China coal province to Cut pollution by 20 pct by 2020
One of China's top coal-producing provinces has vowed to slash its level of fine particle pollution by one-fifth by 2020, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, citing the provincial government. China has adopted various measures from policing barbeques to halting industrial production in efforts to ease the yearly winter haze that hit the country earlier this month leaving cities veiled in foul-smelling smog. China's northern Shanxi province aims to increase the proportion of days per year with good air quality to 75.4 percent…
Indian Oil Shifts Focus to Expanding Natural Gas Business
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) , the country's biggest refiner, is expanding its natural gas business as the south Asian nation, the world's third-largest carbon emitter, aims to cut its dependence on coal and oil. Thirteen of the world's 20 dirtiest cities are in India, with New Delhi taking top spot, a report by the World Health Organisation said last year. As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Clean India Mission", the country last year launched an air quality index to help citizens understand complex pollution data and its implications for their health.
Doctor Dies of Ebola in Nigeria Oil Hub Port Harcourt
A doctor in Nigeria's oil hub of Port Harcourt has died from Ebola after treating a contact of a Liberian-American man who was the first recorded case of the virus in Africa's most populous country, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said in a statement that the doctor fell ill after treating a patient who was a contact of Patrick Sawyer, who died from Ebola in Lagos after flying in from Liberia last month. The death in Port Harcourt brings the number of Ebola fatalities in Nigeria to 6…
Miners Battle to Keep Ebola at Bay in West Africa
Mining companies are acting swiftly to keep the Ebola virus at bay, screening employees and restricting access to remote mining camps while production ticks over in the iron ore and gold fields of West Africa. A prolonged outbreak, however, will threaten mineral production in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea if essential supplies are disrupted and employees stay away from work too long. Or worse: should a miner or family member contract the deadly virus.
