Nina Gomes collects garbage from the sea near Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,. For years Gomes has been accompanying her father, Ricardo Gomes, a biologist and director of the Mar Urbano Institute, to collect garbage from the city's beaches and seawater and help him teach ocean culture.

Meet Nina: Copacabana's youngest beach cleaner

An Indian national, aged 32, was shot dead by the Australian Police on Tuesday after he allegedly stabbed a cleaner at a railway station in Sydney and used a knife to threaten the police officers, as reported by India's news agency ANI.

The Indian national from Tamil Nadu, Mohamed Rahmathullah Syed Ahmed, was living in Auburn. Australia's Indian Consulate General found that the attacker was staying on a bridging visa in Australia.

The investigation is being carried out by the detectives in the incident and they are even exploring the angle of mental health. As per the detectives, a cleaner was stabbed by Ahmed and then the police officers were threatened with a knife before the latter was fatally shot by the police personnel.

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shots-fired-near-german-school-2-including-shooter-injured-police-566771">81-year-old opens fire near school in Germany; injures self, teen</a>

The 28-year-old cleaner was attacked by Ahmed at Auburn train station at 12.03 am local time on Tuesday before reaching Auburn police station five minutes later, The Sydney Morning Herald reported citing police.

As quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's Indian Consulate General said, “The incident is extremely disturbing and unfortunate. We have formally taken up the matter with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, NSW Office as well as state police authorities.”

When two police officers attempted to leave the police station and reach the spot where the stabbing took place, they were confronted by Ahmed, who tried to harm them.

After the attack, three shots were fired by the senior officer, two of which pierced Syed Ahmed's chest. A taser was also used on the attacker by a probationary constable.

Although paramedics treated Syed at the scene and he was rushed to Westmead Hospital, however, was declared dead just after 1:30 am local time, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

At the press conference, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said that the officers had only a second to respond and were left with no choice but to shoot the attacker.

WATCH | 'Rust' producers agree to pay $100,000 fine after shooting at movie set

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“I fully support these officers. It’s traumatic. It’s a significant incident at one of our police stations. There just isn’t an impending time. It is immediate. He launches through the glass doors at the officers; they had very little time to react,” he said.

Talking about the counter-terrorism unit's role in the investigation, Smith said, “It’s part of our model in terms of response. Obviously, when someone armed themselves with a knife and stabs an individual and then tries to attack police, which is the CCTV footage, (it) is highly concerning. When that’s involved, it triggers a number of intelligence responses and investigative responses which we’re dealing with.”&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

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An Indian national, aged 32, was shot dead by the Australian Police on Tuesday after he allegedly stabbed a cleaner at a railway station in Sydney and used a knife to threaten the police officers, as reported by India's news agency ANI.

An Indian national, aged 32, was shot dead by the Australian Police on Tuesday after he allegedly stabbed a cleaner at a railway station in Sydney and used a knife to threaten the police officers, as reported by India's news agency ANI. The Indian national from Tamil Nadu, Mohamed Rahmathullah Syed Ahmed, was living in Auburn. Australia's Indian Consulate General found that the attacker was staying on a bridging visa in Australia. The investigation is being carried out by the detectives in the incident and they are even exploring the angle of mental health. As per the detectives, a cleaner was stabbed by Ahmed and then the police officers were threatened with a knife before the latter was fatally shot by the police personnel. ALSO READ | 81-year-old opens fire near school in Germany; injures self, teen The 28-year-old cleaner was attacked by Ahmed at Auburn train station at 12.03 am local time on Tuesday before reaching Auburn police station five minutes later, The Sydney Morning Herald reported citing police. As quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's Indian Consulate General said, “The incident is extremely disturbing and unfortunate. We have formally taken up the matter with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, NSW Office as well as state police authorities.” When two police officers attempted to leave the police station and reach the spot where the stabbing took place, they were confronted by Ahmed, who tried to harm them. After the attack, three shots were fired by the senior officer, two of which pierced Syed Ahmed's chest. A taser was also used on the attacker by a probationary constable. Although paramedics treated Syed at the scene and he was rushed to Westmead Hospital, however, was declared dead just after 1:30 am local time, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. At the press conference, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said that the officers had only a second to respond and were left with no choice but to shoot the attacker. WATCH | 'Rust' producers agree to pay $100,000 fine after shooting at movie set “I fully support these officers. It’s traumatic. It’s a significant incident at one of our police stations. There just isn’t an impending time. It is immediate. He launches through the glass doors at the officers; they had very little time to react,” he said. Talking about the counter-terrorism unit's role in the investigation, Smith said, “It’s part of our model in terms of response. Obviously, when someone armed themselves with a knife and stabs an individual and then tries to attack police, which is the CCTV footage, (it) is highly concerning. When that’s involved, it triggers a number of intelligence responses and investigative responses which we’re dealing with.” (With inputs from agencies) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Police shoot Indian national after latter stabs cleaner in Australia

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday vowed to make Pakistan "cleaner than Europe" as he formally launched a campaign aimed at improving sanitary conditions in the country.

