DIA MIRZA appointed as UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India

Mumbai, 29 November 2017 – Former Miss Asia Pacific, actor, producer, entrepreneur and environmentalist, Dia Mirza, was appointed as UN Environment’s Goodwill Ambassador for India.
A long-standing supporter of environmental conservation, Dia will take up the role to add more weight to her work on raising awareness of and seeking solutions to environmental issues that the world, and India in particular, faces.
“I feel honoured and inspired by this opportunity to work with UN Environment to protect the environment and promote sustainable development,” said Dia. “Environmental issues will be the defining challenge of this era, and I am committed to helping the UN as a Goodwill Ambassador to do everything I can to provide a better future.
“Together, we will continue working towards conservation of nature, tackling climate change and inspiring people to live more sustainably.” 
Dia is a committed voice for change, and has contributed her efforts in the field of social change, conservation and environment. She has been the face of many pivotal environmental campaigns across India, and has worked towards the conservation of wildlife.
As a Goodwill Ambassador, Dia will work with the United Nations to further spread the message on priority areas including clean air, clean seas, wildlife protection and climate change.
“I am delighted to have Dia join UN Environment as a Goodwill Ambassador,” said UN Environment head, Erik Solheim. “India faces many challenges, in particular the air pollution that is choking many of its cities. Dia’s influence can help to turn the situation around and create a healthy future for Indians and their environment.”
UN Environment is running many global campaigns, which are having a huge impact by reaching millions of people to change behavior.
#BreatheLife is a major campaign on air quality, which is particularly relevant to India. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a partner in the campaign, one in nine deaths globally are caused by air pollution. WHO figures show that half of the 20 most-polluted cities in the world are in India.
#WildforLife seeks to build support for the protection of endangered species across the globe, including the Bengal Tiger.
#CleanSeas is aimed at reducing the massive amount of marine pollution across the globe, drawing inspiration from people such as India’s Afroz Shah, who has been running the world’s longest-running beach clean-up at Versova Beach, Mumbai.
Dia has joined other accomplished and dedicated past and present UN Goodwill Ambassadors, including UN Environment’s Li Binging, Gisele Bündchen and Don Cheadle, and others such as Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Katy Perry and Emma Watson.

Gujarat Pvt Per Capita Health Spend Rank 18th of 20 States

November30, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singh progressindia2015@gmail.com
Kerala & Punjab rank 1st & 2nd in ‘Public Plus Private Health Spend Per Capita’, Gujarat ranks 15th ahead of Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam, MP and Rajasthan.
Kerala & Punjab also rank 1st & 2nd in Private Health Expenditure Per Capita, Gujarat ranks 18th Just Ahead of Assam and Jharkhand.
While TOI took note of HP Public Expenditure On Health Per Capita to be 6 times of Bihar, twice of Gujarat among 20 states with over 1 crore population not including UT and special category states.
Private and Public health expenditure points Private Prosperityand States Priority in addressing critical health issues.
Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS
Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857
Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,
Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects
Health: Govts spending less force people to fork out more
Per Capita Healthcare Spend In HP 6 Times As Much As In Bihar
The government spent more than Rs.2,000 per person per year on health in Himachal Pradesh while in Bihar per capita government spending was just Rs.338, about one-sixth as much. This wide disparity in government spending between states also results in a corresponding variation in how much people are forced to spend from their own pockets.
Government spending includes what’s spent by all levels of government, but about two-thirds of the total nationally is by the states. These facts emerge from the National Health Accounts 2014-15 just uploaded on the union health ministry’s website.
In Himachal, people had to pay only about half the total health expenditure from out of their own pockets, while in Bihar their share was 82%. The national average for households’ share of the total spending was less than two-thirds.
The pattern of low government spending leading to a very high share of the burden of health expenditure being borne by the people is clear in the case of states where government share of spending was the smallest. As a share of the total health spend, Andhra Pradesh had the lowest, 15.4%, leaving people to shoulder 78%. In Bihar, the government’s share was just 16.5%. Shockingly, in Punjab, considered one of the most prosperous states, government spending was just 17% of the total health expenditure, while people spent 79.3% from their own pockets.
The two figures do not add up to 100% because total health expenditure also includes private or government-funded health insurance, spending by NGOs and by external donors. Thus, in some states, despite a low share of government in total health spend, the share of households is not too high. For instance, while in Maharashtra the government spends only 17% of the total, the households’ share is only about 60%, the remaining 27% being accounted for largely by insurance.
So where is all this money going? According to the NHA, private hospitals (26%) and private clinics (5%) accounted for almost a third of the total health spending, while pharmacies raked in another 29%. The share of government hospitals and clinics was just over 20%. Diagnostic labs and patient transport accounted for about 5% each. Inpatient care was 35% and outpatient care about 16% of the total health expenditure, while medicines and medical products accounted for almost 30%.
Another revealing statistic that emerges from the NHA is that a mere 5.3% of the total was spent on preventive healthcare.

