Month: September 2024

The Sahara Desert, known as one of the driest places on Earth, is witnessing an extraordinary transformation as heavy rainfall breathes life into its arid landscape. Following an extratropical cyclone that drenched parts of northwestern Africa on September 7 and 8, satellite images from NASA reveal surprising patches of greenery emerging in regions typically characterised by barrenness.
Countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya are now showcasing traces of vegetation as shrubs and trees sprout in low-lying areas like riverbeds. Historically a lush environment with lakes, the Sahara has long been transformed by climatic changes. This unusual rainfall event, attributed to a shift in the tropical rain belt, raises questions about the impacts of climate change on rainfall patterns across Africa.

Heavy rainfall in the Sahara leads to vegetation growth

According to Sylwia Trzaska, a climate variability researcher at the Columbia Climate School, shrubs and trees are flourishing in low-lying areas such as riverbeds. Peter de Menocal, president of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, explained that while it is uncommon, plant life can respond quickly to significant rain events in this part of Africa. During such episodes, the arid dunes can transform into lush, green expanses as plants capitalise on the newfound moisture.
Historically, the Sahara was once a verdant landscape dotted with vegetation and lakes, a reality that existed between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago, as suggested by de Menocal’s past research.
The recent deluge has even caused typically dry lakes to fill up, according to Moshe Armon, a lecturer at the Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Satellite images of Sahara after rainfall

On September 10, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured striking false-colour images of runoff and floodwater in the Sahara. The images, which combine visible and infrared light, reveal areas covered by water that appear in varying shades of dark and light blue. These shades reflect the depth of the water and the amount of suspended sediment.
Notably, the same region was dry and arid in images captured just a month earlier on August 14. Preliminary satellite analysis indicates that more than 200 millimetres of rainfall fell in the affected areas, a figure equivalent to the region’s annual precipitation. These rainfall accumulation estimates are derived from NASA’s Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data, particularly useful due to the scarcity of ground-based rain gauges and radar stations in the region.
Armon further remarked on the remarkable sight of normally dry lakes filling up as a result of this event. Upon closer inspection of the satellite images, several of these lakes are visible as dark blue areas, including notable locations like Iriqui National Park in Morocco and Sebkha el Melah, a salt flat in central Algeria.
Also read: Hurricane Helene delays SpaceX’s Crew-9 launch, impacting Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s return

HYDERABAD: Close on the heels of acquiring 26% ownership stake in Mumbai-based based digital payments infrastructure player Mobileware for a cash consideration of Rs 15.6 crore, Hyderabad-based B2B fintech SaaS player Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services Limited on Thursday said it has acquired a controlling stake of over 98.3% stake in Span Across IT Solutions Pvt Ltd for around Rs 32 crore.
Zaggle has acquired 10,66,314 equity shares of face value Rs 10 at a price of Rs 300.80 per share, including a premium of Rs 290.80 per share, for a 98.32% stake in Span Across IT Solutions Private Limited (Span Across), which is known as TaxSpanner.
Span Across will become a subsidiary of Zaggle once the procedural requirements are completed, Zaggle said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. The company had announced the acquisition of a significant minority ownership stake in Mobileware on a post-issue and fully diluted basis late on Wednesday.
TaxSpanner is one of India’s largest income tax preparation and e-filing companies that specialises in providing digital solutions for tax and accounting services and helping businesses in streamlining their tax processes.
Mobileware is a key player in India’s digital payments ecosystem empowering banks, financial services, NBFCs, and all financial institutions with products encompassing NPCI switches, APIs, and their flagship platform – TransXT (also known as ‘Bank In A Box’!).
Zaggle said by integrating Mobileware and TaxSpanner, the company would be able to solidify its position in the SaaS fintech sector, deliver greater value and foster growth for its diverse customer base.
“These strategic investments will not only enhance our offerings but also open up new opportunities to co-develop advanced solutions for our customers,” said Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services Ltd founder & executive chairman Raj Narayanam.
“With the tax base expanding year after year, we see significant demand for platforms that provide comprehensive solutions for both tax filing and tax savings. With TaxSpanner, we aim to enhance our offerings by delivering a one-stop solution for all taxation needs. We look forward to closely collaborating with the teams at TaxSpanner and Mobileware to accelerate our growth and better serve our customers,” he added.