Khan planted a sapling and participated in the 'Clean and Green Pakistan' drive at the Model College for Girls in Islamabad, according to Radio Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister urged the students and youth to lead the campaign as it is connected with the future of the country.

Khan vowed to make the country "cleaner than Europe" in five years.

"For this to happen, we will also have to bring a change in our mindset," he said.

He pointed out that "plantation is imperative to protect the environment and check global warming".

He said Pakistan is the seventh most vulnerable country to global warming. He mentioned that Lahore is among the cities where the pollution level is very high.

Khan claimed his party's government had planted a billion trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

He said his government has now set a target of planting 10 billion trees across the country which he said will change the weather pattern.

Khan said under the cleanliness drive, sewerage and sanitation systems will be improved not only in cities but also in slums and villages. He said as part of integrated solution, dumping sites would be identified from village to tehsil level for disposal of solid waste.

Khan said the country requires efforts from students to make Pakistan clean and green.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday vowed to make Pakistan "cleaner than Europe" as he formally launched a campaign aimed at improving sanitary conditions in the country.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday vowed to make Pakistan "cleaner than Europe" as he formally launched a campaign aimed at improving sanitary conditions in the country. Khan planted a sapling and participated in the 'Clean and Green Pakistan' drive at the Model College for Girls in Islamabad, according to Radio Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister urged the students and youth to lead the campaign as it is connected with the future of the country. Khan vowed to make the country "cleaner than Europe" in five years. "For this to happen, we will also have to bring a change in our mindset," he said. He pointed out that "plantation is imperative to protect the environment and check global warming". He said Pakistan is the seventh most vulnerable country to global warming. He mentioned that Lahore is among the cities where the pollution level is very high. Khan claimed his party's government had planted a billion trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He said his government has now set a target of planting 10 billion trees across the country which he said will change the weather pattern. Khan said under the cleanliness drive, sewerage and sanitation systems will be improved not only in cities but also in slums and villages. He said as part of integrated solution, dumping sites would be identified from village to tehsil level for disposal of solid waste. Khan said the country requires efforts from students to make Pakistan clean and green.

PM Khan vows to make Pakistan 'cleaner than Europe'

Passengers travelling in air-conditioned coaches of trains can now wrap themselves up in soft and clean blankets of superior quality, according to revised specifications issued by the Railway Board.

The instructions issued earlier this month has said that the blankets which are provided to passengers in AC coaches should be clean and free of grease, soap, filling or any other admixture which would give fictitious mass or firmness to the blankets.

Unlike the blankets provided now which are woollen, the revised specifications said that the fibre content of the blankets should be 60 per cent wool, 15 per cent nylon and the weight should be 450 gram.

The Railway Board has specified “soft blanket of superior quality with four side satin piping not less than 4 cm stitches per centimeter” for AC coaches. At present, the blanket comes in a smaller size, weighs 2.2 kgs and is used for four years.

“These blankets with revised specifications should be washed preferably twice in a month subject to available capacity…in case of capacity constraints, washing should be done at least once a month. Life of the blankets with revised specifications and increased washing frequency is reduced initially to two years,” the note said, adding that this could be revised after a year.

Currently, blankets are dry-cleaned once every two months, with various zonal railways washing them at a periodicity that ranges from once every fortnight, once a month and even once in two-three months. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) last year had pulled up the railways for foisting dirty sheets, pillow cases and blankets on passengers.

The country’s supreme audit authority, in its report tabled in Parliament, noted that the national transporter was not adhering to the time schedule fixed for washing and sanitation of linen and blankets used by passengers.

Unlike the blankets provided now which are woollen, the revised specifications said that the fibre content of the blankets should be 60 per cent wool, 15 per cent nylon and the weight should be 450 gram.

