Monday, July 29, 2013

India's seizure of smuggled gold soars

About alberto de leon(India's seizure of smuggled gold soars)vox update report . http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/indias-seizure-smuggled-gold-soars-173440764.html ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................According to estimates, just five to 10 percent of smuggled gold is caught by Indian authorities, the newspaper said, even though vigilance has been stepped up at customs.

In recent months, travellers have been caught smuggling gold in their clothing, concealed as television parts, and as staples with silver coating.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram last month implored Indians to "resist the temptation to buy gold" with the rupee's value also slumping.

"India does not produce an ounce of gold. You pay in rupees, but the government has to spend dollars to buy gold," Chidambaram said. ..................................................................................................................................................................

India's seizure of smuggled gold soars

By AFP | AFP – Sat, Jul 27, 2013

Seizure of smuggled gold in India soared 365 percent in the first quarter of the year, a report said Saturday, following curbs on imports of the precious metal to plug a yawning trade gap.

India, the world's largest buyer of gold, has twice hiked import taxes on bullion this year to discourage gold-buying and introduced other restrictions on purchases to rein in a record current account deficit, the broadest measure of trade.

Gold is hugely popular in India, especially during religious festivals and wedding seasons.

In the April to June quarter of this financial year seizure of smuggled gold rose 365 percent over the same period last year, the Business Standard newspaper quoted a government revenue department official as saying.

"This year, in the first quarter itself, we have seized almost 60 percent (in value terms) of what was seized in all of last year," an unnamed government revenue official was quoted as saying.

Many Indians -- especially in rural areas where there are few banks -- buy gold as a hedge against inflation which has been stubbornly high.

Gold imports fell from 162 tonnes in May to 31 tonnes in June after government moves to restrain gold buying. Import duties on gold now stand at eight percent.

But gold may now be being smuggled instead of being officially imported, revenue department officials warned.

Gold is India's second-biggest import after oil. The commodities are the biggest contributors to India's current account deficit which hit a record 4.8 percent of gross domestic product in the financial year ending March as imports outpaced exports.

According to estimates, just five to 10 percent of smuggled gold is caught by Indian authorities, the newspaper said, even though vigilance has been stepped up at customs.

In recent months, travellers have been caught smuggling gold in their clothing, concealed as television parts, and as staples with silver coating.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram last month implored Indians to "resist the temptation to buy gold" with the rupee's value also slumping.

"India does not produce an ounce of gold. You pay in rupees, but the government has to spend dollars to buy gold," Chidambaram said.

But a fall in international gold prices this year has whetted Indians' interest in bullion, officials say, making it harder to combat buying.

Ratings agencies have threatened to downgrade India's sovereign investment rating to junk status unless the government improves the nation's finances, including its current account deficit.

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Sunday, July 28, 2013

Dozens killed in Italy bus crash

About alberto de leon(Dozens killed in Italy bus crash)vox-update report .http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/dozens-killed-italy-bus-crash-234209959.html ..................................................................................................................................................................Italian television quoted people at the scene as saying about 49 people were on the bus, which was reportedly filled with Italian pilgrims returning from an excursion in the Puglia area. .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Motorists and their passengers whose vehicles were hit by the bus stood on the highway near their vehicles. One car's rear was completely crumpled, while another was smashed on its side. It was not immediately known if there were injuries in any of those cars.
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Dozens killed in Italy bus crash

Aljazeera – 1 hour 3 minutes ago

At least 37 people have died after a bus plunged about 30 metres off a viaduct in southern Italy, officials say.

Eleven people have been pulled out alive from the mangled wreckage of the bus and taken to hospital, some with serious injuries, a spokesman for the fire service said.

The bus was lying on its side in a clearance in a wooded area, after smashing through a guardrail and plunging about 30 metres, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. The bus looked as if it had partially split open.

The crash took place late on Sunday night on the 116 autostrada near Avellino, about 250km south of Rome.

State radio quoted Avellino police as saying the bus driver was among the dead.

Italian television quoted people at the scene as saying about 49 people were on the bus, which was reportedly filled with Italian pilgrims returning from an excursion in the Puglia area.

Highway police said the bus crashed into cars that had been slowed by heavy traffic.

"The situation is dramatic," ANSA quoted a rescue official as saying. Several other vehicles have also reportedly been involved in the accident.

