MONTH THAT WAS
Man killed while stealing fuel
Mexico City: A man was burnt to death in northwestern Mexico when a tanker truck exploded while he was filling it with fuel siphoned from a pipeline, police said. Moises Rodriguez got burnt in an explosion and subsequent fire in Sinaloa state when he was pilfering fuel from a Petroleos Mexicanos pipeline, they said. The tanker truck exploded, killing him and sending flames shooting into the air, police said, adding that the pipeline blast knocked out the power grid in a nearby town. The fire was brought under control and the pipeline was temporarily shut down to avoid further damage. About 50 illegal taps have been found on pipelines in the state this year. Theft of fuel from pipelines-known in Mexico as “milking” - is common.
State mulls lessening jail term of petty convicts
In a relief to prisoners convicted for petty crimes, Home Minister R R Patil announced reduction in their punishment as a goodwill gesture in wake of the state’s golden jubilee year celebrations. “As the state is celebrating the golden jubilee year, we are mulling over reducing punishment of prisoners who have been convicted for petty crimes. We would ensure that they are not habitual criminals,” Patil told the Legislative Council here while replying to a discussion on absconding convicts. The minister said 14,745 convicts on bail or parole have fled Mumbai and 23,666 the state, in the last two decades adding that police has succeeded in catching 235 convicts so far, Patil said. “The Home department is upgrading these numbers considering about 15-20 per cent may have died. We would soon launch a special drive to nab the absconding people, “he said. The issue was raised by Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe who asked for the government that over 14,000 convicts on parole were absconding.
Tobacco can kill over a billion people
United Nations: If the current rate of tobacco use continue, a billion people could die from active and passive smoking within this century, a senior UN official has warned. Douglas Bettcher Director, of the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, told the UN News service that “a cataclysmic future” lies ahead unless serious steps are taken to curb smoking. “There is no need for this,” said Bettcher. “We have tools to help everyone quit”. Approximately six million people currently die each year from either directly smoking tobacco or being exposed to it, said Bettcher.
Oceans could rise 1.6 meters by 2100
Paris: Warming in the Arctic occurring at twice the global average is on track to lift sea levels by up to 1.6 meters by 2100, a far steeper jump than predicted a few years ago, a consortium of scientists reported. Melting ice and snow has accounted for 40 per cent of recent increase in ocean levels and are likely to play an even larger role in future, according to the Oslo-based Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Project(AMAP). “Global sea level is projected to rise 0.9 to 1.6 meters by 2100, and the loss from Arctic glaciers, ice caps and the Greenland Ice Sheet will make a substantial contribution to this,” AMAP said in a report. Even the low end of this range would have devastating consequences for coastal cities and densely-populated, low lying deltas in Bangladesh, Vietnam, China and many other countries, scientists have warned.
‘India most populous by 2011’ – U.N
New Delhi: The world’s population, long excepted to stabilise just above 9 billion by the middle of the century, will rather keep growing to hit 10.1billon by 2100 while India will probably overtake China as the most populous country in the world by 2021, according to the latest United Nations projections.
With over 1.2 billion people counted in the 2011 Census, every sixth person in the world is already an Indian. The UN Population Report predicts that on October 31, 2011, the 7 billionth concurrent human will be born on earth. And it will be probably be a boy.
The report suggests that China, which has for decades enforced restrictive population policies, could soon enter the ranks of countries with declining populations, peaking at 1.4 billion in the next couple of decades, then falling to 941 million by 2100.
The United States is growing faster than many rich countries, largely because of high immigration and higher fertility among Hispanic immigrants. The report projects that the United States population will rise from today’s 311million to 478 million by 2100.
Demographers call the new projections a reminder that a problem that helped, define global politics in the 20th century the population explosion, is far from solved in the 21st.
The projections were made by the United Nations population division, which has a track record of fairly accurate forecasts. In the new report, the division raised its forecast for the year 2050, estimating that the world would most likely have 9.3 billion people then, an increase of 156 million over the previous estimate for that year, published in 2008.
