Zagreb: Mirjana Filipovic is still haunted by the land mine blast that killed her boyfriend and blew off her left leg while on a fishing trip nearly a decade ago. It happened in a field that was supposedly de-mined.
Now, unlikely heroes may be coming to the rescue to prevent similar tragedies: sugar-craving honeybees. Croatian researchers are training them to find unexploded mines littering their country and the rest of the Balkans.
When Croatia joins the European Union on July 1, in addition to the beauty of its aquamarine Adriatic sea, deep blue mountain lakes and lush green forests, it will also bring numerous un-cleared minefields to the bloc's territory. About 750 square kilometers (466 square miles) are still suspected to be filled with mines from the Balkan wars in the 1990s.
Nikola Kezic, an expert on the behavior of honeybees, sat quietly together with a group of young researchers on a recent day in a large net tent filled with the buzzing insects on a grass field lined with acacia trees. The professor at Zagreb University outlined the idea for the experiment: Bees have a perfect sense of smell that can quickly detect the scent of the explosives. They are being trained to identify their food with the scent of TNT....
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07:40 AM, May 20, 2013
Bhubaneswar: Odisha government on Saturday decided to set up a special cell at the Home Department to keep a tab on illegal transportation of minerals within the state and outside besides intensifying physical verification of different working mines. The decision was taken at a meeting of the State Level Task Force on Mines presided over by Chief Secretary BK Patnaik. "Besides home secretary, secretary of steel and mines and director...
01:15 AM, May 05, 2013
New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has criticised the government for undue delays in allotment of coal mines through auction route amid dry-fuel crunch faced by the country. "The Committee cannot but deplore these prolonged consultations delaying the allocation through bidding system and strongly recommend the government to complete the process of consultation without any further delay to ensure early allocation of identified coal blocks through competitive bidding process to boost...
01:20 PM, Apr 28, 2013
New Delhi: In a huge relief for mining companies in Karnataka, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed 118 legal mines to reopen in three districts after a gap of two years. It, however, also cancelled leases of all mine projects planned outside the sanctioned area of Karnataka's Bellary district. The illegal iron ore mining on Andhra-Karnataka border would remain suspended till demarcation of boundary between the two states is completed,...
11:16 AM, Apr 18, 2013
The Supreme Court may allow the resumption of mining ore in the 6 million tonne Narrain mine in Karnataka. The Central Empowerment Committee had made the recommendations last week. The apex court had banned mining in the area in 2011. ...
06:40 AM, Feb 26, 2013
The Indian Army on Wednesday released pictures of Pakistani army landmines which were recovered from the Indian side of the Line of Control. The mines were found to be manufactured at the Pakistan Ordinance Factory and had their markings. ...
01:26 PM, Jan 16, 2013
New Delhi: After recommending deallocation of eight blocks alloted to PSUs, the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) is likely to meet on Monday to decide the fate of 14 more mines alloted to public sector firms. "The IMG is likely to meet tomorrow to decide the fate of 14 coal blocks alloted to public sector firms," an official in the coal ministry said. The IMG, early this month, had recommended de-allocation of...
05:24 AM, Nov 19, 2012
New Delhi: The Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on coal blocks has recommended de-allocation of two coal mines allocated to PSUs on the ground of companies not developing them, sources said. The IMG on Monday reviewed 10 coal blocks allocated to public sector companies (PSUs), including Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC) and Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC), an official said after the meeting. "Of the 10 coal blocks it reviewed, IMG has recommended...
09:41 PM, Nov 05, 2012
Bhubanewar: Iron mines in Odisha escape fines worth hundreds of crores, according to a new report. Odisha's Steel and Mines Secretary has recommended recovery of revenue from excess mining from all 198 mines. Union Mining Ministry has told the Odisha government that states cannot make recovery from mine owners. CNN-IBN had exposed excess mining by 3 major companies - Indrani Patnaik Mines, Sirajuddin Mines and Rungta Mines. A year ago,...
