The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in conjunction with the Division of Public Health, will begin soliciting for new water quality improvement projects March 24 as DNREC and DPH start to develop 2022 Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving (DWSRF) project priority lists.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), in conjunction with the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), will begin soliciting for new water quality improvement projects Thursday, Jan. 12 as DNREC and DPH start to develop 2023 Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving (DWSRF) project priority lists.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has issued warnings of poor air quality in Delaware.

Wildfires in eastern Canada emitting particulate matter into the atmosphere continue to cause poor air quality.

NEW CASTLE (July 12, 2023) – The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) announced today enhancements to the CostAware website, designed to help Delawareans understand how their health care dollars are spent by comparing the variation of average costs for different episodes of care and medical services based on actual medical claims in Delaware. […]

Here's a new angle on GDPR, likely one of many angles people haven't yet considered: Does web session recording count as collecting PII?

The Accessions Committee met on April 20, 2023, to review all proposed accessions received since the last quarterly meeting. All accepted donations have been pre-processed and assigned to archivists for further processing. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at the latest additions to our holdings.

The post 2023 – Second Quarter Accessions appeared first on Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware.

The Accessions Committee met on August 7, 2023. All accepted donations have been pre-processed and assigned to archivists for further processing. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at the latest additions to our holdings.

The post 2023 – Third Quarter Accessions appeared first on Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware.

These accessions include University of Delaware Yearbooks, the Broujos Family Records, Photographs and Postcards. All accepted donations are assigned for further processing.

The post 2023 – Fourth Quarter Accessions appeared first on Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware.

The Accessions Committee met on January 30, 2024 to review proposed accessions. New accessions include photographs from De La Warr High School, interviews by Michael Richards, and digital photographs of the Salmons family.

The post 2024 – First Quarter Accessions appeared first on Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware.

The Accessions Committee met on May 8, 2024, to review proposed accessions. New accessions include correspondence from World War II, photographs of the New Castle County Paramedic Unit, and a scrapbook of the Washington Memorial Bridge dedication ceremony.

The post 2024 – Second Quarter Accessions appeared first on Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware.

The Accessions Committee met on July 30, 2024, to review proposed accessions. New accessions include records related to the Delaware Industrial School for Girls, photos of the St. George's Bridge under construction, and an Employees' Handbook from the Nylon Division of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.

The post 2024 – Third Quarter Accessions appeared first on Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware.

Governor Markell joined officers from the American Birding Association (ABA) to announce the ABA’s plans to move its North American headquarters from Colorado to Delaware next year.

DNREC will begin the annual treatment of downstate public ponds – Wagamons Pond in Milton and Concord Pond near Seaford – for the foreign invasive aquatic weed hydrilla on Thursday, June 13, weather permitting. Hydrilla is a non-native plant that likely entered the state through the aquarium trade. Uncontrolled hydrilla can choke ponds and other waterways, crowding out beneficial plant species and preventing fishing and boating access.

DNREC encourages families with children 4 to 7 to enjoy exciting “Small Fry Adventures,” a free program about tidal salt marsh and the critters that live there, being held this summer at the Aquatic Resources Education Center near Smyrna.

DNREC encourages nonprofit groups, conservation districts, community organizations and homeowners’ associations to submit project proposals to be considered for matching grant funds from DNREC’s Community Water Quality Improvement Grants program. Funding for grant award projects in this cycle is expected to range from $25,000 to $75,000

Read the in depth Review of JBL Quantum 400 Audio Video. Know detailed info about JBL Quantum 400 configuration, design and performance quality along with pros & cons, Digit rating, verdict based on user opinions/feedback.

The ASUS ROG Phone 9 has recently been spotted on Geekbench where it appears to be powered by the new Qualcomm chipset.

The post ASUS ROG Phone 9 spotted on Geekbench with Qualcomm’s latest chipset appeared first on Phandroid.

[SAPS] - Gqeberha Flying Squad members clamped down on criminals involved in illegal abalone activities and robbery suspects in two unrelated incidents.

This is the 16th installment of The Rationalist, my column for the Times of India.

Steven Pinker, in his book Enlightenment Now, relates an old Russian joke about two peasants named Boris and Igor. They are both poor. Boris has a goat. Igor does not. One day, Igor is granted a wish by a visiting fairy. What will he wish for?

“I wish,” he says, “that Boris’s goat should die.”

The joke ends there, revealing as much about human nature as about economics. Consider the three things that happen if the fairy grants the wish. One, Boris becomes poorer. Two, Igor stays poor. Three, inequality reduces. Is any of them a good outcome?

I feel exasperated when I hear intellectuals and columnists talking about economic inequality. It is my contention that India’s problem is poverty – and that poverty and inequality are two very different things that often do not coincide.

