As military and civilian drones become increasingly popular, there are growing concerns about the threats some of them may pose over places like airports, prisons and electrical grids.
Drones have already attracted millions of new aviators through aerial photography, drone racing and other recreational activities, while countless commercial remote pilots are finding new applications for these aircraft on a regular basis.
However, with this new technology in aviation comes the need to protect critical infrastructure from its misuse.
A company has developed counter-drone technology that can identify and mitigate threats from malicious drones.
Airports, prisons and electricity grids are turning to this technology to counter drones coming into their space.
Israeli company, Eviation Aircraft successfully launched world’s first all-electric passenger aircraft, the Alice from Washington’s Grant County International Airport.
The zero-emission plane traveled at an altitude of 3,500 feet for its eight-minute inaugural flight.
With battery technology similar to that of an electric car or a cell phone and 30 minutes of charging, the nine-passenger Alice will be able to fly for one hour, and about 440 nautical miles.
The plane has a max cruise speed of 250 knots, or 287 miles per hour. For reference, a Boeing 737 has a max cruise speed of 588 miles per hour.
Eviation was founded in 2015 and has been pushing the Alice forward ever since.
The company hopes to use the information gathered during Tuesday’s flight to review next steps and deliver aircrafts to customers by 2027 — though Eviation warns that plan is subject to change.
The company says it expects to be working on developing an FAA-certified aircraft through 2025, followed by a year or two of flight testing before it can deliver Alices to customers.
Federation of Nigerian Mining Host Communities have called for the establishment of Solid Minerals Community Development Fund for mining host communities.
The Federation made the call at a news conference at the end of its two-day National Convention in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital with the theme: “Strengthening Social Safeguards, Environmental and Socio-economic Sustainability of Mining Host Communities in Nigeria”.
Member, National Steering Committee, Wushishi Habibu said the call became imperative to enable communities to benefit more from mining activities in their area .
Wushishi said Global Rights in 2019 catalysed the formation of the Federation, an amalgamation of mining host communities in Nigeria with the aim of articulating common struggles and demands.
Nigerians have been urged to be conscious of issues surrounding sanitation, as significant percentages of preventable communicable diseases are traced to poor environmental sanitation.
Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, stated this at the Community Sensitisation/Cleaning Campaign Exercise in Commemoration of 2022 National Environmental Sanitation Day held in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
He said the aim of the National Environmental Sanitation was to awaken citizens’ consciousness on the issues surrounding sanitation and the need for everybody to keep his or her surroundings very clean at all times.
PPC Healthcare, a subsidiary company of PPC Limited, as said early detection of heart diseases will help manage the disease appropriately.
The firm stated this in a statement announcing its partnership with retail stores, and pharmacies on the improvement of cardiac health.
The company in a statement said the partnership would enable Nigerians to detect arrhythmias early for quick medical intervention to prevent heart attack, stroke, or heart failure.
It read, ‘‘As part of the collaboration, PPC’s channel partner will deploy a light-weight ambulatory cardiac monitoring device called Bittium Faros, for short-term and long-term cardiac monitoring.’’
Speaking on the strategic partnership, the Head of Sales-Medical Devices at PPC Limited, Bamidele Nse-Jacobs, explained that early action was important for the management of heart conditions.
Heart Diseases
She said, “We are excited to be partnering with retail stores and pharmacies in the country as this will empower Nigerians to take charge of their heart health through regular checks.
“The major barrier experienced by people with a high risk of cardiac abnormality has always been convenience and access to diagnostic equipment and that is why this partnership will bring the heart-monitoring equipment closer to Nigerians. Bittium Faros is a high-end medical technology that provides accurate measurement of the electrical activity of the heart from 12 hours up to 30 days, giving comprehensive data that can easily be interpreted by cardiologists.
“This alliance is part of our commitment to saving lives, encouraging healthy living and shaping the future of healthcare service delivery in Nigeria.”
She added that cardiologists had found the device easy to use, cost-effective and valuable for their practice.
Close-up Of Doctor's Hand Moving Ultrasound Transducer On Pregnant Woman's Belly
A Senior Registrar of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Dr. Samuel Illikannu, has urged pregnant women not to ignore a doctor’s advice to go for an anomaly scan.
The expert noted that complying with the directive can help a pregnant woman avert complications, adding that it can also help prepare the family in case of any abnormality in the child.
According to the health expert, pregnancies are different even in women who have had multiple births, hence the reason they should not assume that the attending health officer wants to reap them of their finances by recommending an anomaly scan.
An anomaly scan, experts say, is a prenatal ultrasound performed between 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy. It checks on the physical development of the baby and can detect certain congenital disorders and also major anatomical abnormalities.
Speaking further with Newsmen, the gynaecologist said, “Because each pregnancy is individualised, that is why you cannot just wake up and say you are doing only two scans.
“Let’s say a woman has had a baby with a congenital anomaly before, you’d want to do a scan.
“Let’s assume that the patient is older, maybe someone who conceived around 40-something years and you know that those pregnancies have a high chance of having anomaly, you’d want to do a scan.
“Another case when such scan is necessary is for multiple gestations,” he said.
Illikannu stated that due to the peculiarity of each pregnancy, a patient may be required to perform as many scans as the doctor deems important.