All over the world, the highest growth rates are seen in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. According to Thomas Buttner, head of the UN Population Division, Nigeria is one such example. “They have more than four children per women and if that condition stays constant for the next 90 years, Nigeria would add 2.5 billion people to its current population,” Buttner said, adding that such growing is clearly unsustainable.
The centrist version projected by the UN predicts drop in birth rates from the present global average of 2.5 children per women to two over the next 90 years. That would mean our planet would host 10.1 billion humans by 2100.
The director of the United Nations population division, Hania Zlotnik, said the world’s fastest-growing countries, and the wealthy Western nations that help finance their development, face a choice about whether to renew their emphasis on programs that encourage family planning.
US teacher shaves for first time since 2001
A middle school teacher vowed after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, that he would not shave his beard until Osama bin Laden was caught. Gary Weddle kept his word. “I spent my first five minutes crying and then I couldn’t get it off fast enough,” Weddle, 50, told the ‘Capital Press’. Weddle, who lives in East Wenatchee and teaches in Ephrata, had wanted to cut his beard for years. The gray stringy growth actually made him look a bit like bin Laden. Weddle was a substitute teacher in Wenatchee when the terrorist attacks occurred on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing some 3,000 people. Weddle said he was so absorbed in the news that he neglected to shave. A week or so later, he decided not shave until bin Laden was captured or proven dead. He figured it would just be a month or two.
Thane bizman seals Jordanian firm for patent violation
A business group in Jordan, which copied the products manufactured by a Thane based industrialist, has been sealed with the help of local authorities. Ramesh Mhatre had patented his innovation “three cornered diffuser” used in the air-conditioning system. This is the only spring loaded diffuser for centralised AC system, he claimed. Addressing a news conference, Mhatre said that he was the first Indian innovator to get patent for his product in the USA.
Corporator disqualified RTI activist follows case for 2 years
Mumbai: Shiv Sena corporator Meenakshi Patil, has been disqualified for having carried out an illegal extension inside her bungalow. The disqualification has been ordered by municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar.
Patil had purchased a bungalow at Miniland, tank Road Bhandup-West in the name of her relative Bharati Kisan Patil. “In 2009, they began repairs to the bungalow and meanwhile constructed a two storied structure with a shed on the top in the remaining open space, despite of having used all FSI up already, said Tarashankar Shetty, the RTI activist who followed up the matter to its conclusion.
This was challenged by Shetty under BMC Act’s section 16 (1) (1d). “Initially, I asked for their disqualification by writing to the S ward. But they just sat on it. I then wrote to the commissioner. Meanwhile, the corporator wrote an acceptance letter to the deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) that they had constructed some parts without authority and gave many excuses. Later, when new commissioner Subodh Kumar took over, he wrote to the court requesting extension of time which the court granted. “It took a change of commissioner to finally take an action in the matter,” Shetty rued. The said illegal structures inside the bungalow will be demolished, sources added.
Binayak Sen is on Plan panel’s committee
New Delhi: Naxal sympathizer Binayak Sen is wanted in the corridors of power. A civil rights activist, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of sedition and for his links with Naxalites. Recently the Supreme Court granted him bail, after which he was released from Raipur Jail. The Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters that Sen has been appointed on board of one of the panel’s steering committee to give input for the 12th plan on health related issues.
Confirming the appointment, Ahluwalia told reporters that it was the Planning Commission’s proposal to appoint him. The 61-year old rights activist, a pediatrician, has worked in Chhattisgarh’s tribal belt. In this respect, his input on malnutrition in tribal children is expected to be critical while formulating the 12th plan, sources said.
Binayak conveyed his consent to the Planning Commission on, stating that he will strive to bring “equity” in health related issues for deprived communities.
The 40-member steering committee on health is expected to hold its first meeting on May 25 or May 26.
Even as Ahluwalia welcomed Sen on board, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh questioned the rationale behind the appointment as he was still facing trial. “The people of Chhattisgarh do not approve of the appointment,” he told a mainstream newspaper. Pointing out that generally for such appointments a proper procedure is followed, including scrutiny of the antecedents of the individual, Raman Singh said: “Is there such a dearth of experts in the country that the Centre had to take the advice of a person accused of sedition? The people of Chhattisgarh do not approve of this,” he added.
