Blind amphibian named after Donald Trump
Washington: A newly discovered amphibian that buries its head in the sand has been named after US President Donald Trump, apparently in response to his comments about climate change, media reported.
“Dermophis donaldtrumpi is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake’s climate policies,” said EnviroBuild co-founder Aidan Bell in a statement on Tuesday.
The small, blind, creature is a type of caecilian that primarily lives underground. It was discovered in Panama and named by the head of a company that had bid $25,000 at an auction for the privilege. The company said it wanted to raise awareness about climate change, the BBC reported.
Although US presidents tend to receive their fair share of honours, with Bell drawing an unflattering comparison between its behaviour and Trump’s, the 45th president might want to ignore the latest.
“Burrowing (his) head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change,” Bell wrote.
The world’s leading scientists agree that climate change is primarily human-induced, but Trump, whose administration has pursued a pro-fossil fuels agenda, has accused those scientists of having a “political agenda” and cast doubt on whether humans were responsible for the Earth’s rising temperatures, the BBc report said.
“I don’t know that it’s manmade,” he said in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes in October. “I’m not denying climate change but (temperatures) could very well go back,” he added, without offering evidence.
In November, Trump questioned a report by his own government that found climate change would cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars annually and damage health.
“I don’t believe it,” he told reporters at the time.
After taking office he announced that the US would withdraw from the Paris Climate accord, which commits countries to keep a limit on rising global temperatures.
He justified his decision by asserting that he had been elected to serve the citizens of Pittsburgh and not Paris and the deal disadvantaged US businesses and workers. (IANS)
S.Korean grain silo transforms into world’s largest mural
Incheon (South Korea): A dreary grain silo that was transformed into an enormous colourful artwork in South Korea has been named by Guinness World Records as the largest outdoor mural in the world.
The painting which depicts a young boy’s journey into adulthood covers the outside of giant storage containers in the port city of Incheon, west of Seoul, taking up 23,688 square meters.
The mural was commissioned by the city’s government and port authority as part of efforts to improve the negative view of aged industrial facilities, an idea which originated from the community art projects of the 1920s that swept the United States and Mexico, according to the South’s Yonhap news agency.
Twenty-two artists used more than 850,000 litres of paint to tell the story which reflects the seasons and resembles 16 individual book covers, at a cost of 550 million won (US$487,000). It topples the previous record holder by a significant margin — the Pueblo Levee Project in Pueblo, in the US state of Colorado, at 16,554 square meters. Government and port officials also hope the mural will give a boost to tourism on Wolmi Island, one of the top tourist spots near Incheon. (AFP)
Japan to make alcohol tests mandatory for pilots
Tokyo: Japan plans to make alcohol tests mandatory for pilots, officials said Wednesday, following a series of flight delays caused by drunk or hungover pilots at Japanese carriers.
The move comes after a Japan Airlines co-pilot was arrested in Britain last month shortly before a flight for being almost 10 times over the legal blood alcohol limit. A transport ministry panel on Wednesday agreed a proposal to impose mandatory testing on airlines and breath alcohol limits of 0.09 milligrammes per litre. The drink-drive limit is 0.15 milligrammes. The official proposal is expected to be unveiled on Friday. Under Japan’s current system, while plane crew members are banned from drinking within eight hours of working, there is no legal limit set and breath tests are not required.
The JAL co-pilot cleared an in-house breath test but aroused the suspicion of a bus driver taking him to the plane at Heathrow Airport. London police said a test on the co-pilot taken 50 minutes before the flight’s scheduled departure revealed he was nearly 10 times over the limit. (AFP)
Amazon slammed for selling mats with Golden Temple image
Washington: Online retail giant Amazon has been slammed by several Sikh bodies for reportedly selling doormats, rugs and toilet accessories bearing the image of the highly-revered Golden Temple and was asked to immediately remove the “disrespectful products” that hurt the sentiments of the community worldwide.
Prominent community body in the US, the Sikh Coalition, said in a statement on Tuesday that it was alerted to Amazon selling doormats, rugs and toilet seat covers with the image of Golden Temple.
In response, the civil rights organisation said it “immediately contacted Amazon to remove the products while detailing the culturally insensitive problems with the items being sold and the offensive message it sent to Sikhs around the world”.
“The Golden Temple is not a doormat,” it tweeted, adding that in the hours since, through community outreach, several pages had been removed from the Amazon portal.
Another group, NGO United Sikhs, issued a statement calling on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to do the same and said it had received “numerous complaints” from members of the community about the products.
Some of the items had been removed from the website on Wednesday, but the Golden Temple toilet accessories remained available, the group said.
“It’s shocking and extremely disappointing that Amazon offers these products for sale,” said United Sikhs operations manager Rajesh Singh. (IANS)