Page 923 - Environment
Pawan Hans helicopter with seven onboard goes missing
A Pawan Hans helicopter, which was heading to ONGC's north field with seven persons onboard, went missing off the Mumbai coast today, official sources said. The Indian Navy has deployed a frigate and a surveillance aircraft to locate the missing chopper while the Coast Guard said that "some debris has been located", but did not elaborate. The chopper, Dauphin N3, bearing registration number VT-PWA, took off from Juhu aerodrome at 10.25 AM, with five ONGC employees and two pilots onboard, they said. The chopper was scheduled to land at the designated oil rig at Mumbai High at 11 AM, the sources said. Search operations are on, they added. The Navy said it had deployed its stealth frigate INS Teg for the search operation while surveillance aircraft P8i has also been press into service. The Coast Guard said that it has diverted ships which were at sea and also those sailing from Mumbai. "A Dornier aircraft and helicopters from Daman (near Dahanu) have also been launched," a ..
Canada hopes G7 summit serves as springboard for new ideas
Canada hopes the upcoming G7 summit it is hosting will serve as a springboard for fresh ideas on key issues including climate change, the global economy and security, the lead organiser has said. "The G7 serves well as a proving or testing ground for discussions that could eventually go into the G20 or the United Nations or international financial institutions," Peter Boehm, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's G7 representative, said in an interview with AFP. "The beauty of these summits is that there is informal dialogue between leaders," said Boehm, who has participated in several past summits. Canada assumed the G7 presidency at the start of January and will host the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States in the picturesque resort village of La Malbaie on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River from June 8-9. The agenda for the 44th Group of Seven industrialised nations summit includes advancing gender equality and women's ...
UN hails India, China for leadership role over climate change
The United Nations has hailed India and China for their leadership role and strong commitment in fighting climate change at a time when "others are failing". Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the UN has a "very solid commitment" for climate action, pointing out that African nations were the biggest victims of the globally changing weather patterns. "We cannot be defeated by climate change and we are not yet winning this battle," he said yesterday at a ceremony in which Egypt took over the chairmanship of the 'Group of 77 (or G77) and China' from Ecuador. "And it is clear to me that the biggest victims of climate change are members of the G77, namely African countries affected by drought or small island countries affected by the kind of hurricanes that we have seen or the rising levels of waters. "But at the same time, of the largest economies of the world the two largest economies of the G77 are strongly committed to the leadership in climate action - and I ..
Rare 'leaf monkeys' sighted in China
A large group of rare Phayre's leaf monkeys has been spotted in southwest China, an animal expert said.
Restaurant and bar smoking bans do reduce smoking: study
Smoking risk drops significantly in college graduates when they live near areas that have completely banned smoking in bars and restaurants, a study has found. The research found that the bans were associated with high gains in quit attempts by smokers with low incomes. The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, linked 25 years of health data collected from young-to-middle-aged smokers to a database on smoking bans. The data showed that the effects of the smoking ban were not uniform. Overall, the bans appeared to be most effective at reducing smoking risk in people with higher levels of education. Among people with at least a bachelor's degree, smoking fell by about 20 per cent if they lived in areas where a ban was introduced. "Our results suggest that smoking bans may help start the process among people with lower socioeconomic status by making them more likely to try to quit smoking, but that more needs to be done to help translate it into ...
'Security Council reform essential for balance of power, diversity'
The Security Council should be reformed to ensure a balance of power at the global organisation and to make it more democratic, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.
Tibet museum to come up in Dharamshala: Sangay
The Tibetan 'government-in- exile' has decided to open a Tibet museum at Gangchen Kyishong here by the end of this year. The exhibits of the museum will be around 11 themes. The first will be an introduction to Tibet, its history and culture "prior to Chinese invasion", the head of the Tibetan 'government-in-exile' Lobsang Sangay said here. There will a section of contemporary Tibet and a memorial space for 1.2 million Tibetans "that have perished as a result of resistance", he said, adding there will themes based on environment and the Dalai Lama. Tempa Gyaltsen, who handles the environment theme, said, "Tibet with its environmental importance for Asia in terms of water and climate, among other things, is an issue both Tibetans and Chinese have to take heed of and work together in the long run." The cost of the museum will be around Rs six crore, half of which has been sourced, the director of the proposed Tibet Museum Tashi Phuntsok said.
China to build 'simulated earth system'
China will build an earth system simulating device to strengthen fundamental research.
Austerity: Bedi travels in bus to farm project in Tamil Nadu
As part of austerity measures, Puducherry Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi today travelled in a state-run bus to a district in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu to see a farm project run by an NGO to protect the environment. Bedi has been undertaking visits in and out of Puducherry on weekends since she assumed office in May 2016. Today, she visited a project run by Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) in Thazhuthali village in Villupuram district. The SRISTI foundation project is located on the Puducherry-Mailam route in Villupuram district. The NGO promotes inclusive self-sustainable and eco-friendly projects. The purpose of the visit is to see the project run by the NGO to protect the environment and encourage ecologically beneficial farming. Bedi led a 20-member team, including officials from Raj Nivas, and block development officers, municipal commissioners, village level workers and an IAS officer. An official source said the ..