To illustrate this, I sometimes ask this question: In which of the following countries would you rather be poor: USA or Bangladesh? The obvious answer is USA, where the poor are much better off than the poor of Bangladesh. And yet, while Bangladesh has greater poverty, the USA has higher inequality.

Indeed, take a look at the countries of the world measured by the Gini Index, which is that standard metric used to measure inequality, and you will find that USA, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Kingdom all have greater inequality than Bangladesh, Liberia, Pakistan and Sierra Leone, which are much poorer. And yet, while the poor of Bangladesh would love to migrate to unequal USA, I don’t hear of too many people wishing to go in the opposite direction.

Indeed, people vote with their feet when it comes to choosing between poverty and inequality. All of human history is a story of migration from rural areas to cities – which have greater inequality.

If poverty and inequality are so different, why do people conflate the two? A key reason is that we tend to think of the world in zero-sum ways. For someone to win, someone else must lose. If the rich get richer, the poor must be getting poorer, and the presence of poverty must be proof of inequality.

But that’s not how the world works. The pie is not fixed. Economic growth is a positive-sum game and leads to an expansion of the pie, and everybody benefits. In absolute terms, the rich get richer, and so do the poor, often enough to come out of poverty. And so, in any growing economy, as poverty reduces, inequality tends to increase. (This is counter-intuitive, I know, so used are we to zero-sum thinking.) This is exactly what has happened in India since we liberalised parts of our economy in 1991.

Most people who complain about inequality in India are using the wrong word, and are really worried about poverty. Put a millionaire in a room with a billionaire, and no one will complain about the inequality in that room. But put a starving beggar in there, and the situation is morally objectionable. It is the poverty that makes it a problem, not the inequality.

You might think that this is just semantics, but words matter. Poverty and inequality are different phenomena with opposite solutions. You can solve for inequality by making everyone equally poor. Or you could solve for it by redistributing from the rich to the poor, as if the pie was fixed. The problem with this, as any economist will tell you, is that there is a trade-off between redistribution and growth. All redistribution comes at the cost of growing the pie – and only growth can solve the problem of poverty in a country like ours.

It has been estimated that in India, for every one percent rise in GDP, two million people come out of poverty. That is a stunning statistic. When millions of Indians don’t have enough money to eat properly or sleep with a roof over their heads, it is our moral imperative to help them rise out of poverty. The policies that will make this possible – allowing free markets, incentivising investment and job creation, removing state oppression – are likely to lead to greater inequality. So what? It is more urgent to make sure that every Indian has enough to fulfil his basic needs – what the philosopher Harry Frankfurt, in his fine book On Inequality, called the Doctrine of Sufficiency.

The elite in their airconditioned drawing rooms, and those who live in rich countries, can follow the fashions of the West and talk compassionately about inequality. India does not have that luxury.

The India Uncut Blog © 2010 Amit Varma. All rights reserved.
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Today, the latest issue of The Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report was released by DNIB.com, showing the third quarter of 2023 closed with 359.3 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), an increase of 2.7 million domain name registrations, or 0.8%, compared to the second quarter of 2023. Domain name registrations also […]

The post Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report: DNIB.com Announces 359.3 Million Domain Name Registrations in the Third Quarter of 2023 appeared first on Verisign Blog.

Today, the latest issue of The Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report was released by DNIB.com, showing the fourth quarter of 2023 closed with 359.8 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), an increase of 0.6 million domain name registrations, or 0.2%, compared to the third quarter of 2023. Domain name registrations also […]

The post Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report: DNIB.com Announces 359.8 Million Domain Name Registrations in the Fourth Quarter of 2023 appeared first on Verisign Blog.

Today, the latest issue of The Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report was released by DNIB.com, showing the first quarter of 2024 closed with 362.4 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), an increase of 2.5 million domain name registrations, or 0.7%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. Domain name registrations also […]

The post Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report: DNIB.com Announces 362.4 Million Domain Name Registrations in the First Quarter of 2024 appeared first on Verisign Blog.

Today, the latest issue of The Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report was released by DNIB.com, showing the second quarter of 2024 closed with 362.4 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), unchanged compared to the first quarter of 2024. Domain name registrations increased by 5.8 million, or 1.6%, year over year. Check […]

The post Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report: DNIB.com Announces 362.4 Million Domain Name Registrations in the Second Quarter of 2024 appeared first on Verisign Blog.

Today, the latest issue of The Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report was released by DNIB.com, showing the third quarter of 2024 closed with 362.3 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), a decrease of 0.1 million domain name registrations, or less than 0.05%, compared to the second quarter of 2024. Domain name […]

The post Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report: DNIB.com Announces 362.3 Million Domain Name Registrations in the Third Quarter of 2024 appeared first on Verisign Blog.

