英闻天下——495 Violators of Smoke-free Zones Could Face Fines

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　　The move is aimed at improving the sustainability of landfills.

 

　　Relative officials on Monday revealed this at a conference held by the Beijing Commission of City Administration and Environment on Monday.

 

　　It's said once burned, solid waste will turn into ashes, thus taking up far less space. In this way, the stocked landfills can handle more waste in the coming years.

 

　　Liu Shenbo is chief engineer at a waste incineration power plant in Gaoantun village of Beijing.

 

　　He said relative chemicals like ammonia and nitrogen in the waste long buried have disintegrated² into the land, so excavating³ the waste will not cause severe air pollution.

 

　　China Daily

 

　　Violators of Smoke-free Zones Could Face Fines

 

　　According to a newly revised regulation on smoking ban in Shenzhen, people could face up to 500 yuan in fines if they light up in smoke-free zones in the city.

 

　　The draft also stipulates⁴ that businesses that sell tobacco to minors⁶ could face fines up to 20,000 yuan.

 

　　The revision also adds more penalties concerning the smoking ban.

 

　　For example, tobacco producers and sellers will be fined 100,000 yuan for giving free gifts, samples or promotion⁷ materials.

 

　　The management or owners of venues⁸ where smoking should be restricted will be fined 30,000 yuan for failing to set up smoking rooms, refusing to ban smoking, and not correcting their wrongdoings.

 

　　A legislative⁹ hearing for the bill will be held in May.

 

　　Daily Mail

 

　　The Russian city being 'eaten alive': Cars, buses, and trucks disappear beneath the earth as they are swallowed by giant sinkholes

 

　　Citizens of Samara, in south east Russia, live in fear of the ground literally¹⁰ disappearing beneath them after huge sinkholes have started to appear all over their city.

 

　　The yawning underground caverns¹¹ are all believed to have sprung up in recent weeks swallowing cars, buses and claiming at least one life.

 

　　The sinkholes, some large enough to swallow an entire truck, are believed to have been caused by ground subsidence.

 

　　It is thought the holes have been caused as ice thaws¹² and melts into the ground, with the excess water causing soil decay underneath¹³ Samara's roads.

 

　　The massive craters¹⁴ have appeared in car parks, busy intersections¹⁵, by the sides of roads, and on major and minor⁵ thoroughfares.

 

　　The citizens of the city have now signed a petition urging authorities to find a solution.

 

　　SIFY.com (India)

 

　　Month of birth impacts baby's immune system development

 

　　A new study shows newborn babies' immune system development and levels of vitamin D have been found to vary according to the month in which they were born.

 

　　In the study, samples of cord blood were taken from 50 babies born in November and 50 born in May between 2009 and 2010 in London.

 

　　The results showed that the May babies had around 20 percent lower vitamin D than those born in November.

 

　　Babies born in May had approximately double of these T-cells, compared to the sample of November babies.

 

　　T-cells are white blood cells which play a crucial role in the body's immune response by identifying and destroying infectious agents, such as viruses.

 

　　However, some T-cells are "auto-reactive" and capable of attacking the body's own cells, triggering auto-immune diseases, and should be eliminated by the immune system during its development.

 

　　The new research is done by scientists at Queen Mary, University of London and the University of Oxford¹⁶.

 

　　It's said this study could explain why babies born in May are at a higher risk of developing Multiple Sclerosis.

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