Page 229 - Environment
Tiger hide, other body parts seized in MP; 6 arrested
A tiger hide, claws and other body parts of the wildcat were seized here in Madhya Pradesh and six persons were arrested in this connection, a police officer said Friday. The tiger was poisoned by a group of poachers in a reserve in the state a few years ago, he said. "On a tip-off, we arrested a person identified as Sneh Sareyam (29) who was trying sell a tiger hide and other body parts on Imlikheda Link Road of the city Thursday night. "On the basis of information given by him, five other persons involved in the poaching were arrested," said Manoj Rai, Superintendent of Police (SP). He said the other arrested persons were identified as Chhotelal Bharati (50), Maganlal Bharati (40), Satyanarayan Yadav (60), Jujharilal Uike (45) and Shivlal Bharati (35). The SP said besides the hide, the tiger's claws, teeth and nails were also recovered from these persons. During interrogation, the poachers revealed they had poisoned the tiger about 3-4 years back in Kanjighat area of ...
KALIA scheme will be milestone in Odisha's economy: Naveen Patnaik
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said that the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme will be a milestone in the economy of the state.
Volkswagen to manufacture mobile electric car recharging stations
SALZGITTER, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen will manufacture electric car batteries and charging stations in its home region in Germany, as it prepares to mass produce electric vehicles and overhaul its components division, which makes engines and steering parts.
Even central banks need to take climate change into account: Lagarde
Terming climate change as one of the most pressing issues for the global economy, IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Friday said even central banks would need to take it into account in their policy decisions. She was speaking at a session on 'Global economy in transition' on the last day of the five-day World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2019 here. She said even central banks, banks, insurance companies and almost all industries would need to take climate change into account. While some industries may be impacted more and some relatively less, all need to do their bit, she added. "It's very easy to be lost in the headlines ... but what we really want to do ... is not focus on the headlines. So I'm not going to give you the economic outlook," Lagarde said. "We are going to really focus on risks, opportunities, that are out there ... I'm going to start with one which is clearly on everybody's mind - climate change." The planet's average surface temperature has risen by 1 degree Celsius ...
Gadkari to inaugurate cable-stayed bridge over river Mandovi in Goa on Jan 27
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari will on Sunday inaugurate four-lane cable-stayed bridge over river Mandovi in Goa.The Rs 600-crore bridge will be thrown open for the public use from January 29, but two and three wheelers will not be allowed on this bridge.According to officials, the 5-km bridge will support and sustain burgeoning traffic in Panjim. It will facilitate routing of Mumbai bound traffic coming in from Bengaluru via Ponda route and Old Goa towards NH-17, bypassing the main Panjim city.The bridge will also help overcome the bottlenecks caused at Panaji KTC circle, and Panaji entrance, the route which is currently being used by local traffic as well as NH-17 bound traffic.About 66,000 vehicles use this route every day, leading to hours of congestion, especially during the peak tourist season in Goa. The bridge will also be an aesthetically pleasing landmark for the development
Gadkari to inaugurate cable-stayed bridge over river Mandovi in Goa on Jan 27
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate a 5.1 km cable-stayed bridge over river Mandovi in Goa on January 27, the government said Friday. The 2,50,000 tonnes heavy bridge, is designed to support and sustain burgeoning traffic in Panjim besides being an aesthetically pleasing landmark for tourism development in Goa. Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate the newly built four-lane, cable-stayed bridge over river Mandovi in Goa on Sunday, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement. It will facilitate routing of Mumbai bound traffic coming from Bangalore via Ponda route and Old Goa towards NH-17, bypassing the main Panjim City, the statement added. Besides, it will also help to ease the bottlenecks caused at Panaji KTC Circle, and Panaji Entrance as the same route is currently being used by local traffic as well as NH-17 Highway bound traffic, it added. About 66,000 vehicles use this route every day, leading to hours of ...
Rogue elephant captured near Coimbatore, translocated
: A wild elephant, which has been troubling people and destroying crops in seven villages in and around Periya Thadagam on the outskirts of the city for the last seven months, was captured Friday, forest officials said. Based on a complaint from the villagers, particularly farmers, four tamed elephants (kumkis) were used to capture the rogue elephant, the officials said. The elephant, nicknamed Chinnathambi by some villagers, along with another named Vinayakar, has been a menace, they said. In an operation a month ago, Vinayakar was caught, radio-collared and released in Mudumalai forest, while Chinnathambi was elusive and continued to roam around human habitats until now. This morning, Chinnathambi was administered four darts of sedatives and prodded by two of the kumkis onto a lorry, the officials said During the six-hour-long operation, the tusks of the wild elephant got chipped off, they said. Then, it was radio-collared and taken by road to the Varagaliyar forest ..
