Mine-sniffing rat Magawa ends years of hard work in Cambodia
The Hindu
The African giant pouched rat sniffed out land mines and alert his human handlers so the explosives can be safely removed.
After five years of sniffing out land mines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia, Magawa is retiring. The African giant pouched rat has been the most successful rodent trained and overseen by a Belgian non-profit, APOPO, to find land mines and alert his human handlers so the explosives can be safely removed. Magawa has cleared more than 141,000 square meters (1.5 million square feet) of land, the equivalent of some 20 soccer fields, sniffing out 71 land mines and 38 items of unexploded ordnance, according to APOPO.After a long, tiring day all we want is to jump right on our cosy beds and rest comfortably on our soft, fluffy pillows, right? Pillows are not quite appreciated as much as electric cars or air-fryers, for instance. Pillows are a wonderful man-made creation that has improved the lives and sleep of people across the globe. Did you know ages ago people used to rest their heads on a HARD ROCK? So how did humans go from sleeping on stones to cosy, fluffy and soft pillows today? Let’s get into the origin of your everyday pillows!
As the November 30 deadline nears for installing vehicle location tracking devices (VLTD) and emergency panic buttons in public service and nationally permitted goods vehicles in Karnataka, transport unions representing cab, bus, and truck operators are urging the government to reconsider the mandate. They argue that the high cost of these devices and a lack of awareness have made it difficult for many vehicle owners to comply with the requirement.