Extreme arabia

A new study that links extreme rains with lower birth weights in Brazil’s Amazon region underscores the long-term health impacts of weather extremes connected to climate change, researchers said on Monday. Exceptionally heavy rain and floods during pregnancy were linked to lower birth weight and premature births in Brazil’s northern Amazonas state, according to the researchers from Britain’s Lancaster University and the FIOCRUZ health research institute. They compared nearly 3,00,000 births over 11 years with local weather data and found babies born after extreme rainfall were more likely to have low birth weights, which is linked to worse educational, health and even income attainment as adults. Even non-extreme intense rainfall was linked to a 40% higher chance of a child being low birth-weight, according to the study, published on Monday in the Nature Sustainability journal. Co-author Luke Parry said heavy rains and flooding could cause increases in infectious diseases ... » Learn More about Climate extremes seen harming unborn babies in Brazil’s Amazon

An agreement between India and Pakistan, however tenuous, has its own meaning and impact. IMAGE: Indians soldiers at the Line of Control, the border separating India and Pakistan. Photograph: PTI Photo Winds of change have begun to blow in different parts of the world in the end of February 2021, with some potential for major changes in the future. Chinese troops have agreed to mutual withdrawal in the Pangong sector in Ladakh without any particular gain. President Joe Biden launched his first attack abroad, against Iranian supported areas in Syria, justifying it as a warning to Iran. In a delicate balancing act, he has imposed sanctions on certain individuals in Saudi Arabia for the gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi , without personally hurting the mastermind. And, surprises of surprises, India and Pakistan have pledged to honour the 2003 cease fire agreement without any apparent provocation. It looked more like formalising a de facto situation as the ... » Learn More about Silent guns on LoC raise hopes of peace

Study-from-home routines spark demand for quality education online Time was ticking, the day's deadline was just an hour away, but Tang Zhumei, an accountant and a 39-year-old mother from Beijing, suddenly stopped auditing dozens of financial statements that piled up on her desktop. Upon receiving a pop-up notification, she reached for her smartphone and, in a jiffy, bought an online English-language course for her 11-year-old daughter. The 60-session course set her back by 9,000 yuan ($1,389), paid via WeChat Pay, but Tang said she believes it's worth every fen of the money spent. In China, online consumption as part of the national consumption upgrade can take many forms. Top-quality education is par for the COVID-19-era online shopping course as study-from-home regimen is part of the new normal. And parents tend to vie for the best e-learning programs for their children, which are considered few and far between. Demand outstrips supply, and market forces could send prices ... » Learn More about E-learning set to ‘take a big leap forward’

March 2 (Thomson Foundation) - Facial recognition technologies installed in at least a dozen government-funded schools in Delhi are an "overreach" by Indian authorities and an invasion of children's privacy , digital rights advocates said on Tuesday. The move to introduce facial recognition technology follows a 2019 decision by the Delhi city government to mount closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in more than 700 public schools to ensure the safety of students. The facial recognition systems are being installed without laws to regulate the collection and use of data, which is particularly worrying for children, said Anushka Jain, an associate counsel at Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group that became aware of the rollout last week. "CCTV is already a violation of children's privacy, even though some parents had supported it for the safety of their children ... but the use of facial recognition technology is an overreach and is completely ... » Learn More about Fears for children’s privacy as Delhi schools install facial recognition

Bringing his battle for special status for his state to the national capital, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday went on a daylong fast that became a rallying point for opposition unity for the second time in less than a month to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. IMAGE: Congress president Rahul Gandhi, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu during Dharma Porata Deeksha, a day-long fast to demand special status for the state of Andhra Pradesh, in New Delhi, on Monday. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut also made a surprise appearance at Naidu's 'Dharma Porata Deeksha' (day-long protest for justice) that began at 8 am. Raut said he came to attend the event as a representative of the Shiv Sena, amid strains with senior ally BJP. Naidu ended his fast at 8.20 pm, accepting a glass of juice from Janata Dal-Secualr supremo and former prime ... » Learn More about Naidu’s daylong fast becomes rallying point for Opposition unity