Mexico City: A man was burnt to death in northwestern Mexico when a tanker truck exploded while he was filling it with fuel siphoned from a pipeline, police said. Moises Rodriguez got burnt in an explosion and subsequent fire in Sinaloa state when he was pilfering fuel from a Petroleos Mexicanos pipeline, they said. The tanker truck exploded, killing him and sending flames shooting into the air, police said, adding that the pipeline blast knocked out the power grid in a nearby town. The fire was brought under control and the pipeline was temporarily shut down to avoid further damage. About 50 illegal taps have been found on pipelines in the state this year. Theft of fuel from pipelines-known in Mexico as “milking” - is common.
State mulls lessening jail term of petty convicts
In a relief to prisoners convicted for petty crimes, Home Minister R R Patil announced reduction in their punishment as a goodwill gesture in wake of the state’s golden jubilee year celebrations. “As the state is celebrating the golden jubilee year, we are mulling over reducing punishment of prisoners who have been convicted for petty crimes. We would ensure that they are not habitual criminals,” Patil told the Legislative Council here while replying to a discussion on absconding convicts. The minister said 14,745 convicts on bail or parole have fled Mumbai and 23,666 the state, in the last two decades adding that police has succeeded in catching 235 convicts so far, Patil said. “The Home department is upgrading these numbers considering about 15-20 per cent may have died. We would soon launch a special drive to nab the absconding people, “he said. The issue was raised by Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe who asked for the government that over 14,000 convicts on parole were absconding.
Tobacco can kill over a billion people
United Nations: If the current rate of tobacco use continue, a billion people could die from active and passive smoking within this century, a senior UN official has warned. Douglas Bettcher Director, of the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, told the UN News service that “a cataclysmic future” lies ahead unless serious steps are taken to curb smoking. “There is no need for this,” said Bettcher. “We have tools to help everyone quit”. Approximately six million people currently die each year from either directly smoking tobacco or being exposed to it, said Bettcher.
Oceans could rise 1.6 meters by 2100
Paris: Warming in the Arctic occurring at twice the global average is on track to lift sea levels by up to 1.6 meters by 2100, a far steeper jump than predicted a few years ago, a consortium of scientists reported. Melting ice and snow has accounted for 40 per cent of recent increase in ocean levels and are likely to play an even larger role in future, according to the Oslo-based Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Project(AMAP). “Global sea level is projected to rise 0.9 to 1.6 meters by 2100, and the loss from Arctic glaciers, ice caps and the Greenland Ice Sheet will make a substantial contribution to this,” AMAP said in a report. Even the low end of this range would have devastating consequences for coastal cities and densely-populated, low lying deltas in Bangladesh, Vietnam, China and many other countries, scientists have warned.
‘India most populous by 2011’ – U.N
New Delhi: The world’s population, long excepted to stabilise just above 9 billion by the middle of the century, will rather keep growing to hit 10.1billon by 2100 while India will probably overtake China as the most populous country in the world by 2021, according to the latest United Nations projections.
With over 1.2 billion people counted in the 2011 Census, every sixth person in the world is already an Indian. The UN Population Report predicts that on October 31, 2011, the 7 billionth concurrent human will be born on earth. And it will be probably be a boy.
The report suggests that China, which has for decades enforced restrictive population policies, could soon enter the ranks of countries with declining populations, peaking at 1.4 billion in the next couple of decades, then falling to 941 million by 2100.
The United States is growing faster than many rich countries, largely because of high immigration and higher fertility among Hispanic immigrants. The report projects that the United States population will rise from today’s 311million to 478 million by 2100.
Demographers call the new projections a reminder that a problem that helped, define global politics in the 20th century the population explosion, is far from solved in the 21st.
The projections were made by the United Nations population division, which has a track record of fairly accurate forecasts. In the new report, the division raised its forecast for the year 2050, estimating that the world would most likely have 9.3 billion people then, an increase of 156 million over the previous estimate for that year, published in 2008.
All over the world, the highest growth rates are seen in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. According to Thomas Buttner, head of the UN Population Division, Nigeria is one such example. “They have more than four children per women and if that condition stays constant for the next 90 years, Nigeria would add 2.5 billion people to its current population,” Buttner said, adding that such growing is clearly unsustainable.