Passengers travelling in air-conditioned coaches of trains can now wrap themselves up in soft and clean blankets of superior quality, according to revised specifications issued by the Railway Board. The instructions issued earlier this month has said that the blankets which are provided to passengers in AC coaches should be clean and free of grease, soap, filling or any other admixture which would give fictitious mass or firmness to the blankets. Unlike the blankets provided now which are woollen, the revised specifications said that the fibre content of the blankets should be 60 per cent wool, 15 per cent nylon and the weight should be 450 gram. The Railway Board has specified “soft blanket of superior quality with four side satin piping not less than 4 cm stitches per centimeter” for AC coaches. At present, the blanket comes in a smaller size, weighs 2.2 kgs and is used for four years. “These blankets with revised specifications should be washed preferably twice in a month subject to available capacity…in case of capacity constraints, washing should be done at least once a month. Life of the blankets with revised specifications and increased washing frequency is reduced initially to two years,” the note said, adding that this could be revised after a year. Currently, blankets are dry-cleaned once every two months, with various zonal railways washing them at a periodicity that ranges from once every fortnight, once a month and even once in two-three months. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) last year had pulled up the railways for foisting dirty sheets, pillow cases and blankets on passengers. The country’s supreme audit authority, in its report tabled in Parliament, noted that the national transporter was not adhering to the time schedule fixed for washing and sanitation of linen and blankets used by passengers.

Softer, lighter, cleaner blankets in AC coaches soon: Rail Board

&ldquo;When the earth is sick and polluted, human health is impossible.... To heal ourselves we must heal our planet, and to heal our planet we must heal ourselves&rdquo; --Bobby Mcleod, Aboriginal poet and activist,&nbsp; 
 
These words provide us with a poignant reminder about what needs to be done to save our planet. Fast-paced consumerism and insatiable materialism have come to define our species and in the process set our planet on the path to destruction. Our rapacious greed has put a question mark on the future of the only known planet in the universe that can sustain life. 
 
The time could not be more ripe to launch aggressive self-correction measures. Unfortunately, our leaders are still in a game of establishing onus on the basis of traditional responsibility, rather than coming together to take strong and decisive measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions. While the political economy of climate change goals has led to some sort of a stalemate in the international arena, there are solutions which can be adopted by cities to rein in rising air pollution levels without much dependence from political leaders. These solutions can be implemented by business models that inherently support environmental goals.&nbsp; 
 
For example, one of the biggest sources of pollution is automobiles. While moving to cleaner and more efficient fuel-operated vehicles is the most ideal option for curtailing city pollution levels, in emerging economies considerable time is needed before complementary infrastructure can be created to support this move. Thus, there is a dire need to think of short-term solutions that can address the challenge of rising car ownership and pollution levels in the city. 
 
Recently, the role of transporting people from point A to point B in a city has been assumed by technology aggregators. A complex innovation displayed in the simplest form is solving the inefficiencies that have haunted the urban transportation sector for centuries. But do these players solve other challenges through their technology? In particular, aren&rsquo;t the aggregators simply adding more cars on the road and adding to traffic snarls and city pollution levels? The answer is no!&nbsp; 
 
The sophistication of technology has allowed them to build products that marry innovation with traditional concepts aimed at reducing congestion and pollution. One such product is &ldquo;carpooling&rdquo; or &ldquo;ridesharing&rdquo; as these aggregators are calling it today. Simply put, the idea is aimed at efficient utilisation of existing assets while directly impacting a city&rsquo;s space availability and carbon emissions generated by vehicles. The concept is old but the advancement in technology has navigated the challenges the idea encountered in a non-digital space such as optimising conflicting schedules, making sharing a ride comfortable, et cetera. However, amid all the talk about decongestion of cities and cheaper transport options that have been generated by these options, a quiet revolution has the potential of making significant value additions to our climate change goals. 
 
Ridesharing promotes more people in fewer cars and results in the reduction of emissions, because the number of kilometres driven across a city and fuel burned are reduced significantly. Further, as more people embrace this means of transportation, a wonderful and complementary relationship is created between public transport and these services, which disincentivises car ownership substantially. At a time when cities like Delhi have a vehicular density of 80 vehicles per kilometre and 27 lakh personal vehicles with 1,463 new vehicles added to the city every day, one is compelled to think of scenarios which can reverse this trend. 
 
A &ldquo;stick&rdquo; approach would entail levy of congestion charges and other related taxes, but a more innovative solution comes in the form of people using their existing personal vehicles to offer rides to other people travelling to the same destination or nearby. The experiment has already generated positive impact from both a decongestion and environmental perspective. 
 
For example, Uber&rsquo;s study of ridesharing in LA revealed that in eight months it managed to reduce 1,400 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions. In San Francisco, the monthly reduction totalled 120 metric tonnes. As this model is scaled, it will further benefit the environment not only because of reduced emissions but also because of the opening up of urban space which would otherwise be earmarked for public parking or extension of road lengths. The free space could be used for environmental goals, such as the creation of public parks.&nbsp; 
 
It is estimated that every carpool helps remove four cars from the road, which is as good as planting 4,000 trees. Imagine the impact we can have on Delhi&rsquo;s abysmal air pollution levels if we turned on the private ridesharing switch on each of its its 27 lakh personal vehicle. 
 
