Air pollution caused one in seven new cases of diabetes in 2016, according to a US study, which found even low levels raised the chances of developing the chronic disease.
Diabetes has primarily been associated with lifestyle factors like diet and a sedentary lifestyle, but research by the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis said pollution also plays a major role.
The study estimated that pollution contributed to 3.2 million new diabetes cases globally in 2016 — or around 14 percent of all new diabetes cases globally that year.
“Our research shows a significant link between air pollution and diabetes globally,” said Ziyad Al-Aly, the study’s senior author.
Pollution is thought to reduce the body’s insulin production, “preventing the body from converting blood glucose into energy that the body needs to maintain health,” according to the research.
Al-Aly said the research, published in the Lancet Planetary Health, found an increased risk even with levels of air pollution currently considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Mumbai, Jun 29:The Maharashtra government has approved hefty rewards for seven athletes from the state who won medals at the Commonwealth Games held in Australia in April this year.
A government resolution said that Tejaswini Sawant, Heena Sidhu (both shooting), Rahul Aware (wrestling), Madhurika Patkar, Pooja Sahasrabudhe, Sanil Shetty (all three table tennis) and Chirag Shetty (badminton) will get Rs 50 lakh each.
All seven bagged gold medals.
Besides, Tejaswini, Sidhu and Chirag Shetty, who also bagged silver medals, will get another Rs 30 lakh each, the GR said.
Tejaswini won the Gold in 50 Meters Rifle 3P event and a silver in 50 Meter Rifle Prone event.
Sidhu too bagged the Gold in 25 Meter Pistol Shooting while she earned a silver in 10 Meter Air Pistol.
Chirag Shetty won the Silver in doubles apart from his Gold in the mixed team event.
Paddler Sanil Shetty, who also won a bronze in men’s doubles apart from his Gold in men’s team event, will be rewarded with another Rs 20 lakh, according to the GR.
Decision day loomed Wednesday at the world’s chemical weapons monitor as Western powers frantically sought behind closed doors to rally support for moves to beef up the watchdog’s powers.
Britain, backed by allies such as the United States and France, is leading a drive to enable the independent Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to attribute blame for any use of toxic substances in Syria.
But they have met fierce opposition from Russia, backed by Syria and Iran. Both Moscow and Damascus stand accused by the international community of using chemical weapons in recent months.
The move comes amid growing frustration at the lack of a mechanism to punish perpetrators amid repeated recent attacks with chlorine, sarin and even mustard gas in Syria and Iraq, and the use of rare nerve agents in Britain and Malaysia.
After a heated 12-hour public meeting on Tuesday, the rare special session of the OPCW’s top policy-making body moved into private on Wednesday away from the glare of the world’s media for what is expected to be a tense vote.
“Today is decision day … for the @OPCW in The Hague. We will vote at 14:40,” the British delegation to the OPCW said in a tweet.
It maintained that there was “growing support to empower the OPCW to determine responsibility for chemical weapons attacks and strengthen” the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), for the vote that will start at 1240 GMT.
In a war of words on Twitter, mirroring the tensions inside the cavernous World Forum where the meeting is being held, the Russian embassy hit back that “deception is perhaps the word of the day”.
Britain had failed to provide any evidence that Moscow was behind the never agent attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in March, it said.
Instead Britain has “embroiled their allies in the blatant campaign against Russia. Now they try to drag the #OPCW in their games.”
New Delhi, Jun 27 : A plea was today filed in the Delhi High Court seeking contempt action against the NBCC for allegedly violating its undertaking not to cut trees till July 4 for housing projects here.
The contempt petition was mentioned before a vacation bench of justices Vinod Goel and Rekha Palli who said it would be heard on July 4 along with the main plea which has sought setting aside of the terms of reference (ToR) and Environmental Clearance (EC) granted to the project by the Environment Ministry, claiming it would lead to felling of over 16,500 trees.
The contempt plea was filed by environmentalist Vimlendu Jha alleging that there was deliberate and willful default of June 25 undertaking given to the court by the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), tasked with redeveloping half a dozen south Delhi colonies.
It said that as per the June 25 order, the alleged contemnor (NBCC CMD) had undertaken not to cut trees in areas concerned till July 4 but yesterday, Jha noticed that the officials and workers of NBCC were felling trees in Netaji Nagar in south Delhi.
The plea said that a police complaint has also been filed in this regard at Sarojini Nagar Police Station and sought contempt action against authorities.
It also said when the police refused to lodge an FIR in this regard, the Delhi environment minister intervened and directed necessary action, including registration of FIR, against defaulters.
The high court had on June 25 asked how could the national capital afford the felling of over 16,500 trees for a housing project.
Taking note of the views expressed by the court which appeared inclined to order an interim stay of the tree chopping process, the NBCC had agreed not to cut any tree till July 4.
The NBCC had made the statement after the bench had asked,”Can Delhi today afford cutting down of so many trees for a housing complex? We could understand if it was a road-widening work which is inevitable.”
The court was hearing a PIL by orthopaedic surgeon Dr Kaushal Kant Mishra against felling of trees for housing projects in six south Delhi colonies — Sarojini Nagar, Naoroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Thyagaraja Nagar, Mohammadpur and Kasturba Nagar.
A similar issue would be heard by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on July 2. The petition has claimed that planting of saplings in another location as compensatory afforestation would not reduce the burden which would be put on the environment due to the large-scale felling of trees.
It has claimed that saplings would be a “poor substitute” for the fully grown trees that would be felled for the housing projects.