RESCUERS raced against time yesterday to find survivors in the rubble more than 48 hours after Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in over six decades, with nearly 2,500 killed in a disaster that devastated

JAPANESE rescuers battled the clock and powerful aftershocks yesterday to find survivors of a New Year’s Day earthquake that killed at least 48 people and caused widespread destruction. The 7.5-magnitude

A total of 19 out of the shortlisted 38 directors for the position of permanent secretaries in the Federal Civil Service failed the qualifying examination. The PUNCH, in October, exclusively reported that the Federal Government, through the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, commenced the process of appointing new permanent secretaries

A number of Super Eagles players, including Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze, Amas Obasogie, Raphael Onyedika and Frank Onyeka, have arrived Ivory Coast on Monday ahead of preparation for their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin Republic. Also in camp in Abidjan are Bruno Onyemaechi, Gabriel Osho and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. The Super Eagles Media […]

The post AFCON qualifier: Super Eagles stars arrive Abidjan ahead of Benin clash  first appeared on Business Hallmark.

Leading financial services provider, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has been awarded the prestigious International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001:2015 certificate for Quality Management System. The Bank was presented with the certificate by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), following a comprehensive audit and evaluation exercise conducted by the Organisation. The exercise covered departments and […]

FCMB attains ISO Certification for Quality Management

Havana — A 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook eastern Cuba on Sunday, after weeks of hurricanes and blackouts that have left many on the island reeling.  The epicenter of the quake was located approximately 40 km south of Bartolomé Masó, Cuba, according to a report by the United States Geological Survey.  The rumbling was felt across the eastern stretch of Cuba, including in bigger cities like Santiago de Cuba. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.  Residents in Santiago, Cuba's second largest city, were left shaken on Sunday. Yolanda Tabío, 76, said people in the city flocked to the streets and were still nervously sitting in their doorways. She said she felt at least two aftershocks following the quake, but that among friends and family she hadn't heard of any damages.  "You had to see how everything was moving, the walls, everything," she told The Associated Press.  The earthquake comes during another tough stretch for Cuba.  On Wednesday, Category 3 Hurricane Rafael ripped through western Cuba, with strong winds knocking out power island-wide, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing evacuations of hundreds of thousands of people. Days after, much of the island was still struggling without power.  Weeks before in October, the island was also hit by a one-two punch. First, it was hit by island-wide blackouts stretching on for days, a product of the island's energy crisis. Shortly after, it was slapped by a powerful hurricane that struck the eastern part of the island and killed at least six people.  The blackouts and wider discontent among many struggling to get by has stoked small protests across the island. 

The Quad Committee of the House of Representatives, composed of the Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts continued its joint inquiry into the extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration's drug war on Wednesday, November 13. 

Maltese judge quashes extradition to the US of Daniel Meli, ordering that his case be reheard by the magistrates’ court 

Meanwhile, honest, hardworking people will have to console themselves with Bartolo’s 'sorry'. It’s the new quality standard, it seems

Despite earlier income convergence among nations, many low-income countries (LICs) and people are falling further behind. Worse, the number of poor and hungry has been increasing again after declining for decades. After the post-Second World War ‘Golden Age’ ended over half a century ago, the world has seen unequal and uneven economic growth, industrialisation, and […]

The struggle for women’s right to decide in Latin America and the Caribbean, for their access to legal, safe and free abortion continues in the region, with some countries fully criminalising it, others with severe regulations, and a few guaranteeing better conditions, while threats of regression persist. This Saturday 28 September marks, as every year, […]

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted in 1995 during the Fourth World Conference on Women, remains a cornerstone in the global pursuit of gender equality and women’s empowerment. With the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+30 Review fast approaching, now is the time to reflect on the progress made and the challenges that […]

A bill discussed at the House labour committee on Tuesday would change pensions given to widowers and see them brought in line with those given to widows. It was submitted by independent socialist MP Kostis Efstathiou. Akel MP and committee chair Andreas Kafkalias said the current division between widowers who receive a pension and those […]

The government of Punjab on Tuesday — expanding on its previous order — closed all the educational institutions up to the higher secondary level in the province from tomorrow until the end of the week, shifting them to an online mode, as the province tackles the hazardous smog situation prevalent for the past few weeks.

The recent smog situation was declared a “calamity” in Punjab last month. Schools have been closed in the province’s main divisions — Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan — until November 17 in a bid to lower children’s exposure to pollution.

Separately, the public has been barred from entering public parks, zoos, playgrounds, and museums until November 17 to reduce public exposure to smog.

A day ago, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) representative in Pakistan called for urgent and greater efforts to reduce air pollution, noting that over 11 million children under five years of age were exposed to smog in the worst affected districts of Punjab.

The province’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a notification issued today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com that “All the educational institutions […] up to higher secondary level shall remain closed and will shift to online mode with effect from Nov 13 within […] DG Khan, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Sargodha and Rawalpindi divisions […] till Nov 17.”

