Environment

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Oil from a spill that has contaminated a stretch of Brazil’s coast was detected in Rio de Janeiro state, the navy said, as President Jair Bolsonaro warned the country was preparing for the worst.

Some 300g – a small quantity of oil – were found far from the region’s most famous beaches, in the sand in the town of Sao Joao da Barra, as the spill moves southward.

The town is located about 300km north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s tourism capital, and far from the state’s most emblematic beaches such as Copacabana.

SYDNEY, Nov 21 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sydney’s normally picturesque skyline was once again blanketed by thick smoke today (Thursday), as around 50 bushfires continued to burn across Australia’s east coast.

Deemed “hazardous” by the New South Wales (NSW) State Department of Environment, health authorities have urged schools to keep children indoors, during lunch breaks.

“It’s important that if you do have children, just try and keep them indoors or discourage them from exercising too much outside,” Richard Broome from NSW Health told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

21 Nov 2019; MEMO: The Dutch parliament passed a motion on Tuesday objecting to a recent European court ruling concerning the labelling of produce made in Israeli settlements, reported the Times of Israel.

KATHMANDU, Nov 19 (NNN-NEPALNEWS) – Nepal’s Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli, inaugurated a China-funded 60 MW Hydro-power Project, which had started producing electricity recently.

Upper Trishuli 3A Hydro-power Project, developed by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power production and utility body, and constructed by China Gezhouba Group Company, is located at the border of Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.

New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced free sewer connections for residents of the city if they apply for one before March 31, 2020.

Under the 'Mukhyamantri Muft Sewer Yojna', nearly 2.31 lakh people who do not have a sewer connection will benefit, Kejriwal said, adding that it will also prevent flow of untreated sewer into the Yamuna river.

The scheme will cover 787 colonies where sewer lines have been laid.

New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced a scheme in which people in unauthorised colonies can get their septic tanks cleaned for free.

There are around 1,700 unauthorised colonies in Delhi and around 430 have sewer lines. In rest of the colonies, people have septic tanks, which they get cleaned by hiring private parties.

Many times people die while cleaning these septic tanks and this is a big step in making Delhi clean and putting an end to sewer deaths, he said.

New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) A thick layer of toxic smog engulfed Delhi as the pollution level continued to remain in the 'severe' category for the fourth consecutive day on Friday.

The high pollution can be attributed to low wind speed, which has led to stagnation of pollutants in the air and slowed down the dispersion process, authorities said.

New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) The noxious smog resulting from raging farm fires and unfavourable weather pushed pollution in Delhi-NCR towards the "emergency" zone on Wednesday, prompting authorities to order closure of schools till November 15 -- a second time in two weeks.

With the Central Pollution Control Board fearing a similar situation will prevail over the next two days, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the odd-even road rationing scheme can be extended if needed.

Basirhat (WB), Nov 13 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, after conducting an aerial survey of cyclone 'Bulbul'-hit areas in North 24 Parganas, said on Wednesday that the loss incurred by the state due to the natural calamity might go up to Rs 50,000 crore.

Banerjee handed over a cheque of Rs 2.4 lakh each to the family members of five people from the district who lost their lives in the calamity.

Panaji, Nov 13 (PTI) Goa is soon likely to get an 'Organic Agriculture University', which would primarily focus on studying organic crops that could be grown in the state, Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar said on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant gave an in-principle nod to the proposal during a meeting held on Tuesday, Kavlekar, who is also the state's agriculture minister, told PTI.

"The government has set a target of one year to set up the university, the first-of-its-kind in the state," he said.