M6.7 – central Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude6.7
Date-Time
  • 30 Nov 2017 06:32:51 UTC
  • 30 Nov 2017 06:32:51 near epicenter
  • 30 Nov 2017 10:32:51 standard time in your timezone
Location1.108S 23.418W
Depth10 km
Distances
  • 1044.7 km (647.7 mi) ENE of Fernando de Noronha (Distrito Estadual), Brazil
  • 1251.5 km (775.9 mi) NW of Georgetown, Saint Helena
  • 1408.7 km (873.4 mi) ENE of Natal, Brazil
  • 1412.4 km (875.7 mi) ENE of São Miguel, Brazil
  • 1415.3 km (877.5 mi) ENE of Extremoz, Brazil

Nations of the South Asia Region join hands to promote Inclusion through Unified Cricket RDT Ananthapur Andhra Pradesh


 30 November 2017– Special Olympics Teams from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Serendib (Sri Lanka) and India will be participating in the 3rd South Asia Unified Cricket Tournament to be held from 1-4 December 2017 at RDT Ananthapur, Andhra Pradesh.
The Tournament will be inaugurated on the 1st of December 2017 at 6PM at the RDT Ananthapur Sports Academy Ground in the gracious presence of the Chief Guest Shri GVG Ashok Kumar, IPS, Superintendent of Police, along with Mr. Moncho Ferrer, Program Director, RDT & Chairman, Organizing Committee and Guest of Honor – Mrs. Anne Ferrer, Founder and Executive Director, RDT & Mr. R. Dasarath, Director, CBR Sector. Dr. (Cdr) Kartikay Saini, Chairman, SO Bharat, Mr. Victor R Vaz, National Sports Director and Ms. Mukta Narain Thind, National Director – OD & C.Rajasekhar , Area Director, Andhra Pradesh will be present from the Host Country.
The Tournament is being held with support from Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, Government of Andhra Pradesh, the Lions Clubs International and the Aruna Abhey Oswal Trust along with Rural Development Trust. The Lions Club International and Aruna Abhey Oswal Trust has come forward to promote health needs and unified sports for Special Olympics Bharat under the program Mission Inclusion Bharat.
This is the third edition of the tournament, with the previous two held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2014 and 2016. Unified Cricket matches will be played on 2nd and 3rdDecember at the RDT (Rural Development Trust) ASA grounds.
Unified Sports encourages persons with and without Intellectual disabilities to team up and play. This breaks barriers in as much as targeting common goals and sharing experiences, it is considered a catalyst in promoting inclusion
Alongside the competitions 300 Athletes, including all participating Athletes will be screened across Fit feet and Health Promotion on 2 and 3 December at Indoor Auditorium. Families of the children special needs will be given awareness on Hygiene & Sanitation & Intellectual Disability on 3rd December 2017.
 Quote from Drew Boshell, Senior Vice President, Sport & Health, Special Olympics International:
On behalf of Special Olympics International, I wish many great wickets and centuries for all the cricketers competing in the 3rd Special Olympics South Asia Unified Cricket Tournament in Ananthapur, Andhra Pradesh, India. As the second most popular sport in the world, and with over 80,000 Special Olympic athletes competing in cricket worldwide, all eyes will be proudly focused on the great example of sport and inclusion that you are setting. Play well, Play fair and Play Unified!”
Quote from Air Marshal Denzil Keelor, Founder & CEO, SO Bharat: “It is a privilege to hold an event of this scale in India. With Cricket reigning high in the hearts of the people this is a strong platform for relaying the message of Inclusion, and spreading it beyond national boundaries. I trust the SO Bharat Andhra Pradesh Chapter to carry out this event most successfully and I extend a warm welcome to the Special Olympics programs from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Serendib to join us in making this a memorable Unified experience”
Quote from Mr. Moncho Ferrer, Program Director, RDT and Chairman, Organizing Committee“RDT has a great privilege in welcoming all the special athletes to South Asia Unified Cricket Tournament. A rare occasion for the inclusion for integration – A global village, crossing barriers and carrying a spirit of unity.”
Quote from Mr. Rajshekhar Cheli, Area Director, SO Bharat – Andhra Pradesh: “Performance always comes from passion & not from pressure. Always be passionate of sports, as sports plays critical role in life. I feel privileged to receive this opportunity to host this great event for Special Olympics Asia Pacific to promote Inclusion for our Special Athletes. “

Merkel ready to help African states

EU wants to work more closely with Africa to address illegal migration, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday. She was addressing a summit attended by dozens of European and African leaders in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. “It’s very important that we simply support Africans to put a stop to illegal migration, so people don’t have to either suffer in horrible camps in Libya or are even being traded,” Merkel said. Migration is a top issue at the summit after recent footage of migrants at a slave auction in Libya drew international condemnation, AP said. Another issue high on the agenda is security as the threat of extremism grows in West Africa and elsewhere.

May visits Iraq

British Prime Minister Theresa May met with her Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing an Iraqi government spokesman. This is her first visit to Iraq since coming to power last year. The British government said in September that there were around 600 British soldiers on the ground in Iraq. “We will continue to support Iraq in various fields,” May said, according to Iraqi state television. Abadi said that “Iraqi-British relations have witnessed an improvement, especially in the field of counter terrorism,” according to the report.

Czech PM Bohuslav Sobotka stepped down

Czech center-left government of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka stepped down on Wednesday. The move makes way for billionaire Andrej Babis, who won an election last month, to take power in time for an EU summit in December. “The resignation will be delivered to the president today,” Sobotka said after a regular government session.
His coalition government was the first in 15 years to complete a full four-year term and presided over robust economic growth that helped cut unemployment to the lowest level in the EU and push up wages at the fastest pace in a decade, Reuters said. However, voters opted for anti-establishment candidates, punishing traditional parties at the polls. Babis’s ANO party, with pledges to fight political corruption, has failed to convince any of the other eight parliamentary parties to join a new coalition.

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