06:25 PM, Nov 01, 2012
Kuala Lumpur: Tiger Woods found lakes, bunkers and cart paths to stall his third-round charge up the CIMB Classic leaderboard on Saturday, as Bo Van Pelt grabbed a share of the lead after flirting with golf's magical 59. Defending champion Van Pelt double-bogeyed the last to sign for a nine-under-par 62 and sit at the top of the leaderboard on 16-under 197 alongside overnight front-runner Robert Garrigus (69), with Woods...
04:46 PM, Oct 27, 2012
New Delhi: The Ministry of Environment has suspended the clearance of 90 mines in Goa. This comes after Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar suspended the work in mines pending clearances. Earlier, Goa government had issued a notification asking all the 90 mines to suspend operations with immediate effect. The State Mines and Geology Department issued this notification directing the mines to stop their operations. Parrikar said that the mines would...
06:04 PM, Sep 12, 2012
Patna: Six Maoists were killed and 70 landmines destroyed in an encounter with security forces in Panchrukhia forests bordering Bihar's Gaya and Aurangabad districts, a CRPF official claimed on Monday. As many as six ultras have been killed and scores of others injured in heavy firing between the Maoists and forces since Saturday, CRPF DIG Umesh Kumar said. The bodies of the ultras were yet to recovered, he said. The...
07:43 PM, Sep 10, 2012
New Delhi: Mining operations in Karnataka are likely to resume from on Tuesday, a senior state government official said. Partially lifting its ban on mining operations in Karnataka ordered more than a year back, the Supreme Court on Monday gave its green signal for extraction of iron ores on 18 leases subject to certain conditions being fulfilled. According to Karnataka's Director (Mines) HR Srinivasa, one mine in Chitradurga district belonging...
02:00 AM, Sep 04, 2012
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has lifted the ban on mining in 18 mines in category A in the Karnataka illegal mining case. The court has permitted mining subject to the conditions laid down by it. However, the ban on three mines belonging to the Reddy brothers stays. In 2011, the Supreme Court banned iron ore mining in three districts of Karnataka citing environmental concerns, and asked a government body...
11:15 AM, Sep 03, 2012
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing into the alleged coal blocks allocation scam, is ready with the first FIR in connection with the case which is likely to be filed soon. The agency is, in fact, likely to file five to six FIRs in the case quite soon. Details of the FIR exclusively accessed by CNN-IBN from CBI sources show how mine owners with political...
06:49 PM, Aug 30, 2012
Panaji: The ongoing controversy over the alleged Rs 1.86 lakh crore coal blocks allocation loss could have lessons for the multi-million dollar iron ore mining industry in Goa. The Congress, which is battling charges of corruption at the centre in the coalgate scandal over refusing to auction the coal reserves, is now demanding that the 800-odd operational mining leases in the state be auctioned, instead of being merely renewed in...
12:02 PM, Aug 27, 2012
New Delhi: Government auditor CAG on Friday said private firms are likely to gain Rs 1.86 lakh crore from coal blocks that were allocated to them on nomination basis instead of competitive bidding, which amounted to the loss to national exchequer. The CAG in its report, tabled in Parliament, names 25 companies including Essar Power, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Tata Power and Jindal Steel and Power which have got the blocks...
02:23 PM, Aug 17, 2012
New Delhi: The CAG report on coal was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. The report said that the coal blocks allocations scam was much bigger than the 2G scam. According to the report, the coal allocations caused the exchequer a loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore, much bigger than what the 2G scam cost. The report said that the estimate was only on account of private players and...
01:26 PM, Aug 17, 2012
Asansol: Around 200 coal miners, who were stuck in at the ECL mines of Sodepur and Kunustoria in Asansol because of the grid failure, have been rescued. The miners were stuck as the electricity operated pulley shafts had stopped due to the power failure. Earlier, the Eastern Coalfields had rescued 46 miners from the mines and had said that the rest of them would be rescued in an hour. For...
05:59 PM, Jul 31, 2012
Asansol: As many as 200 coal miners working at the ECL mines of Sodepur and Kunustoria in Asansol got stuck as the electricity operated pulley shafts are not working because of the grid failure. However, the Eastern Coalfields has claimed to have rescued 46 miners from the mines so far. It further said that the rest of the miners would possibly be rescued in the next one hour. For the...
05:13 PM, Jul 31, 2012