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat also announced the closure of schools during a press conference today, saying that the “decision was made in light of the complaints received from the district.”

“This drastic decision had to be taken to protect children from the deadly effects,” he said, “There is a sense of educational loss, but the decision to close educational institutions is being taken out of compulsion.

“In view of the difficulties in online teaching, an alternative strategy is being quickly brought in,” the minister added.

He also appealed to the public to cooperate and do what was in their capacity to help the government deal with this issue.

50pc of govt offices to work online

Separately, all government offices were ordered to shift half of their workforce to online mode to reduce traffic load on roads to prevent the worsening of the smog situation due to vehicular emissions.

“The physical presence of human resource(s) of offices in your jurisdiction may kindly be reduced to 50pc by shifting them to online mode/work from home,” the EPA said in a separate notification issued today.

In the order issued on Tuesday, which is seen by Dawn.com, the Punjab EPA directed all the administrative secretaries, as well as heads of attached departments and semi-government/autonomous bodies, to reduce the physical presence of human resources by 50 per cent.

According to the notification, the situation was likely to prevail for a few weeks, adding that local pollution contributing factors, especially vehicular emissions, may further exacerbate the conditions.

“Hence, the situation warrants to specify safeguards to reduce the number of vehicles on roads in order to control air pollution, through preparation and implementation of contingency plans,” the notification said.

The EPA also called for inter-departmental meetings to be convened in an online mode unless the physical presence of participants was “extremely necessary”.

Bad-quality air aggravating pulmonary diseases: doctor

Speaking to Dawn.com, a pulmonologist at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital, Dr Nasir Javed, said that asthmatic patients, who were earlier stable, are now facing chronic health conditions due to the smog.

“[Due to the smog], asthma patients would start feeling inflation in their airways and it would become difficult for them to breathe smoothly,” he said. “Even medicines have stopped working properly to cure the problem.”

He further added that asthmatics and chronic smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were at greater risk and were visiting the hospitals with exacerbation of their diseases.

“Air-Quality Index is directly proportional to the symptoms/ severity which one can suffer,” he said.

“Limited outdoor activity and hydration are the mainstays to avoiding respiratory issues as antibiotics were of no use.”

Smog to persist in major cities as weather conditions worsen: NDMA

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in an advisory issued today, said that the smog situation was expected to persist across the urban centres in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa throughout November and December due to high humidity, low wind speeds, and upper atmospheric pressure.

According to the advisory, as reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) the cities most likely to be affected by the worsening smog situation include Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Peshawar, Mardan, and Nowshera.

“The advisory highlights the rising smog levels in the affected areas, driven by the current weather conditions, and advises residents to avoid prolonged outdoor exposure and adopt protective measures to safeguard their health,” the *APP report said.

“[…] The National Emergency Operation Centre has been monitoring the current smog situation in Pakistan and surrounding regions.

According to the advisory, the team has access to advanced ground-based and space-based monitoring tools, enabling the analysis and projection of pollution emissions from various sources, including industry, transportation, and agriculture.

Precautionary measures

The NDMA advisory recommended the public adopt several measures to mitigate the effects of smog, such as avoiding unnecessary outdoor exposure during peak smog hours, especially in the morning, and wearing masks during outdoor activities, according to the APP.

“Staying hydrated, using dehumidifiers and air purifiers to improve indoor air quality, and adopting efficient transportation methods—like carpooling and eco-friendly driving, along with using COx and NOx filters—are also advised,” it said.

Tremors were felt in various cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as Islamabad on Wednesday after a quake jolted Afghanistan’s Badakhshan region.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1, while the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported it as having a 5.3 magnitude.

The USGS said the quake’s centre was located 37 kilometres west-southwest of Afghanistan’s Ishkashim town and had a 220.7km depth.

The earthquake struck at 10:13am (Pakistan time), both the USGS and PMD confirmed.

No casualties have been reported so far.

DawnNewsTV reported that the tremors were felt in Peshawar and its adjoining areas, as well as Islamabad.

Speaking to DawnNewsTV, two correspondents based in the cities said the quake caused people to evacuate buildings.

More to follow

Outlining the energy access disparity women face in Vanuatu, this brief shows how it impacts their health and economic opportunities and explains why mainstreaming gender can increase financial inclusion and drive an equitable green transition.

Gender-lens investing (GLI) represents an opportunity to channel targeted funds to women’s businesses and other gender equality areas.

This study finds that investing in sanitation not only improved children’s health, but also created valuable time-savings for all household members.

The program aims to improve the quality of health care as stipulated in the Government Program, 2021-2026, Health Sector Strategy 2023-2026, the UHI Concept Paper, and the Quality of Care Strategy 2022-2026.