TTD has suspended the use of low-quality organic produce used in the preparation of the sacred Naivedya prasadams. (Image Credit: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams)

TIRUPATI: After redefining the quality, taste, and texture of the sacred “Tirupati Laddus” by suspending the supplies of low-quality ghee and other ingredients, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has now suspended the use of low-quality organic produce used in the preparation of the sacred Naivedya prasadams. These prasadams are cooked and offered first to the presiding deity of Lord Venkateswara Swamy inside the iconic Tirumala temple and later distributed among the devotees after the completion of their darshan.
About a week back, TTD EO J Syamala Rao stated that the Tirupati trust received numerous complaints from the devotees, temple kitchen (Potu) workers, as well as others regarding the poor quality of organic ghee, rice, and jaggery procured during the erstwhile YSRCP regime. This led to the deterioration in the quality and taste of the Naivedya Anna Prasadams at the Tirumala temple in the last few years.
Apart from the world-renowned Tirupati Laddus, several other prasadams are offered to the presiding deity at the hill temple. These prasadams include the Vada, Chakkara Pongal (Sweetened rice), Pongal, Pulihora (Tamarind rice), Kadambham, Daddhyojanam (Curd rice), Murukku, Jilebi, Dosai, Appam, etc.
According to TTD EO J Syamala Rao, the use of organic produce to cook Naivedya prasadams at the Tirumala temple was introduced by the previous administration in 2021.
It was in April of 2021 that the then TTD trust board, headed by YV Subba Reddy, decided to introduce the use of organic and naturally produced farm produce, including rice, ghee, and jaggery, to be used in the preparation of the Naivedya prasadams.
TTD also entered into a pact with Markfed and Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) to procure the organic produce at higher rates.
According to state endowments minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, though there were concerns raised from a few quarters over the deviation from the set traditions linked to prasadams cooking and also in terms of the deterioration in the overall quality and taste of the Naivedya prasadams after the process of cooking them with organic produce was introduced at the Tirumala temple, the then administration never initiated any measures to rectify the same.
“Today, following the instructions of chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, while the sanctity of the sacred Laddu prasadams has been restored by ending the supplies of ghee adulterated with animal fats, TTD has also initiated measures to restore the originality and taste of other sacred Naivedya prasadams at the Tirumala temple by ending the use of substandard organic produce,” the state endowments minister underlined. He added that the quality and taste of the Anna prasadams distributed to the devotees have gone up manifold due to the effective measures taken up by the new TTD administration led by EO J Syamala Rao.

AGARTALA: The Division bench of the High Court of Tripura on Wednesday directed the state government to comply with the provisions of the law, or else the court will take strict action while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by the editor of a local media group Anal Roychoudhury.
The bench comprising Chief Justice A K Singh and Justice Arindam Lodh directed the state government to strictly follow the directives of Tripura High Court in 2014 regarding noise pollution.Although there has been an improvement, noise pollution is still at a severe level, even in silent zones like hospitals have not been spared, the court observed.
Especially, during the celebration of festivals and immersion of puja idols, nights have become nightmares with endless loudspeakers emitting high sound even in rural areas. Based on the direction of HC, the state government has designated Sub-Divisional Police Officers as the authority for regulating the use of loudspeakers or sound systems in public spaces.
The situation in Tripura worsened in the last few years and the level of noise pollution during the celebration of Ganesh puja this year went beyond tolerant limits for three days. Thereafter, editor Roychoudhury sought action from Director General of Police, Chief Secretary, and State Pollution Control Board, but didn’t get any favourable response; then moved to the high court with PIL.
The court directed stringent action against the use of pitch sound boxes, loudspeakers with eye-irritating lights, and DJ sets, which have become part and parcel of the celebrations nowadays. As per law, not more than 65 decibels of sound are allowed for music-producing electronic equipment and sound amplifiers are permissible during busy hours and no such equipment is allowed between 10 pm and 6 am in public places.
Advocate General Siddhartha Sankar Dey said that the high court banned the high sound-producing instruments and the concept of sound limiter was introduced. All music equipment should have sound limiters otherwise it couldn’t be used, sold, rented, or bought.
“The High Court asked the administration to seize all high noise-producing machines which are being operated without a limiter. It has also warned the administration that if the order was not adhered to, the consequences might be stringent,” Dey underlined, adding that the government would take appropriate action adhering to the order of the high court.

