Urban agriculture is playing an increasingly important role in global food security, a study has suggested.
Researchers, using satellite data, found that agricultural activities within 20km of urban areas occupy an area equivalent to the 28-nation EU.
The international team of scientists says the results should challenge the focus on rural areas of agricultural research and development work.
Continue reading Global importance of urban agriculture ‘underestimated’
The writer, Ankita Rao, is an Indian-American journalist currently based anywhere from the villages of Orissa to the streets of Mumbai.
There are gods on Tinder.
Not Adonis-like gym buffs with quotes about success and protein shakes. No, I’m talking profile photos of Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Buddha — even the avatar Venkateswara, who, to be honest, I would rather associate with my grandparents and not a dating app. Continue reading Can Tinder Light a Fire in India?
Under-the-table talk in Switzerland is warming up ahead of the launch of Apple’s watch next year, something that promises to be the most keenly observed event in aeons. Will it have the same devastating effect as the introduction of quartz movements half a century ago? Continue reading Smart thinking in Switzerland
Authorities in Madagascar say they are trying to contain an outbreak of plague similar to the Black Death that swept Medieval Europe. Continue reading Madagascar plague kills 40 as outbreak spreads to capital, World Health Organisation says
A boy from Coventry has become the youngest computer specialist in the world.
Ayan Qureshi is now a Microsoft Certified Professional after passing the tech giant’s exam when he was just five years old.
Ayan, now six, whose father is an IT consultant, has set up his own computer network at home.
(CNN) — Snapchat may be the latest application with a new mobile payment feature launched this week, but the idea that made Snapcash possible was spawned more than seven years ago in Africa. Continue reading Africa’s mobile money makes its way to Europe with M-Pesa
Tallahassee, Florida (CNN) — Gunshots rattled a peaceful, packed Florida State University library early Thursday, with three people getting hurt as hundreds of students huddled between bookshelves before police encountered and killed the gunman outside. Continue reading Gunman reported at Florida State University campus
Gov. Andrew Cuomo deployed the National Guard to clear roads as some upstate New York motorists were trapped up to 24 hours after several feet of snow paralyzed certain regions. Winter hit much of the nation a little early, feeling much more like January than November, according to the National Weather Service. Continue reading 7 dead as winter weather pummels country with freezing or below temperatures in all 50 states, snow buries upstate New York
The century-old practice of giving oxygen to a heart attack patient could be causing more harm than good, with a study showing patients may suffer a 20 per cent increase in damage to heart tissue if given oxygen.
A study of 411 patients treated by Ambulance Victoria MICA (Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance) paramedics found that routinely providing oxygen to someone having a heart attack was of no benefit and, in some cases, could cause further damage to the heart muscle.
The study of MRI scans showed an increase in heart damage after six months for patients given oxygen.
The results were released overnight at the American Heart Association conference in Chicago, which was one of the world’s leading medical conferences.
For more than 100 years, doctors and nurses have routinely administered oxygen to patients who are having a heart attack.
Co-researcher and Ambulance Victoria paramedic Ziad Nehme said the belief was that the oxygen would reach damaged heart tissue and lead to smaller heart attacks. Continue reading Ambulance Victoria in Australia study questions practice of giving oxygen to heart attack patients
Executive Salad 