India major global player in fighting climate change: Guterres
India has taken on a major leadership role in fighting climate change when others are failing, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said.
Operations resume at Chennai Airport
Flight services that were temporarily suspended due to smog have now resumed.Celebrations on account of the Bogi festival resulted in thick smog on Saturday morning, thereby interrupting flight services from 3 am.It is said that nearly 12 flights were diverted and nearly 30 delayed in view of the smoke generated due to the ritualistic burning of old articles on account of festivities, which has caused a dip in visibility.For the unversed, Bogi festival is the first day of Pongal and is celebrated in honour of Lord Indra, who is worshiped for the abundance of harvest, thereby bringing plenty and prosperity to the land.On this day, people clean out their homes and collect all unwanted goods, which are then thrown into a fire made of wood and cow-dung cakes. Girls dance around the bonfire, singing songs in praise of God, the spring, and the harvest. The significance of the bonfire is to keep warm during the last lap of winter.
China-built railways in Sri Lanka start track-laying
The track-laying commencement of the first phase of the China-built Matara-Kataragama railway extension project has started in Matara in Sri Lanka.
ED conducts raid at Karti Chidambaram's Delhi, Chennai homes
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a raid at former union minister P. Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram's homes in Delhi and Chennai in the alleged INX Media bribery case, on Friday.During the filing of the report, the raid was on-goingAccording to sources, the ED officials reached there at 7.30 a.m. There were about five officials at their residence.More details are awaited.
Chennai: Bogi celebrations hamper flight schedule
As the city decks up to welcome the harvest season, celebrations on account of the Bogi festival have resulted in thick smog, thereby interrupting flight services from 3 am on Saturday morning.It is said that nearly 12 flights were diverted and nearly 30 delayed in view of the smoke generated due to the ritualistic burning of old articles on account of festivities, which has caused a dip in visibility.For the unversed, Bogi festival is the first day of Pongal and is celebrated in honour of Lord Indra, who is worshiped for the abundance of harvest, thereby bringing plenty and prosperity to the land.On this day, people clean out their homes and collect all unwanted goods, which are then thrown into a fire made of wood and cow-dung cakes. Girls dance around the bonfire, singing songs in praise of God, the spring, and the harvest. The significance of the bonfire is to keep warm during the last lap of winter.A special puja is also performed on the first day of Pongal before the cutting of .
US to continue anti-dumping probe against Chinese aluminium products
A US trade panel has voted to continue anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty probe against Chinese aluminium products despite Beijing's strong dissatisfaction with the move.
Volkswagen agrees to $232 million 3.0-liter Canadian emissions settlement
(Reuters) - Volkswagen AG has agreed to a settlement worth up to $232 million (C$290.5) with owners of vehicles in Canada affected by its diesel emissions-cheating scandal, the automaker said on Friday.
Mhadei dispute: Karnataka violating SC directives, Goa to complain
Violating directives of the Mhadei Inter-State Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court, the Karnataka government has re-started work on the Kalsa canal on the river, Goa's Water Resources Minister Vinod Palienkar claimed on Friday.
Range forest officer held for taking Rs 11 lakh bribe
A range forest officer was today arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 11 lakh from an officer of a leading educational institute here to release its seized construction equipment, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) said. The range forest officer was identified as Vilas Nikam (49), the anti-graft agency said. According to an ACB official, Sinhgad Technical Institute had purchased a piece of land near Lonavala. However, the forest department had objected to the portion of land, after which the institute filed a petition in the Bombay High Court. "The forest department had registered a case against the institute for carrying out construction activity in the disputed land and seized the construction equipment such as backhoe loader and other vehicles," an ACB official said. The accused allegedly sought Rs 11 lakh from the administrative officer of the institute to release the loader and other vehicles and to allow construction work in the disputed land. The ...
64 crore given to farmers: MP CM
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said that an amount of Rs. 64 crore was transferred in the accounts of the farmers in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district under the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana scheme.The Madhya Pradesh Government on January 6 launched Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana scheme which provides facilities to farmers for better irrigation to tackle the crisis of drought."Rs. 64 crore was transferred in the accounts of farmers in Chhindwara district. Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana is proving to be a boon for them," Chouhan told ANI.Earlier on January 6, Chouhan said the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana would save the state farmers."When I made the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana people said that the state treasury will go empty due to this scheme, but I told them it doesn't matter. At least the farmers will be saved," Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, during a Kisaan Sammelan here.Chouhan added he had sanctioned a Rs 183-crore relief for Tikamgarh farmers affected by drought."Till ...
India and ASEAN countries agree to tackle climate change, price volatility
India and ASEAN countries on Friday agreed to cooperate in agriculture and forestry to tackle challenges of climate change and price volatility, along with seeking intervention for livelihood opportunities, exchange of farm machinery and development of heterotic rice hybrids.