Two years and seven months later, the new logo which has been unveiled closely reflects the mission statement.

MUMBAI: A new insignia (logo) rolled out by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the government agency which manages lawful immigration to the US is causing ripples among immigration experts and the Indian diaspora.
The new logo features The Statue of Liberty, with the inscription – Upholding America’s Promise. The earlier logo was the American seal depicting the bald eagle.
In February 2022, USCIS had unveiled its new mission statement terming America as a ‘Nation of welcome and possibility’ for immigrants. The new mission statement was a stark contrast to the step taken by the Trump administration, which in February 2018, had deleted the reference to America being a ‘nation of immigrants’ from its mission statement.
Two years and seven months later, the new logo which has been unveiled closely reflects the mission statement. Ur Jaddou, director, USCIS, has posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Today I am pleased to introduce our new insignia. It’s designed to link our culture, values, and long-term goals with how we define our agency, and represents the collective contributions of our agency and the embodiment of the American dream.”
“When I look at USCIS, I see the untold sacrifice and perseverance of those seeking a better future for themselves and their families. I see hope and prosperity being passed down from one generation to the next,” she has stated. She has even referred to employees of the agency, “I see hardworking, committed public servants. Together, our employees provided feedback to ensure our insignia reflect our fairness, integrity and respect for all we serve.”
The most famous quote inscribed on a bronze plaque within the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The timing of the roll out of the new insignia has taken people by surprise. With elections around the corner, understandably the Indian diaspora is anxious about the future. As are those wishing to migrate to US – be it for work or study.
Trump during his presidency has rolled out several policy measures (many of which were squashed by the courts) that posed challenges for legal immigrants. During that period, USCIS owing to a policy change had resorted to extreme vetting = each visa extension – such as for H-1B visas, was treated as a new application. This had led to an increase in requests for additional documentation (known as requests for evidence – RFEs) which increased administrative costs for sponsoring employers and led to delays. Or in other instances, there was an outright denial of visa extensions on various grounds. Subsequently, this was done away with, and USCIS resorted to its earlier practice of deferring to previous approvals when extending visas. USCIS also withdrew a rule that had proposed to give priority in the H-1B visa issuance process to those earning the highest wages in the respective occupation and geographic location category.
However, USCIS continues to face a backlash for slow processing of various applications. Charles Kuck, an immigration attorney minced no words in replying to the post on X. He said, “You spent money and time on this? Why? It’s a LOGO! Just do your job and adjudicate the applications…”
On social media, irked by the decades-long backlog for employment-linked green cards, the Indian diaspora viewed that a change in the insignia will do nothing to help them with their American dreams of becoming permanent residents.

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday, in a significant decision to support workers, increased the minimum wage rates through the revision of the Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA).
The revised wage rates will benefit workers engaged in various sectors within central sphere establishments, including building construction, loading and unloading, watch and ward, sweeping, cleaning, housekeeping, mining, and agriculture.
Minimum wage rates are categorised based on skill levels (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and highly skilled) and geographical areas (A, B, and C). After the revision, minimum wage rates in area “A” for workers in construction, sweeping, cleaning, loading and unloading for unskilled work will be Rs 783 a day ( Rs 20,358 per month) for semi-skilled workers and Rs 868 a day (Rs 22,568 per month) for skilled, clerical and watch and wards without arms, Rs 954 a day ( Rs 24,804 per month) and for highly skilled and watch and wards with arms, Rs 1,035 a day (Rs 26,910 per month).
The ministry of Labour and Employment announced this decision to help workers cope with the rising cost of living. The new wage rates will come into effect on October 1, 2024, following the last revision in April 2024.
The VDA is revised by the central government twice a year, effective from April 1 and October 1, based on the six-month average increase in the Consumer Price Index for industrial workers.