Dec 12, 2015- New Zealanders have picked a blue and black design with the silver fern as the preliminary winner in a referendum on a possible new national flag.
The runner-up is a similar-looking red, white and blue design.
The final result will be announced on Tuesday after late and overseas votes are counted, and may change as the winning margin is narrow.
A second referendum will be held in March to decide whether to adopt the new flag, or keep the existing one.
Image captionPoaching and deforestation have caused a sharp decline in the tiger population
The number of wild tigers living in Nepal has increased by 63% to 198 since 2009, a government survey has shown.
The survey, which was carried out between February and June, assessed the Bengal tiger population across a 600-mile stretch in Nepal and India.
It found numbers had increased in all of Nepal's national parks.
South Asian governments have committed to doubling tiger populations by 2022, but the animals continue to face threats from poaching and habitat loss.
There are thought to be fewer than 2,000 tigers left worldwide, with 60% of them in India.
The survey covered tigers in the Terai Arc region, which spreads across the north Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and into southern Nepal.
'A milestone'
Nepal's survey concentrated on five protected areas and three wildlife corridors.
The results show the number of tigers in Nepal have increased to 198, a rise from 121 in 2009.
In particular, the tiger population in the south-western Bardia national park has risen from about 18 in 2009 to 50 this year.
Nepalese officials described the findings as a "milestone" in the bid to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, as agreed by the region's leaders at an international summit in 2010.
"Tigers are a part of Nepal's natural wealth and we are committed to ensuring these magnificent wild cats have the prey, protection and space to thrive," the director-general of Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Megh Bahadur Pandey, said.p
"Tigers are a part of Nepal's natural wealth and we are committed to ensuring these magnificent wild cats have the prey, protection and space to thrive," the director-general of Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Megh Bahadur Pandey, said.
Tens of thousands of Royal Bengal tigers, the most numerous subspecies of tiger, used to roam Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, but their numbers have fallen dramatically in recent decades.
The tiger's massive decline is due to widespread deforestation, the shrinking of their habitat and loss of prey base, as well as illegal poaching and wildlife trade.
Earlier this year, a study by Cardiff University warned that Indian tigers could face extinction because of a collapse in the variety of their mating partners.
The study found that 93% of DNA variants found in tigers shot during the period of the British Raj are not present in tigers today.
Researchers say a loss of habitat has meant that tigers are no longer free to roam throughout the subcontinent, which in turn has restricted their gene pool.
In Nepal, officials have increased anti-poaching efforts in a bid to curb the illegal wildlife trade, aimed at strengthening protection for the species.
Dec 6, 2015- The contribution of women in addressing climate change is still not sufficiently recognised. Therefore, it is essential for the COP21 currently underway in Paris (November 30-December 11) to provide a decisive and concrete step forward by integrating commitments to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Paris Agreement and more broadly, in future strategies and funding.
Differentiated impact Climate change disproportionately affects persons who are the least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and those with the most limited capacities to adapt. Women, owing to the traditional roles assigned to them by societies and due to the discriminations they face, are the most highly affected. The lower access of women to resources and economic opportunities (land rights, access to credit) and their limited decision-making power in combating climate change, reduce their resilience. Women and girls are more vulnerable in disasters as they are often confined to the private and reproductive sphere. Women are generally less educated and often less prepared to face natural disasters. They are more vulnerable to them—80 percent of the victims of the cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh (2007) were women—and, following a disaster, young girls are sometimes taken out of schools and married early. In addition, women are generally excluded from consultations and decisions on post-disaster recovery actions. The scarcity of natural resources also increases women’s working time, makes their living conditions more precarious and aggravates inequalities. Desertification, erosion, water and food shortages often increase the household burden on women and girls. As they have to fetch water and wood from ever more distant sources, women are forced to work for longer hours. This limits their engagement in paid activities that are required to cover incompressible expenditures or reduce their family’s vulnerability. Climate change also increases health problems and affects women’s sexual and reproductive rights. The effect on women’s health, especially on nutrition and sexual and reproductive health has been proven. In disaster areas, healthcare and access to contraception are often wiped out further hindering their capacity to space out births, which is a prerequisite for their empowerment. In addition, emergency shelters rarely offer services and hygiene materials for women.