This is essentially the way forward for ensuring sustainable development &ndash; building profitable business models led by technology-driven solutions that also benefit collective environmental goals. Such ideas require public and government support. An enabling regulatory landscape would help environmentally-conscious companies to scale their business and effect momentous transformation in the way we have traditionally operated. 
 
To this end, while we continue to bicker over the Intended Nationally Determined Commitments (INDC) and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), there is a real opportunity for local government, citizenry and businesses to come together and bring about incremental changes to reduce emissions.

As climate change worsens cleaner transportation is essential, but waiting for politicians to act is taking forever...

“When the earth is sick and polluted, human health is impossible.... To heal ourselves we must heal our planet, and to heal our planet we must heal ourselves” --Bobby Mcleod, Aboriginal poet and activist, These words provide us with a poignant reminder about what needs to be done to save our planet. Fast-paced consumerism and insatiable materialism have come to define our species and in the process set our planet on the path to destruction. Our rapacious greed has put a question mark on the future of the only known planet in the universe that can sustain life. The time could not be more ripe to launch aggressive self-correction measures. Unfortunately, our leaders are still in a game of establishing onus on the basis of traditional responsibility, rather than coming together to take strong and decisive measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions. While the political economy of climate change goals has led to some sort of a stalemate in the international arena, there are solutions which can be adopted by cities to rein in rising air pollution levels without much dependence from political leaders. These solutions can be implemented by business models that inherently support environmental goals. For example, one of the biggest sources of pollution is automobiles. While moving to cleaner and more efficient fuel-operated vehicles is the most ideal option for curtailing city pollution levels, in emerging economies considerable time is needed before complementary infrastructure can be created to support this move. Thus, there is a dire need to think of short-term solutions that can address the challenge of rising car ownership and pollution levels in the city. Recently, the role of transporting people from point A to point B in a city has been assumed by technology aggregators. A complex innovation displayed in the simplest form is solving the inefficiencies that have haunted the urban transportation sector for centuries. But do these players solve other challenges through their technology? In particular, aren’t the aggregators simply adding more cars on the road and adding to traffic snarls and city pollution levels? The answer is no! The sophistication of technology has allowed them to build products that marry innovation with traditional concepts aimed at reducing congestion and pollution. One such product is “carpooling” or “ridesharing” as these aggregators are calling it today. Simply put, the idea is aimed at efficient utilisation of existing assets while directly impacting a city’s space availability and carbon emissions generated by vehicles. The concept is old but the advancement in technology has navigated the challenges the idea encountered in a non-digital space such as optimising conflicting schedules, making sharing a ride comfortable, et cetera. However, amid all the talk about decongestion of cities and cheaper transport options that have been generated by these options, a quiet revolution has the potential of making significant value additions to our climate change goals. Ridesharing promotes more people in fewer cars and results in the reduction of emissions, because the number of kilometres driven across a city and fuel burned are reduced significantly. Further, as more people embrace this means of transportation, a wonderful and complementary relationship is created between public transport and these services, which disincentivises car ownership substantially. At a time when cities like Delhi have a vehicular density of 80 vehicles per kilometre and 27 lakh personal vehicles with 1,463 new vehicles added to the city every day, one is compelled to think of scenarios which can reverse this trend. A “stick” approach would entail levy of congestion charges and other related taxes, but a more innovative solution comes in the form of people using their existing personal vehicles to offer rides to other people travelling to the same destination or nearby. The experiment has already generated positive impact from both a decongestion and environmental perspective. For example, Uber’s study of ridesharing in LA revealed that in eight months it managed to reduce 1,400 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions. In San Francisco, the monthly reduction totalled 120 metric tonnes. As this model is scaled, it will further benefit the environment not only because of reduced emissions but also because of the opening up of urban space which would otherwise be earmarked for public parking or extension of road lengths. The free space could be used for environmental goals, such as the creation of public parks. It is estimated that every carpool helps remove four cars from the road, which is as good as planting 4,000 trees. Imagine the impact we can have on Delhi’s abysmal air pollution levels if we turned on the private ridesharing switch on each of its its 27 lakh personal vehicle. This is essentially the way forward for ensuring sustainable development – building profitable business models led by technology-driven solutions that also benefit collective environmental goals. Such ideas require public and government support. An enabling regulatory landscape would help environmentally-conscious companies to scale their business and effect momentous transformation in the way we have traditionally operated. To this end, while we continue to bicker over the Intended Nationally Determined Commitments (INDC) and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), there is a real opportunity for local government, citizenry and businesses to come together and bring about incremental changes to reduce emissions.

Technology and business must combine to help commuters navigate congested cities

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