An explosion hits church in Sri Lanka’s a capital on Easter Sunday, causing casualties among worshippers
An explosion hits church in Sri Lanka’s a capital on Easter Sunday, causing casualties among worshippers
An explosion hits church in Sri Lanka’s a capital on Easter Sunday, causing casualties among worshippers
An explosion hits church in Sri Lanka’s a capital on Easter Sunday, causing casualties among worshippers
A second explosion rocks St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo in Sri Lanka, north of capital Colombo
A second explosion rocks St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo in Sri Lanka, north of capital Colombo
A second explosion rocks St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo in Sri Lanka, north of capital Colombo
A second explosion rocks St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo in Sri Lanka, north of capital Colombo
Frustration grows among migrants in Mexico as support fades
Frustration, hunger grows among migrants in Mexico as support fades
Frustration grows among migrants in Mexico as support fades
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South Korea’s food waste reduction plans feature urban farming and modern garbage bins
ABC News(SEOUL, South Korea) — “Compost in my vegetable garden!” “No, mine first!”
City farmers have been raising their voices to make sure their two-square-meter gardens are fertilized with compost made from food waste discarded from their homes.
The Jugong apartment complex in Beondong, north of Seoul, began an eco-friendly urban farm last year August, making use of an empty garden space right in the middle of the complex.
Thirty-six residents who applied for the opportunity are given farming lessons every Friday, and South Korea’s Land and Housing Corporation provided a system to turn food waste into fertilizer to construct a resource circulating farm.
When food waste piles up at each household, residents throw it into the processing machine. It takes a full month, combined with biochemicals to stimulate the process, for food waste to lose its original form and moisture to become compost ready to be used in farming.
The Jugong apartment complex was chosen by Seoul Metropolitan Government as a test for using eco-friendly farming methods with food waste compost. Seoul plans on expanding the project by subsidizing three neighborhoods this year, granting up to $60,000 each to cover operational costs.
“It’s meaningful that we use the compost made of our own food waste,” said Park Younghwa, 70, who has experience in rural farming, but never thought she would be given a chance to have her own farming space in the city. “Crops are tastier and more fresh when we cultivate them with food waste compost.”
The urban farming project is only part of a nationwide effort to reduce food waste in South Korea. In 2013, the South Korean government made it mandatory to throw food waste away in purchased biodegradable bags, in an effort to discourage food waste overall.
In the past, complex residents were able to throw away an unlimited volume of waste at a fixed fee. But every household must now buy 9 cent per liter bags from local supermarkets, discard food waste into designated trash sites in each neighborhood and pay according to volume — which means one would save money by lessening the amount of liquid in their food waste.
This rigorous program has resulted in a dramatic increase of the food waste recycle rate, from 2.1% in 1995 to 90.2% in 2016, according to Ministry of Environment.
Using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to measure and bill each resident for food waste has also become a trend in South Korea’s new urban development areas, which are known to lead high-tech experiments. The country has 75,425 RFID food waste processors in operation as of January this year, which covers 38.2% of the nation and 54% of Seoul city, according to Korea Environment Corporation.
With RFID, newly developed residential buildings are equipped with aluminum bins, which can fit approximately 230 soda cans, in which food waste could be deposited in communal recycling facilities or on each floor of the apartment building. Each time the bin is used, the volume is weighed, then billed together with management fees at the end of the month.
“We are a family of four and are spending $3 per month on a food waste fee,” housewife Choi Kwang-Soon told ABC News. Choi lives in a newly developed apartment complex in Suwon, 20 miles south of Seoul. She keeps in mind reducing food waste while planning meals and shopping for groceries, and has found one extra benefit of the new system.
“Since the trash bags aren’t stacked in an open space, we don’t have stench and filth problems anymore,” she said.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
New bout of heavy fighting in Yemen kills dozens
Yemeni officials say heavy fighting in Yemen’s southern Dhale province pro-government forces and Shiite rebels has killed more than 85 people
Egyptians vote on changes that would extend el-Sissi’s rule
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Separate militant attacks kill nearly 50 Syrian soldiers
A Syria war monitoring organization says an Islamic State group attack in the country’s center has killed scores of government troops
Separate militant attacks kill nearly 50 Syrian soldiers
A Syria war monitoring organization says an Islamic State group attack in the country’s center has killed scores of government troops
Police: ‘New breed’ of terrorists in Northern Ireland
Police in Northern Ireland are warning of a ‘new breed’ of terrorists who are threatening the peace in the U.K. region
2 arrests made in killing of journalist, 29, during riots in Northern Ireland
ABC News(DERRY, Ireland) — A pair of teenagers were arrested on Saturday after a journalist from Northern Ireland was shot and killed by what authorities called “terrorists” during rioting in the country ahead of this weekend’s religious holidays.
Lyra McKee, 29, was fatally shot Thursday night in Derry/Londonderry near Creggan, a large housing complex in the northwest town about 70 miles west of Belfast, the nation’s capital. McKee was a freelancer, who had written for The Atlantic and BuzzFeed News.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said its Major Investigative Team had arrested two men, ages 18 and 19, under the Terrorism Act for the killing of McKee. They are currently being held by police and their identities have not been released.
Authorities had released surveillance video of the shooting on Friday in hopes of finding the suspects responsible.
The Northern Ireland Police Service said late Thursday, “Lyra McKee was murdered during orchestrated violence in Creggan last night. A single gunman fired shots in a residential area of the city and as a result wounded Ms McKee.”
“Officers quickly administered first aid before transporting her in the back of a landrover to hospital,” police said in a release. “Tragically she died from her injuries.”
The rioting apparently erupted as homes belonging to Irish republicans, those who believe all of Ireland should be separate from British rule, were raided ahead of the Easter weekend.
“Protecting the public is and will always be our priority,” Northern Ireland police said. “The searches were being carried out because we believed that violent dissident republicans were storing firearms and explosives for a number of planned attacks and these may have been used over the Easter weekend in the city.”
There were about 100 people in the area, including “young people and members of the media,” when the unknown shooter fired into a crowd of people, police said.
Prior to the shooting, the protesters had gathered near Creggan at about 9 p.m. Police said the rioters threw over 50 petrol bombs at police officers and hijacked two vehicles, which were then set on fire.
McKee had tweeted earlier in the evening, “Derry tonight. Absolute madness.”
“This murder demonstrates all too starkly that when terrorists bring violence and guns into the community, members of the public are placed in severe danger,” authorities said in a release. “It is abundantly clear that they do not care who they harm.”
McKee was also an author, with a book deal with publisher Faber and Faber. Her first book, the nonfiction novella “Angels With Blue Faces,” from Excalibur Press, is due to be published this year. Her second book, “The Lost Boys,” was to be released in 2020.
She appeared on Forbes’ European 30 under 30 list for media in 2016, with the magazine saying her “passion is to dig into topics that others don’t care about.”
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent the last few days in Ireland and Northern Ireland and will be attending a reception and Q&A, entitled “The Post Good Friday/Belfast Agreement Generation: The future potential of Northern Ireland,” on Friday.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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Climate protesters march in London again; arrests hit 710
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German parliament speaker rebuffs far-right party
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Northern Ireland police arrest 2 in killing of journalist
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