Unrecognised actors Despite having always been in vulnerable situations and seen as secondary stakeholders, women are key actors in the fight against climate change. Women play an essential role in coming up with prevention, adaptation and mitigation strategies in combating climate change. The adaptation strategies used by women and men differ significantly: men focus on large-scale interventions such as irrigation schemes while women place greater emphasis on concrete and community improvements. By using their traditional know-how and their local environmental knowledge, women actually play a major role in implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in daily life (saving energy and water, recycling, diversification and use of organic products). The contribution of women is also underestimated and undervalued in the rollout of large-scale national public policies. The effective contribution of women to climate change policies is barely visible at the local level. It is scarcely valued in national action plans in the development of which women are only slightly involved. Lastly, at the level of international climate negotiations, the decisions aimed at ‘broadening the participation of women in the delegations and decision-making bodies’ adopted in 2001, 2012 and 2014, are barely binding and have allowed very slow progress. As a result, women do not have equal access to funding assigned to the fight against climate change. The issue of funding devoted to the fight against climate change is pivotal in supporting the mitigation and adaptation efforts made in developing countries at the national and local levels. As regards bilateral aid, only a quarter of the projects focused on climate took gender inequalities into account in 2013, for the most part in the traditional fields of women’s involvement (water, agriculture, very few in energy and transport). But, as the Funds of the Climate Convention and Kyoto Protocol have just adopted rules on incorporating gender in their projects, there is hope for improvement.
Strengthening gender equality The improvement of women’s rights has multiplier effects on the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. In particular, the access of women to sexual and reproductive health and rights has repercussions in child mortality, women’s health, and the education and nutrition of children. It lightens their workload and strengthens their capacity to use technical innovations and act against climate change (improved stoves, pumps, renewable energies), reducing greenhouse gas emissions and their expenditure. Support for women’s empowerment as a strategy to improve population resilience in sustainable development policies locally and nationally is thus crucial. The proposed strategy is based on the idea that the empowerment is dependent upon the institutions which either promote (or do not) access to the various resources, such as information, mobility, knowledge, technology and economic and financial resources. Keeping this in mind, there is a need to incorporate the dimension of human rights and gender equality in the Paris Agreement, promote women’s contribution and strengthen their participation in addressing climate change, at all levels. Second, the Agreement needs to promote and support genuine mainstreaming of gender and of women’s empowerment in all policies and all programmes on adaptation, mitigation and technology access and transfer. Lastly, it should commit in favour of an allocation of climate funding for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in funded projects.
Bousquet is the President of French High Council for Equality between Women and Men; Coutelle, is the President of Delegation for Women’s Rights of the French National Assembly; and Jouanno is the President of Delegation for Women’s Rights at the French Senate
Indiana State University is a public institution that was founded in 1865. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 10,881, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 435 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Indiana State University's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, Tier 2. Its in-state tuition and fees are $8,416 (2014-15); out-of-state tuition and fees are $18,346 (2014-15).
The Indiana State University campus is located in Terre Haute, about 70 miles southwest of Indianapolis. Undergraduates can choose from more than 80 academic majors, including education, criminology and nursing. Indiana State University students can also pursue master's degrees in many programs, including those within the College of Education and the Donald W. Scott College of Business.
The university offers much to do outside the classroom, including nearly 150 student organizations. ISU students can also get involved in the school's many events and traditions, such as the annual tandem bicycle race. Student athletes can try out for the Indiana State Sycamores varsity sports teams, which compete in the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference. Notable Indiana State University alumni include Willa Brown Chappell, the first woman in the U.S. to hold both a mechanical and a commercial pilot’s license, and Wanda Ramey, one of the first female news anchors in the nation.
Indiana State University offers an academically challenging, affordable education. Forbes has recognized Indiana State as one of America's Top Colleges, Princeton Review has recognized State as among the best in the Midwest and Washington Monthly has rated Indiana State No. 1 among 280 national universities in community service by students. Indiana State integrates teaching and research for goal-oriented students who seek opportunities for personal, professional and intellectual growth. Our pedestrian friendly and beautifully landscaped campus has been recognized by Princeton Review as one of the most environmentally responsible college campuses. The Indiana State student body represents 52 states and territories and more than 75 countries. State has been reaffirmed as a Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classification in recognition of our commitment to community engagement. Our focus on community and public service sets us apart. Our dedicated faculty and staff provide personal attention and inspire students to create and apply knowledge through dynamic partnerships with the community and the world. Indiana State University graduates are valued for their demonstrated knowledge, active citizenship and leadership qualities in their community, the country and the world. We pride ourselves in offering learning opportunities and financial assistance to our students. We serve a high percentage of first generation college students and working class students, who understand the value of diligence and perseverance to get ahead. We offer nearly 100 undergraduate majors including on campus and online. Each program has a component of experiential learning from freshman to senior year experience. Our average scholarship and grant allocation is awarded to 63 percent of students and is valued at $7,685 per student. The average aid award is received by 91 percent of full time freshmen at $9,814 per student. We understand college is a financial investment for students as well as an investment in each student's future. We treat students individually and provide them with as much assistance as we are able. Located in the heart of Terre Haute's downtown, Indiana State's campus is within walking distance to local shops and restaurants. We are located approximately ten minutes from a major interstate and are centrally located among Indianapolis, Saint Louis and Chicago. In addition to what the city of Terre Haute offers, our campus residence halls, student recreation facilities, NCAA Division I athletic teams and student run organizations always have activities and entertainment for students to enjoy. It is a great time to be part of the Indiana State University family. We encourage you to further explore what Blue can do for you.
