song to overcome the hurt and humiliation of the separation from Piqué, who had been cheating on her.

The song, which was made in collaboration with Argentine DJ Bizarrap and broke streaming records, was a "healthy way of channeling my emotions," Shakira said. She has described it as a "hymn for many women."

A day after its launch, Miley Cyrus followed suit with her own song on her husband's suspected affairs. Celebrities and influencers must have taken note here in Argentina: Sofía Aldrey, a makeup artist, posted screenshots of messages her former boyfriend had sent other women while they were a couple.

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