The centrist version projected by the UN predicts drop in birth rates from the present global average of 2.5 children per women to two over the next 90 years. That would mean our planet would host 10.1 billion humans by 2100.
The director of the United Nations population division, Hania Zlotnik, said the world’s fastest-growing countries, and the wealthy Western nations that help finance their development, face a choice about whether to renew their emphasis on programs that encourage family planning.
US teacher shaves for first time since 2001
A middle school teacher vowed after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, that he would not shave his beard until Osama bin Laden was caught. Gary Weddle kept his word. “I spent my first five minutes crying and then I couldn’t get it off fast enough,” Weddle, 50, told the ‘Capital Press’. Weddle, who lives in East Wenatchee and teaches in Ephrata, had wanted to cut his beard for years. The gray stringy growth actually made him look a bit like bin Laden. Weddle was a substitute teacher in Wenatchee when the terrorist attacks occurred on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing some 3,000 people. Weddle said he was so absorbed in the news that he neglected to shave. A week or so later, he decided not shave until bin Laden was captured or proven dead. He figured it would just be a month or two.
Thane bizman seals Jordanian firm for patent violation
A business group in Jordan, which copied the products manufactured by a Thane based industrialist, has been sealed with the help of local authorities. Ramesh Mhatre had patented his innovation “three cornered diffuser” used in the air-conditioning system. This is the only spring loaded diffuser for centralised AC system, he claimed. Addressing a news conference, Mhatre said that he was the first Indian innovator to get patent for his product in the USA.
Corporator disqualified RTI activist follows case for 2 years
Mumbai: Shiv Sena corporator Meenakshi Patil, has been disqualified for having carried out an illegal extension inside her bungalow. The disqualification has been ordered by municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar.
Patil had purchased a bungalow at Miniland, tank Road Bhandup-West in the name of her relative Bharati Kisan Patil. “In 2009, they began repairs to the bungalow and meanwhile constructed a two storied structure with a shed on the top in the remaining open space, despite of having used all FSI up already, said Tarashankar Shetty, the RTI activist who followed up the matter to its conclusion.
This was challenged by Shetty under BMC Act’s section 16 (1) (1d). “Initially, I asked for their disqualification by writing to the S ward. But they just sat on it. I then wrote to the commissioner. Meanwhile, the corporator wrote an acceptance letter to the deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) that they had constructed some parts without authority and gave many excuses. Later, when new commissioner Subodh Kumar took over, he wrote to the court requesting extension of time which the court granted. “It took a change of commissioner to finally take an action in the matter,” Shetty rued. The said illegal structures inside the bungalow will be demolished, sources added.
Binayak Sen is on Plan panel’s committee
New Delhi: Naxal sympathizer Binayak Sen is wanted in the corridors of power. A civil rights activist, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of sedition and for his links with Naxalites. Recently the Supreme Court granted him bail, after which he was released from Raipur Jail. The Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters that Sen has been appointed on board of one of the panel’s steering committee to give input for the 12th plan on health related issues.
Confirming the appointment, Ahluwalia told reporters that it was the Planning Commission’s proposal to appoint him. The 61-year old rights activist, a pediatrician, has worked in Chhattisgarh’s tribal belt. In this respect, his input on malnutrition in tribal children is expected to be critical while formulating the 12th plan, sources said.
Binayak conveyed his consent to the Planning Commission on, stating that he will strive to bring “equity” in health related issues for deprived communities.
The 40-member steering committee on health is expected to hold its first meeting on May 25 or May 26.
Even as Ahluwalia welcomed Sen on board, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh questioned the rationale behind the appointment as he was still facing trial. “The people of Chhattisgarh do not approve of the appointment,” he told a mainstream newspaper. Pointing out that generally for such appointments a proper procedure is followed, including scrutiny of the antecedents of the individual, Raman Singh said: “Is there such a dearth of experts in the country that the Centre had to take the advice of a person accused of sedition? The people of Chhattisgarh do not approve of this,” he added.
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