“Now if it is multiple pregnancies, for instance, you are supposed to do another scan to confirm if they are in the same placenta and have the same membrane. Then after you have done an early scan, you’d be doing this scan between a few gestational weeks.
“That is why I said there’s no particular number of scans because each pregnancy is individualised,” he explained.
Continuing, he noted that due to the financial burden some families bear, going for the required number of scans may not be possible so such scans are left unless they are considered high risk.
He, however, warned that families should not ignore a doctor’s directive to perform an anomaly scan when required, noting that this could help ensure the safety of the baby and the mother.
935 Saint Wenceslas is murdered by his brother, Boleslaus I of Bohemia
1066 William the Conqueror, then Duke of Normandy, lands at Pevensey Bay in Sussex, beginning the Norman conquest of England
1781 9,000 American and 7,000 French troops begin the siege of Yorktown
1887 Yellow River or Huáng Hé floods in China, killing between 900,000 and 2 million people, one of the deadliest natural disasters in history
1939 German-Soviet Frontier Treaty is signed by Joachim von Ribbentrop and Vyacheslav Molotov; redraws German and Soviet spheres of influence in central Europe and transfers most of Lithuania to the USSR
Historical Events Today
Today in Film & TV
1945 “Mildred Pierce” starring Joan Crawford opens at Strand Theater, NYC; wins Academy Award for Best Actress
Today in Music
1968 Beatles’ “Hey Jude” single goes #1 and stays #1 for 9 weeks
Today in Sport
1938 Homer in the Gloamin’ – famous walk-off home run hit by Gabby Hartnett of the Chicago Cubs against the Pittsburgh Pirates
MORE FACTS…
1889 The first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of platinum with ten percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice
1785 Napoléon Bonaparte, aged 16, graduates from the elite École Militaire in Paris (42nd in a class of 51)
Famous Weddings
1922 American stage and film actor, dancer, and singer James Cagney (23) weds American dancer Frances Vernon in NYC
1933 Actress Greer Garson (29) weds first husband Edward Snelson (29)
Finland has recorded the year’s busiest weekend in terms of Russians entering the country, after Moscow’s military call-up announcement caused a rush for the border.
“Last weekend was the busiest weekend of the year for traffic on the eastern border,” Mert Sasioglu of the Finnish border guard said.
The border agency said nearly 8,600 Russians entered Finland via the land border on Saturday and nearly 4,200 crossed the other way.
On Sunday, more than 8,300 Russians arrived and nearly 5,100 left.
“The arrival rate is about double what it was a week ago,” Sasioglu said.
“The main reason is the mobilization but it is also partly explained by the fact that both Finland and Russia eased Covid-19 restrictions during the summer.”
The Nordic country announced on September 23 it planned to “significantly restrict the entry of Russian citizens” and would finalize the decision in the “coming days.”
While the restriction is not yet in force, the border guard service said it was ready to apply the new rules “within a day.”
Sasioglu said it was preparing for “difficult developments” as the situation evolved.
“It is possible that when travel is restricted, attempts at illegal border crossings will increase,” he explained.
On Saturday, border guards caught four individuals suspected of crossing the border illegally in the Kuusamo region of eastern Finland. They immediately applied for asylum when detained.
The Canadian government has announced it will no longer require people to wear masks on planes to guard against COVID-19.
Transport Canada said the existing rules for masks will come off Oct. 1
Government officials also confirmed Canada is dropping the vaccine requirement for people entering the country at the end of the month.
Canada, like the United States, requires foreign nationals to be vaccinated when entering the country. No change in the mandate is expected in the U.S. in the near term.
Unvaccinated foreign travelers who are allowed to enter Canada are currently subject to mandatory arrival tests and a 14-day quarantine.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has agreed to let a cabinet order enforcing mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements at the border expire Sept. 30.
The government is also ending random COVID-19 testing at airports. Filling out information in what became an unpopular ArriveCan app will also no longer be required. Some blamed it for delays at airports.
Thames Water’s hosepipe ban covering about 10 million customers in London and southern England is to remain in place.
Hosepipe ban is a ban, due to water shortage, on using hosepipes to water the garden or wash cars.
The company said that “despite recent rain” there was still much less water in rivers than usual.
Therefore its “hosepipe ban is still in place to make sure there’s enough water to go around”, a spokeswoman said.
There is no set end date for the ban and “a lot more rain” is needed for water levels to return to normal.
The ban came into force on 24 August after one of the driest 12 months on record.
It means people are not allowed to use hosepipes to water gardens, wash cars and windows, or fill paddling pools.
Those found to breach the rules could be fined up to £1,000.
To explain the reasoning behind the extension and help people try to cut their water usage, Thames Water began delivering flyers to more than 3.5m households on Monday.
It said that in the 12 months between September 2021 and August the country experienced below-average rainfall, with July being the driest since 1885.
This affected river levels, with those at Teddington in Richmond being at their lowest in August since 2005.
All this has left its reservoirs down by a quarter, Thames Water said.
On 30 August, the Environment Agency declared a drought for 11 of its 14 areas of England.
Thames Water was one of six water companies to impose a hosepipe ban.
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