Rescue operations are ongoing.

"The region is among the mountains, so it's quite difficult to reach which makes rescue operations very challenging," Stefano Liberti, a local journalist, told Al Jazeera.

Motorists and their passengers whose vehicles were hit by the bus stood on the highway near their vehicles. One car's rear was completely crumpled, while another was smashed on its side. It was not immediately known if there
were injuries in any of those cars.

Police would not put a definitive number on those killed in the accident.

"Our priority now is to free the wounded," a spokesman told the AFP news agency. "The situation is critical," head fireman Pellegrino Iandolo told SKY TG24 television. "Our men are working to save as many lives as possible."

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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Sting operation- jellyfish blooms may endanger fish stocks

About alberto de leon(Sting operation- jellyfish "blooms" may endanger fish stocks) vox-updated report ..http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/176874/icode/ .http://travel.cnn.com/coming-europe-summer-jellyfish-600901 . http://thechive.com/2013/04/10/jellfish-jellyfish-everywhere-50-photos/ ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... GENERAL FISHERIES COMMISSION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
ISSN 1020-9549
STUDIES AND REVIEWS
No. 92 2013
REVIEW OF JELLYFISH BLOOMS IN THE

Giant jellyfish

MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA .

beautiful jellyfish photos 48 JELLFISH, JELLYFISH EVERYWHERE!! (50 Photos)

I never thought I'd say it, but these photos of jellyfish are stunning and, dare I say, beautiful.

beautiful jellyfish photos 0 JELLFISH, JELLYFISH EVERYWHERE!! (50 Photos)

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GIANT JELLYFISH

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... GENERAL FISHERIES COMMISSION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
ISSN 1020-9549
STUDIES AND REVIEWS
No. 92 2013
REVIEW OF JELLYFISH BLOOMS IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA
Cover..... ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Overfishing, which removes top predators from the sea, is one of the factors behind jellyfish "blooms", or suddenly increased numbers. A "vicious circle" can then follow in which large numbers of medusae feed on fish larvae and juveniles , and "further reduce the resilience of fish populations already impacted by overfishing," according to the report, ...................................................................................................................................................................GENERAL FISHERIES COMMISSION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
ISSN 1020-9549
STUDIES AND REVIEWS
No. 92 2013
REVIEW OF JELLYFISH BLOOMS IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA
... . .Now European scientists are warning that a surge in the number of jellyfish could threaten not only marine biodiversity, but also the health of tourists in beach resorts around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. ...................................................................................................................................................................“In the last decade … the media are reporting on an increasingly high number of gelatinous plankton blooms,” reads the report. “The reason for these reports is that thousands of tourists are stung, fisheries are harmed and even impaired by jellyfish.” ...................................................................................................................................................................Although noting that significant jellyfish blooms “have been known since ancient times and are part of the normal functioning of the oceans,” the report cites global warming and global over-fishing (which removes jellyfish predators) as causes for exploding jellyfish populations in recent years. .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Sting operation - jellyfish "blooms" may endanger fish stocks

With overfishing, "vicious circle" created

Photo: ©Laurent Piechegut /Biosphoto via AFP/ImageForum/

Abnormal Jellyfish bloom in the Mediterranean.

30 May 2013, Rome - Surges in jellyfish populations may be one reason for a drop in fish stocks observed in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, according to a new report published by FAO.

Overfishing, which removes top predators from the sea, is one of the factors behind jellyfish "blooms", or suddenly increased numbers. A "vicious circle" can then follow in which large numbers of medusae feed on fish larvae and juveniles , and "further reduce the resilience of fish populations already impacted by overfishing," according to the report, from FAO's General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean.

Jellyfish "might be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back" says the Review of Jellyfish Blooms in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

Normally, only the impact of human fishing activities is taken into account in setting sustainable fishing limits, the report says. But jellyfish can also have a high impact on fish eggs and larvae, either directly or by competing for the same food sources. They should thus be considered in any ecosystems-based approach to fisheries management.

Overwhelming impact
The severe effect jellyfish can have on fish stocks was demonstrated in the early 1980s when Mnemiopsis leidyi, a jellyfish species normally resident on the Atlantic, was accidentally introduced into the Black Sea and had such "overwhelming" impact on fish populations that fisheries were put "on their knees".

