logo
No cause for concern: Kuwait confirms radiation levels stable

No cause for concern: Kuwait confirms radiation levels stable

Arab Times6 hours ago

KUWAIT CITY, June 22: The National Guard confirmed Sunday that radiation levels across Kuwait's airspace and territorial waters remain stable, assuring the public that the overall situation is "normal."
In an official statement, the Moral Guidance Directorate of the National Guard emphasized that continuous monitoring is being conducted by the Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Chemical Defense and Radiation Monitoring Center. The center is equipped with advanced systems and operates round-the-clock to track radiation levels via a comprehensive national monitoring network deployed across the country.
Authorities reaffirmed their commitment to public safety, adding that all current readings indicate no cause for concern.

Hashtags

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Hot-air balloon in Brazil catches fire and falls from the sky, killing 8 and injuring 13
Hot-air balloon in Brazil catches fire and falls from the sky, killing 8 and injuring 13

Arab Times

time6 hours ago

  • Arab Times

Hot-air balloon in Brazil catches fire and falls from the sky, killing 8 and injuring 13

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 22, (AP): A hot-air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil 's southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, firefighters said. Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon, which was in flames as it hurtled toward the ground in the municipality of Praia Grande. On a video on social media, two people can be seen falling through the air as the fire spread onboard the aircraft. Thirteen people survived and were taken to hospitals, Santa Catarina's military fire brigade said, adding that 21 people were on board including the pilot. The crash happened at around 8 a.m. local time, said Lt. Col. Zevir Cipriano Jr., a military firefighter. A fire started in the basket, prompting the pilot to try to land the balloon. Thirteen people, including the pilot, managed to jump out but eight were unable to. Without the weight of the others, the balloon began rising again. "These people ended up dying - four charred and another four jumped out of the balloon when it was falling,' Cipriano Jr. said. Three people died hugging each other, said Ulisses Gabriel, chief of Santa Catarina's civil police force, on X. "It hurts the soul.' "We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened. But the important thing now is for the state structure to do what it can,' Gov. Jorginho Mello said in a video on X. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his solidarity with victims' families and said he was placing the federal government at the disposal of victims and local authorities. Authorities have opened an investigation and the results will be made public within 30 days, Santa Catarina's public safety secretary Col. Flávio Graff told journalists. According to the civil police, the pilot has given testimony and they will also gather statements from survivors, Graff added. G1 reported that the balloon's expected flight time was 45 minutes, with the balloon reaching 1,000 meters (3,280 feet), and cost 550 reais (around $100) per passenger. Sobrevoar, the company responsible for the multicolored balloon, said it complied with all regulations and had a clean accident record prior to Saturday.

No cause for concern: Kuwait confirms radiation levels stable
No cause for concern: Kuwait confirms radiation levels stable

Arab Times

time6 hours ago

  • Arab Times

No cause for concern: Kuwait confirms radiation levels stable

KUWAIT CITY, June 22: The National Guard confirmed Sunday that radiation levels across Kuwait's airspace and territorial waters remain stable, assuring the public that the overall situation is "normal." In an official statement, the Moral Guidance Directorate of the National Guard emphasized that continuous monitoring is being conducted by the Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Chemical Defense and Radiation Monitoring Center. The center is equipped with advanced systems and operates round-the-clock to track radiation levels via a comprehensive national monitoring network deployed across the country. Authorities reaffirmed their commitment to public safety, adding that all current readings indicate no cause for concern.

Chad hopes ‘green charcoal' can save vanishing forests
Chad hopes ‘green charcoal' can save vanishing forests

Kuwait Times

time20 hours ago

  • Kuwait Times

Chad hopes ‘green charcoal' can save vanishing forests

N'DJAMENA: As they zigzagged from one machine to another in the searing African sun, the workers were covered in black soot. But the charcoal they were making is known as 'green', and backers hope it can save impoverished Chad from rampant deforestation. Chad, a vast, landlocked country of 19 million people perched at the crossroads of north and central Africa, is steadily turning to desert. It has lost more than 90 percent of its forest cover since the 1970s, hit by climate change and overexploitation of trees for household uses such as cooking, officials say. 'Green charcoal' aims to protect what forest is left. Made from discarded plant waste such as millet and sesame stalks or palm fronds, it is meant to save trees from being chopped down for cooking. The product 'releases less emissions than traditional charcoal, it doesn't blacken your pots, it has high energy content and lasts up to three times longer than ordinary charcoal,' said Ousmane Alhadj Oumarou, technical director of the Raikina Association for Socioeconomic Development (Adser). 'Using one kilogram of green charcoal saves six kilograms of wood.' The group has installed a production facility in Pont Belile, just north of the capital, N'Djamena. There, workers grind up burnt plant waste, then mix it with gum arabic, which helps it ignite, and clay, which makes it burn more slowly. The resulting black nuggets look like ordinary charcoal. Like the traditional kind, it emits CO2 when it burns - but less, said Souleymane Adam Adey, an ecologist at the University of N'Djamena. And 'it contributes to fighting deforestation, by ensuring the trees that aren't cut down continue to capture and store carbon,' he said. NDJAMENA: A worker holds coal pebbles in his hand at Grace International's green coal production site in Ndjamena, Chad. - AFP Refugee pressure The conflict in neighboring Sudan, which is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, is adding to pressure on Chad, which has become home to more than 800,000 Sudanese refugees since 2023 - double the 400,000 it already hosted. 'Desertification has progressed in the regions that have been hosting Sudanese refugees for the past two years,' said Adser's director, 45-year-old businessman Ismael Hamid. Adser invested 200 million CFA francs (about $350,000) to launch the project, then won backing from the World Bank, which buys the charcoal for 750 CFA francs per kilogram. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, distributes the charcoal in refugee camps in eastern Chad. But Hamid said he hoped to expand production and slash prices to 350 to 500 CFA francs per kilo to make 'green charcoal' available and affordable nationwide. — AFP The plant currently produces seven to nine tons per day. 'If we want to meet the country's needs, we have to increase our output by at least a factor of 10,' said Hamid, calling for subsidies to support the budding sector. Environment Minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous told AFP the government was working on a policy to promote such projects. 'We need to bet on green charcoal as an energy source for the future of our country,' he said. — AFP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store