Polluted air causes 5.5 million deaths a year new research says
- 13 February 2016
- Science & Environment
More than 5.5 million people worldwide are dying prematurely every year as a result of air pollution, according to new research.
Most of these deaths are occurring in the rapidly developing economies of China and India.
The main culprit is the emission of small particles from power plants, factories, vehicle exhausts and from the burning of coal and wood.
The data was compiled as part of the Global Burden of Disease Project.
Scientists involved in the initiative say the statistics illustrate how far, and how fast, some nations must travel to improve the air their citizens breathe.
"In Beijing or Delhi on a bad air pollution day, the number of fine particles (known as PM2.5) can be higher than 300 micrograms per cubic metre," explained Dan Greenbaum from the Health Effects Institute, in Boston, US.
"The number should be about 25 or 35 micrograms."
Dublin murders: The bloody drugs feud at the heart of the city's turf war
Bloodshed has exploded at the opening of Ireland's election campaign with two killings in the heart of the capital
Gerry "the Monk" Hutch is officially retired from his former criminal lifestyle. Notorious for being one of Ireland's most prolific bank robbers he said he quit crime after being released from jail in 1985.
His unusual nickname, The Monk, was given to him by fellow criminals after he adopted an austere, disciplined, life-style, appearing to eschew material comforts after vowing never to return to prison.That's his street legend at least.
The other unusual thing about him is that he is still alive. Most of his contemporaries are dead. Few of the original group of criminals - dubbed the Bugsy Malone gang because of their youth - have enjoyed such longevity as Gerry. Most died from the ravages of drugs - heroin in particular - or have been shot dead, either by the police or rivals.
Russian political scientist uses fake photo to criticise Ukraine
Serguei Markov is a renowned Russian political scientist who is a member of various institutions and committees related to the Kremlin. From 2009 to 2012, he notably took part in a committee whose aim was to fight “historic falsifications” relating to the role of the USSR in World War II. But apparently he doesn’t apply these fact-checking skills to his own claims.
On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight 17, which had departed from Amsterdam, was shot out of the sky in the region of Donetsk, in Ukraine, by a ground-to-air missile. Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly blamed each other for the tragedy.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian separatists, whom they have been fighting in eastern Ukraine, are to blame. Russian authorities, meanwhile, insist the plane was shot down by the Ukrainian army. That’s what Markov believes, too.
On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight 17, which had departed from Amsterdam, was shot out of the sky in the region of Donetsk, in Ukraine, by a ground-to-air missile. Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly blamed each other for the tragedy.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian separatists, whom they have been fighting in eastern Ukraine, are to blame. Russian authorities, meanwhile, insist the plane was shot down by the Ukrainian army. That’s what Markov believes, too.
WHEN Sheikh Abdul Aziz, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, issued a fatwa directing Muslims not to play chess as, according to him, the ancient board game was un-Islamic, a roar of laughter greeted this edict on social media.
A similar reaction was seen when a Malaysian cleric decreed that yoga should not be practised by Muslims as it had Hindu origins. More recently, a so-called fatwa permitting Muslim men to eat their wives in extreme circumstances went viral on social media. Although the Saudi grand mufti denied having issued it, many may have believed it to be genuine as the same worthy had urged in 2012 that all churches in the Arabian peninsula be destroyed.
But why look towards Saudi Arabia and Malaysia for such examples? Here in Pakistan some years ago, a cleric in Noshki, a small town in Balochistan, reportedly issued a fatwa to the effect that girls using mobile phones would have acid thrown in their faces. He cited ‘Islamic tradition’ to bar girls from receiving a formal education and was critical of women working in NGOs, urging them to go home and look after their husbands.
Earthquake warning: New app to identify tremors early
New smartphone app has the potential to create a worldwide mobile seismic network to warn users of quakes.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have unveiled a free Android app that harnesses a smartphone's ability to detect whether its movement is likely caused by an earthquake or by human activities.
The MyShake app, launched on Friday, then transmits the data to a processing centre where it can be used, along with the information from millions of other smartphones, to potentially warn users of imminent tremors from nearby quakes.
"The accelerometers in the smartphones are actually similar to the ones used in seismology," said Qingkai Kong, lead researcher at the Seismological Lab at University of California, Berkeley.
Canada's most racist city? A year later, Winnipeg takes stock
PATH TO PROGRESS
Last year, MacLean's magazine harshly criticized the city of 700,000, which is home to Canada's largest aboriginal community. While progress is slow, many see hope that change is on the horizon.
WINNIPEG, CANADA — Last year, Winnipeg got slapped with a moniker it most definitely did not want: Canada’s most racist city.
According to the influential Maclean’s magazine, the “Chicago of the North” badly neglected and abused its aboriginal population, who were constantly on the receiving end not only of slurs and taunts but also of poor policing and appallingly inferior public services.
The biting take on the city – which has prided itself on welcoming newcomers from Europe, Asia, and elsewhere – deeply wounded Winnipeg’s leaders, who quickly vowed publicly, even tearfully, to do better.
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