What does the future hold for Australia’s biggest urban park?

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, Foreground, October 3, 2019: Western Sydney is growing fast and so is the need for open space. Three award-winning projects reveal how new investment in careful park planning and design can enhance the value of green space for communities, now and for decades to come.

Greater Western Sydney has one of the fastest growing populations in Australia. Currently home to 1.9 million people, the region’s population is projected to reach three million by 2036. This population growth and related development poses potential challenges to the preservation of what is the largest urban parkland in Australia, the Western Sydney Parklands (WSP).

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© Copyright Neena Bhandari. All rights reserved. Republication, copying or using information from neenabhandari.com content is expressly prohibited without the permission of the writer and the media outlet syndicating or publishing the article.

Chlorine dispensers fitted to public taps cut child diarrhoea

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 13.08.2019 (SciDev.Net): A low-cost device that infuses small amounts of chlorine into water drawn from public taps can reduce  child diarrhoea by 23 per cent, according to a study conducted in Bangladesh.

Diarrhoeal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years of age and is responsible for killing some 525,000 children every year, according to the WHO, while UNICEF says nearly 60 per cent of deaths due to diarrhoea worldwide are attributable to unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene and sanitation.

Results of the study, published in Lancet Global Health this month (8 August), showed a reduction in the consumption of antibiotics among families that used water from taps fitted with special dispensers containing chlorine tablets that gradually dissolve and treat flowing water.

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© Copyright Neena Bhandari. All rights reserved. Republication, copying or using information from neenabhandari.com content is expressly prohibited without the permission of the writer and the media outlet syndicating or publishing the article.

Australia Urged to Sign & Ratify the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty

0 Comments read Nuclear Disarmament
ICAN Australia Director and report editor, Gem Romuld Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 06.08.2019 (IDN-InDepthNews) – Australia must sign and ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), says a new report released here by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the Australian-founded initiative which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

The report comes amidst growing international tension with important agreements, including the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – widely known as the Iran nuclear deal – and the 1988 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and Russia, being undermined.

The JCPOA was signed after protracted negotiations between Iran and six world powers comprising the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States – plus Germany together with the European Union.

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