The time has come: Tyra Banks has crowned the Cycle 22 winner of America's Next Top Model, a.k.a. the final winner of the show—ever. With four models remaining heading into the second half of the finale—Mikey, Nyle, Lacey andMame—who made it out on top?
Warning: Don't read on unless you've watched the finale, or if you're totally cool with spoilers. Either one is fine.
OK, ready?
And the last-ever winner of America's Next Top Model is: Nyle DiMarco, who also happens to be the second-ever male winner and the first deaf winner. The dark-haired model remained solidly in the middle of the pack until coming out of his shell in the sixth episode of the season, after a challenge that hoisted the contestants in the air to pose as possessed fashionistas.
His second win came in the go-see episode, which also featured a photoshoot where each model posed with a dog. Nyle was paired with a gorgeous husky, and the steely-eyed shot of the model and pup gazing into the camera earned raves from the judges.
While his fellow finalists took the top position in the weeks leading up to the finale, the 26-year-old wound up on top when it counted and won the coveted title of the final America's Next Top Model. While he's by no means the first deaf contestant to compete on a reality series—there have been deaf contestants on Survivor,Chopped, The Amazing Race and Project Runway, and Marlee Matlin came in second on The Celebrity Apprentice—he is the first one to take home the win.
DiMarco also recurred on the latest season of ABC Family's Switched at Birth as a potential love interest for Vanessa Marano's Bay. "It was so funny…All of the burly, super macho grips on set were drunk by his beauty. Someone came up to me and said, 'I am completely comfortable in my heterosexuality, but that is a beautiful man,'" she told E! News about the model-actor's time on the show.
Did the right model win? Will you miss ANTM in your life?
Dear unborn child of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West: Your mother is anxiously awaiting for your arrival.
The pregnant E! star has been keeping fans very up-to-date on her current pregnancy, and she hasn't been shy about exclaiming her anticipation for her baby boy to come out already. The star, who is nine months along and ready to pop any time now, took a selfie tonight that showed off her bare baby bump, and wrote a little message for her son.
Earlier today, Kim revealed that she's now up 60 pounds, and is going to be realistic about getting her pre-baby body back once she gives birth. "A few weeks to go and 60 pounds up! I look at other celebrities and Instagram girls who are literally so skinny right after giving birth," she wrote. "How is that possible?!?! F--k, I hope people don't expect that from me, LOL!"
Kim continued, "I mean, I'm focused and I love the challenge of getting my body back and feeling good again, BUT I am going to be a little bit more realistic."
Speaking of keeping it real, the soon-to-be mother of two kept it extremely 100 yesterday when she admitted that she currently feels "fat as f--k" and that her "cankles are out of control." LOL!
Dec 5, 2015- The Iraqi government has demanded that Turkey withdraw troops it sent to an area near the northern city of Mosul.
The move was "serious breach of Iraqi sovereignty" Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said in a statement.
About 150 Turkish soldiers have been deployed near in the town of Bashiqa to train Iraqi Kurdish forces, earlier reports said.
Mosul has been under the control of the Islamic State (IS) group since last year.
The statement called on Turkey to "respect good neighbourly relations and to withdraw immediately from the Iraqi territory".
Turkey enjoys close relations with autonomous Kurdish regions in Iraq, although views Syrian Kurdish groups over the border as hostile, analysts say.
The fall of Mosul was a key moment in the rise of IS and a Iraqi government offensive to retake the city has been repeatedly put back.
This week saw the UK carry out its first air strikes against IS in Syria and Germany voting to send military support to the coalition fighting IS in the country.
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