For Quick Alerts Subscribe Now Rahul Gandhi terms grandmother Indira Gandhi's 'emergency a mistake' View Sample For Quick Alerts ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS For Daily Alerts #Cyber Attack How a warning about ShadowPad, Red Echo saved the national power grid from being hacked #Cyber Attack India is second biggest target of cyber criminals in Asia Pacific: Report #Cyber Attack Agencies continue to thwart China cyber attacks on India #Cyber Attack India faced three times the cyber attack than the global average #Cyber Attack Jitendra Singh says, Kundankulam nuclear power plant cyber attack an error #Cyber Attack Government new snoop on computers order challenged in SC Just In 1 hr ago Manipur’s news website becomes first target of new rules on digital media, later withdrawn 1 hr ago TMC writes to EC over PM Modi’s photo on Covid-19 vaccination doc ... » Learn More about On cyber attack on India, US says cannot allow China to dominate

For Quick Alerts Subscribe Now Rahul Gandhi terms grandmother Indira Gandhi's 'emergency a mistake' View Sample For Quick Alerts ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS For Daily Alerts #Abhishek Manu Singhvi Congress won't become 'headless' at stroke of midnight, Sonia Gandhi to remain interim chief #Abhishek Manu Singhvi Defection should be treated as a constitutional sin: Abhishek Manu Singhvi #Abhishek Manu Singhvi Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi tests positive for COVID-19 #Abhishek Manu Singhvi ‘Every attack on India’s sovereignty must be thwarted’: Singhvi backs Abrahams deportation #Abhishek Manu Singhvi Don’t have staggered polls for 2 Gujarat RS seats: Congress #Abhishek Manu Singhvi Waiting for PM Modi's transition into a statesman: Congress on "ghungroo" remark Just In 1 hr ago Manipur’s news website becomes first target of new rules on digital media, ... » Learn More about Bengal Polls: Abhishek Singhvi snubs Anand Sharma over ISF issue

For Quick Alerts Subscribe Now Rahul Gandhi terms grandmother Indira Gandhi's 'emergency a mistake' View Sample For Quick Alerts ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS For Daily Alerts #Odisha CHSE Odisha Plus 2 2021 exam date announced #Odisha CHSE Odisha Plus II Exam-2021 date announced, Here’s complete schedule #Odisha Ashram chief in Odisha gets threat calls #Odisha Odisha Doctor duped Rs 77 lakh by cyber fraudsters #Odisha Congress activist in Odisha dresses like PM Modi, asks people whether fuel prices have come down #Odisha Fuel price hike: Odisha bandh affects normal life, educational institutes closed Just In 54 min ago Manipur’s news website becomes first target of new rules on digital media, later withdrawn 1 hr ago TMC writes to EC over PM Modi’s photo on Covid-19 vaccination doc 1 hr ago Over 150 Monks test Covid positive in Himachal, ... » Learn More about RRB Exam 2021: Odisha exempts 7-day home quarantine norms for candidates from high-risk states

Deliveries of China's CoronaVac vaccine help to build confidence in region's efforts Countries in Southeast Asia are bolstering their efforts against the coronavirus with shipments of a Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccine. On Sunday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was on hand for the arrival at a Manila airport of a batch of a vaccine from Sinovac Biotech, known as CoronaVac. A day earlier, Malaysian officials welcomed a shipment of the same vaccine in Malaysia. And in Thailand, where supplies of CoronaVac landed in Bangkok on Wednesday, vaccinations began on Sunday. That development prompted the Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha to call it a historic day. In Manila, the CoronaVac supplies were given by China as part of a promise made by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on a visit to the Philippine capital in January. Vaccinations with CoronaVac were scheduled to begin on Monday, and they are expected to reduce the number of infections in the country ... » Learn More about SE Asia jabs rollout gains momentum

The reopening of schools on March 8 in England will be a relief to some parents who have been juggling working from home and home schooling during the national lockdowns. Dad-of-two David Lawrence from Durham has found home schooling "extremely difficult "since the start of the first lockdown. "My wife and myself have both worked throughout the pandemic, from home in my case, so finding time to balance the need for work and taking on the responsibility has been an almost impossible task," he said. "The children however have coped well and have been in the fortunate position of having each other and being close in age which have helped any isolation issues." But Lawrence said it's hard to find the time to get his children, who are aged 6 and 7, to complete their work. "The children are at an age where they need to be managed through the work and cannot just be set away alone to complete tasks," he said. He added their school has provided work sheets and tasks, but "it ends ... » Learn More about UK parents welcome reopening of schools