| VIEW FINDER |
|
 |
HUMAN OVULATION FILMED FOR FIRST TIME
The moment was captured by chance during a hysterectomy operation. Only animal ovulation has been filmed till now. Human eggs are
produced by follicles in the ovary, which, during ovulation, produce a reddish protrusion to release the egg. Some suggest an explosive release of the egg but the filmed ovulation took 15 minutes to finish. LEUVEN INSTITUTE FOR FERTILITY And EMBRYOLOGY |
India's inflation rate leapt to a 13-year high of 11.05 per cent in the first week of June, following a hike in retail fuel price. It was up from 8.5 per cent the week before.
Nigeria's main offshore oilfield, Bonga, is temporarily closed after a militant attack, cutting a tenth of the country's total oil output. This is likely to affect global oil prices.
Zimbabwe's government has relaxed a ban on
ngos operating in the country and allowed 400 organizations working on
hiv/aids to resume operations.
Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda has recommended a
cbi probe into the murder of NREGA activist Lalit Mehta.
Ethnic tension in Sri Lanka is disrupting aid to the flood-battered Batticaloa district. Relief officials say they are reluctant to send staff to the field.
US corn's future trading price touched a record high on June 18, bolstered by the worst floods in 15 years in Midwest --the key growing region.
Ranbaxy settled a patent litigation with Pfizer on Lipitor, allowing an early introduction of its generic version. Ranbaxy will have exclusive marketing rights for 180 days in the
us after November 30, 2011.
Counterfeit anti-malarial drugs on the Kenyan market are hampering efforts to fight the disease, says the government. Officials seized thousands of dodgy artemisinin-based malaria drugs in Nairobi.
High hiv/aids rate in Botswana has put a strain on the country's blood reserve, reducing the number of donors while raising transfusion demands.
A South African court banned unauthorized clinical trials of vitamin therapies for
aids. Such trials led to deaths as patients stopped using
aids drugs.
Drought in Ethiopia has doubled the number of people needing urgent humanitarian aid to 4.6 million, said the
un.
Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled energy company, will soon begin sales of petrol mixed with ethanol in Japan.
The UK is seeking a five-year waiver from
eu air pollution rules to expand Heathrow Airport. The expansion work will result in a significant increase in vehicular exhausts.
6,000 mobile phone towers in Delhi, running on gensets, have been asked to conform to air and noise pollution guidelines in three weeks.
Florida, for the third consecutive budget year, has slashed
us $1 billion to its Department of Environmental Protection. It allocated
us $2 billion this year.
Environmentalists in Kenya fear that the toxic insecticide carbofuran, banned in Europe, is being used to poison lions and other predators.
Arm bone of a predatory dinosaur, Megaraptor, sheds light on the origin of Australian dinosaurs. It is the first evidence linking them to those in the Gondwana land.
Argentine farmers ended a three-month strike against grain export-tax hikes on June 24, after the government assured to debate the issue. The strike had crippled food and fuel supply in the country.
Rising food prices have led Namibia to lift its 15 per cent
vat on staple food. Uganda has released a new high-yield rice breed to improve food security.
New Zealand will ban traditional light bulbs starting in 2009, in a rush to meet Kyoto targets. The move, it says, will reduce energy consumption by 20 per cent by 2015.
South Africa's cabinet has approved the controversial nuclear energy policy, saying that it would help the country reduce over-reliance on coal-fired power stations, while alleviating power shortage.
Japan and China have agreed to jointly develop part of the gas deposits in the East China Sea, addressing one of the most contentious issues in Sino-Japanese relations.
The US president has urged the Congress to end a ban on offshore drilling in federal lands off the
us coast to ease anxiety about fuel prices.
Europe's lobby group, BusinessEurope, called for a review of the
eu's biofuel target, 10 per cent of all vehicle fuel by 2020, ahead of an
eu summit on high food prices.
Quake-hit China is now battered by storms, floods and lanslides that have killed 35 and displaced 1.9 million people in south China by June 23.
The UK and Norway's governments launched a
us $213 million plan to check deforestation in Congo. The plan will use satellite cameras.
Brazil's environment minister asked the grain-processing industry not to purchase soy from the deforested Amazon until July 2009. The ban will cover timber and beef sectors.
Carbon credit prices in the
eu raised by 40 per cent in the past four months as energy providers switched to coal in the face of soaring oil prices, and to compensate emissions, purchased carbon credits.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.