Water situation in Delhi improves

The water situation in the national capital has improved after the three water plants started functioning.

Delhi Jal Bord in a statement said, "Due to the decrease in the ammonia level in the Wazirabad Pond, Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla Plants have started functioning partially."

The functioning of the three plants has helped water availability in North Delhi, Central Delhi, NDMC area, parts of South Delhi and some pockets of West Delhi.

However, the plants are not able to function to their full capacity yet, since there has been a drop in the water level at the Wazirabad Pond.

‘Hero Rats’ To Trace Deadly landmines In Cambodia

Cambodia, the country with the highest ratio of mine amputees per capita in the world, has started using ‘hero rats’ to sniff out unexploded landmines.

The intelligent animals, which possess some of the most sensitive noses in the animal kingdom, have already proven to be a faster and safer means of locating the hidden weapons.

Their participation is largely risk free as their average weight of around one kilo is too light to detonate the mines that rely on pressure activation.

The method is more efficient than metal detectors, with the rats trained to only sniff out TNT rather than any metal object.

As Theap Bunthourn, operations coordinator for the project says, "If you take 200 square meters of land, the rats can clear it in 20 to 25 minutes whereas if we used the manual method it would take two or three days to clear the same area."

Cambodia is still reportedly one of the most heavily land mined countries in the world after decades of civil war. Six million mines are believed to still be in the ground, with over 67,000 people being killed or injured since 1979.

The animals are put to work six days a week in three hour shifts, darting between two handlers standing five metres apart while attached to a harness.

In their downtime, the rats are kept in individual cages and receive regular exercise.

The rats were recruited from Africa by the Cambodian Mines Action Group (CMAG) alongside the Anti-Personnel Land Mines Detection Product (APOPO).

In Mozambique they proved very effective, locating more than 13,000 landmines while no accidents were recorded.

 A fact that should bode well for their work in Cambodia, as Mark Shukuru, who helped transport the Tanzanian-born rats to Asia, says:

"For the time being in Africa still we're going on with our operation in Angola and there is no miss - no accidents up until now, so we think that the experience that we got in Africa can be shifted from Africa to Asia - here in Cambodia now, where we are also doing operations."

Critics claim that the rodents are not as safe as manual methods, with the animals unable to search in dense vegetation and only capable of short shifts in the heat.

The Independent  

Obama In Bid To Close Guantanamo Bay Prison

The White House has revealed its plans for closing the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention facility, one of the president's long-standing goals.

The Pentagon has proposed transferring the remaining 91 detainees to their home countries or to US military or civilian prisons.

But Congress is deeply opposed and expected to block the move.

The prison costs $445m (£316m) to run annually and closing it was an early promise from President Barack Obama.

He told reporters on Tuesday the prison undermines national security.

"This is about closing a chapter in our history," said Mr Obama. "It reflects the lessons we've learned since 9/11 - lessons that must guide our nation going forward."

The Pentagon outlined four main components of the plan:

    Transfer 35 detainees to foreign countries who have been designated to do so
    Do periodic reviews of remaining detainees to see if their detention is still necessary
    Continue to use legal tools to deal with remaining detainees
    Working with Congress to establish a location in the US to hold detainees who will not go to foreign countries

It estimates the move would save up to $180m (£128m) per year in cost savings.

The president, who will complete his second and final term in January, said it was important not to pass the problem on to his successor.

"Keeping this facility open is contrary to our values. It undermines our standing in the world. It is viewed as a stain on our broader record of upholding the highest standards of rule of law.''

President Obama has tried for years to close Guantanamo. He and his deputies say that it hurts the reputation of the US and that militants use "the infamous orange jumpsuit", as one senior administration official described it, as a recruiting tool.

But members of Congress have baulked at Mr Obama's plan to close the prison, saying they believe it should remain open - and they don't want any detainees to be transferred to the US. Representative Mike Pompeo of Kansas, for example, said the prisoners should "stay right where they are".

Lately, though, White House officials said that lawmakers, or at least some of them, seem more receptive to the idea.

A senior administration official told reporters that there's "room for conversation". That's important since Mr Obama has less than a year to close the prison - and for him time is of the essence.

The plan does not specify where in the US detainees would go.

But the Pentagon has considered 13 different locations in the US, including seven prisons in Colorado, South Carolina and Kansas, and six other places on military bases.

BBC