Service dogs for Euro-2012 trained in Poltava
Employees of the Poltava Dog Training Center are actively engaged in training service dogs to help law enforcement personnel during the Euro-2012 Soccer Championship, UNIAN reports. According to information provided by the Public Relations Office of the Poltava Regional Internal Affairs Department, the dogs are trained to look for wanted people, to participate in patrolling, guarding prisoners, sentry duty, and search and rescue missions, as well as to detect explosives, firearms, and drugs. The region’s law enforcement agencies use over 100 dogs trained at the center. The center’s director Andrii Smolynsky told the press that its employees have started intensive training of service dogs for protection of public order during the Euro-2012 over a year ago. “To prepare the animals for the championship, the dog training unit was provided with young dogs,” he stated. “During the training, we emphasize exercises in searching for and detecting drugs and explosives.” Also, the handlers are training so-called “anti-terror” dogs. Such dogs should be able to work under conditions of extraneous stimuli (light, sound, smoke screen, slippery surface, water obstacle, climbing to a high ground, etc.).
Mexico accepts the 2030 Water Initiative
Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon announced that a program envisioning an efficient use of water by 2030 has been accepted. The decision was motivated by an acute shortage of drinking water in the Latin American country. According to the Mexican president, the country may lose all its water if urgent measures are not taken. “In the last 100 years the water supply decreased by three times as a result of the over-exploitation of aquifers, wearing out of the water storage basins; at present there are no more than 10,000 cubic meters per capita. This situation can only be compared to that in African countries,” Calderon noted.
According to the Mexican leader, the lack of fresh water can become one of the main hurdles to the country’s economic development during the upcoming decade. Mexico City with its population of over 20 million faces the biggest challenges. Once “the City of Lakes,” with its system of artificial water storage basins created by the Aztecs, the metropolis now suffers from an acute shortage of water because of drainage and irrational usage of the lakes. Water now has to be pumped into the city from hundreds of kilometers away. The program foresees tough norms on water usage, large fines for malicious offenders and the construction of modern water pipes and new water storage basins.
No modern garbage-processing plant for Kyiv until the end of 2012
The modern garbage-processing plant in Kyiv will have to wait until the end of 2012, or even 2013, said the head of the Kyiv City Administration Oleksandr Popov. “At the very earliest, [construction of the plant can begin] by the end of 2012, perhaps later, in 2013,” he declared. According to him, even if the plant’s technologies are approved soon, the design approval procedures will also take time. In addition, the location of such a plant should be agreed upon with residents of nearby areas. “The issue needs discussion and debate with the population of the city. We will approve this project in principle only after having developed the city’s strategy and including the plant in the master plan,” emphasized Popov. According to him, the plant’s construction should cost around 200 million dollars.