The problem was only resolved after another invader species Beroe ovate, which feeds on Mnemiopsis, also arrived in the Black sea.

In the Adriatic a drop in fish populations was also observed 20-30 years ago with a successive surges of mauve-coloured, Pelagia noctiluca jellyfish that deliver a vicious sting. The combined effect of Pelagia predation on the one hand and human overfishing on the other played a large part in reducing reproductive adult fish "to a threshold that made recovery of fish populations less effective".

"In the past, the system could cope with episodes of jellyfish abundance , but in the case of the early 1980s blooms, the system went in another direction and is still not back to "normal" in pre-Pelagia years," the report states.

Jellyfish ocean
Jellyfish have now become persistently abundant in almost all the oceans of the world, leading some experts to speak of "a global regime shift from a fish to a jellyfish ocean" in which jellyfish supplant fish.

Although the reasons for the phenomenon are not fully understood, they may include, besides overfishing:

• Global warming, which enhances species that thrive at tropical latitudes.

• Eutrophication, which increases nutrients in the water.

• Widespread use of sea walls to prevent coastal erosion and the large number of tourist harbours, which make an ideal habitat for those jellyfish who go through a stage as polyps in their early lives.

Measures advocated to prevent or cope with jellyfish blooms include:

• Incorporate jellyfish research into fisheries research.

• Develop jellyfish products for food and medicine. Some jellyfish species are a food source in several countries.

• Among other possibilities, the discovery of an "immortal jellyfish", Turritopsis nutricula, capable of reversing its ageing process, holds out the promise of developing powerful rejuvenation products for humans.

• Establish early warning systems of jellyfish blooms, with protective barriers for aquaculture farms.

• Taking steps to reduce overfishing, greenhouse gas emissions and the causes of eutrophication "would undoubtedly improve environmental quality at large and might, thus, also reduce the present prevalence of jellyfish," the report adds.

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Coming to Europe this summer -- jellyfish

A dramatic increase in jellyfish populations in the Mediterranean and Black Sea may keep travelers out of the water this summer

By CNN Travel staff 5 June, 2013

Stinging jellyfish are besieging shorelines across the Mediterranean, threatening the health of tourists.

Sharks. Sea Snakes. Sewage.

Lots of unpleasant things can keep us out of the ocean, ruining an otherwise enjoyable beach holiday.

Perhaps no sea creature makes swimmers quite so paranoid as jellyfish -- “gelatinous macrozooplankton” if you really want to make yourself feel squeamish.

Now European scientists are warning that a surge in the number of jellyfish could threaten not only marine biodiversity, but also the health of tourists in beach resorts around the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

According to a report titled “Review of Jellyfish Blooms in the Mediterranean and Black Sea,” written by Fernando Borea for the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and the United Nations, scientists are catching up to what travelers in the Med have been experiencing for years.

“In the last decade … the media are reporting on an increasingly high number of gelatinous plankton blooms,” reads the report. “The reason for these reports is that thousands of tourists are stung, fisheries are harmed and even impaired by jellyfish.”

Although noting that significant jellyfish blooms “have been known since ancient times and are part of the normal functioning of the oceans,” the report cites global warming and global over-fishing (which removes jellyfish predators) as causes for exploding jellyfish populations in recent years.

“There are now beaches on the [Italian] island of Lampedusa, which receive 300,000 tourists a year, where people can only swim for a week in the summer,” according to Salento University (Italy) professor Stefano Piraino, in an article in the Guardian.

According to the same Guardian article, Barcelona’s Institute of Marine Sciences “has detected a surge this spring in one of the most poisonous species, the mauve stinger or Pelagia noctiluca, along the coast of Catalonia and Valencia.” The coastlines most badly affected by the overall surge in jellyfish populations include Malta, Sardinia, Sicily and areas of Israel and Lebanon, the articlesays.

According to the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean report, the region’s first case of a lethal sting from a jellyfish occurred in Sardinia in 2010.

“Sea-based tourism is one of the main sources of income in the whole Mediterranean Sea. If stinging jellyfish persist, stung tourists can cancel their reservations or reduce the length of their stay, with a reduction of revenues from tourism,” reads the study.

Tags:

MEDITERRANEAN

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

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Monday, July 29, 2013