Nepal, India to set up Energy Banking to utilise surplus electricity
Nepal and India have agreed to set up an 'Energy Banking' mechanism that would help the Himalayan country export its surplus electricity to neighbour India during the monsoon season and import power during its lean season in winter.The agreement on the 'Energy Banking' mechanism was arrived at during a meeting between the Nepali and Indian Energy Secretaries in Pokhara on Thursday, following recommendations by the electricity authorities of both the neighbours.The government officials from Nepal said the agreement is based on the nature of demand and supply, the state news agency RSS reported.Nepal's demand for electricity reaches its peak during the summer months, but production slumps to one-third of demand. Likewise, in India demand reaches its peak during the monsoon season and slumps during winter.Following the agreement, Nepal will export its surplus electricity to India during the monsoon season.The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) stated that in a couple of years, about 4,750
NASA's Opportunity rover completes 15 years on Mars
NASA's golf-cart-sized Opportunity rover has completed 15 years of its touchdown on the surface of Mars, the US space agency said. The six-wheeler rover landed in a region of Mars called Meridiani Planum on January 24, 2004, sending its first signal back to Earth from the surface of the Red Planet. The rover, which went silent since a global dust storm last June, was designed to travel 1,006 metres and operate on the Red Planet for 90 Martian days (sols), NASA said in a statement. It has travelled over 45 kilometres and logged its 5,000th Martian day (or sol) back in February 2018. "Fifteen years on the surface of Mars is testament not only to a magnificent machine of exploration but the dedicated and talented team behind it that has allowed us to expand our discovery space of the Red Planet," said John Callas, project manager for Opportunity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the US. "However, this anniversary cannot help but be a little bittersweet as at present we do not .
Party is over for dirt-cheap solar panels, says China exec
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The global solar power industry is about to lose a major competitive windfall as prices of Chinese-made solar panels begin to recover after a collapse last year, the leader of one of the world's top manufacturers said on Thursday.
Assault on traffic sentinels: Goa cops warn of strict action
A senior police official Friday warned that strict action would be taken against people assaulting traffic sentinels helping maintain road discipline in the coastal state. The 'Traffic Sentinel' scheme was started by the Goa police under which general public can report traffic violations by sending photographs or videos of defaulting vehicle or offending driver to designated numbers or on Whatsapp. In a recent case in Vasco, a traffic sentinel was beaten up and his car damaged by an alleged traffic offender, said officials. "We are going to take strict action against those who are attacking traffic sentinels. If you have anything against a sentinel, come to my office or go to any inspector's office and protest there," Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Dharmesh Angle told reporters on Friday. He also said that his department had started an inquiry into a traffic challan, of a four-wheeler driver fined for not wearing a helmet, being circulated on social media ...
Heatwave in Melbourne leaves thousands without power
Tens of thousands of homes in Australia's Melbourne city were without power on Friday due to a heatwave that has seen temperatures soar to record-breaking highs.
NASA's storm-silenced Rover completes 15 years on Mars
NASA's Opportunity rover that went into hibernation after a dust storm swept over the region and blocked sunlight from reaching it, has completed 15 years on the Red Planet.
4 injured in Maharashtra leopard attack
At least four people, including two television cameramen, were injured when a leopard strayed into a residential area here and caused havoc on Friday, officials said.
US government shutdown leaves space sculpture circling in orbit
The ongoing partial US government shutdown has endangered a sculpture that was recently launched into orbit, a media report said on Friday.
Maha: Leopard enters crowded Nashik area, injures 3, caught
A leopard Friday entered a crowded locality in Maharashtra's Nashik district and was caught several hours later but not before it had injured a local politician and two media personnel, police said. The leopard strayed into Savarkar Nagar area in the early hours of the day and was finally caught by Forest department personnel at around 10:45 am, an official from Gangapur Road police station said. "Local Shiv Sena corporator Santosh Gaikwad, television news channel cameramen Tabrez Shaikh and Kapil Bhaskar were injured by the leopard. They are undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital," he said. While Gaikwad was trying to control the large number of people who had assembled to see the rescue efforts, the media personnel were trying to obtain video footage of the animal when it pounced on them, he added. Forest department officials said it is possible the leopard strayed into Savarkar Nagar from the farms and forested patches in Chandshi area nearby. The leopard will be ..
Power outages as Australia swelters through extreme temperatures
Tens of thousands of people sweltering through a brutal heatwave in southern Australia were left without power Friday, as the grid struggled with surging demand. Authorities said about 60,000 customers were experiencing blackouts, after it ordered forced outages to reduce the risk of the entire grid failing. "We have asked for 100 megawatts of involuntary load reduction, we have notified the networks, they're in process of doing that," Australian Energy Market Operator chief executive Audrey Zibelman told reporters. The disruption comes as temperatures in Melbourne soared to 42.8 Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) just after lunch. Planned power interruptions began at midday and would likely last about two hours, authorities said. "We may have to do more over the course of the afternoon as the demand continues to increase," Zibelman added. There were reports of up to 100 traffic lights without power in Melbourne, as some shops and cafes were forced to close. In other parts of Victoria state ...
S Korea in airborne fight against 'Chinese' pollution
Seoul on Friday sent aircraft over the Yellow Sea to carry out cloud-seeding experiments in an effort to tackle air pollution many South Koreans blame on China. Air quality in South Korea is generally better than in its giant neighbour, the world's biggest polluter, which is periodically affected by choking bouts of filthy air and according to the International Energy Agency uses coal to generate around three quarters of its energy. Beijing has been seeking to tackle the scourge, which causes widespread public anger, and a recent study found urban levels of PM2.5 -- the tiny airborne particles considered most harmful to health -- had been cut by almost a third on average over four years. But they remain far above World Health Organization norms, and pollution levels in Korea sometimes spike as the prevailing winds blow PM2.5 particulates -- referred to as "fine dust" in the South -- across the sea between the two countries. Many South Koreans accused China when pollution surged for ...
Record-breaking heatwave triggers power cuts on Australia's stressed grid
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Blistering heat triggered power outages on Australia's strained grid on Friday as demand for air-conditioning soared and coal-fired generators struggled to meet the surge in consumption.
US sails warships through Taiwan Strait
The American Navy has sailed two ships through the Taiwan Strait, according to the US Pacific Fleet, which oversees operations in the area.