ATHLETICS: BUILDING OUR OWN KENYA IN THE HILLS OF DONEGAL!
THE rise of Donegal athletics and our middle-distance runners has won high praise all around Europe.The stunning achievements of Mark English, Karl Griffin, Darren McBrearty and Ruairi Finnegan in recent months in setting new records is starting to turn heads everywhere.So much so it led to Sunday Independent writer Eamonn Sweeney to ask: “What are they putting in the water in Donegal?” The journalist finished his article with a wonderful line: “They’re building their own Kenya in the hills of Donegal.”You can read his article here:http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/hills-are-alive-with-athletics-potential-3126562.html ATHLETICS: BUILDING OUR OWN KENYA IN THE HILLS OF DONEGAL! was last modified: June 4th, 2012 by BrendaShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Tags:ATHLETICS: BUILDING OUR OWN KENYA IN THE HILLS OF DONEGAL!
More South African businesses are in favour of the .za domain name. (Image: Wikimedia) Zadna chairperson Hasmukh Gajjar addressing the media in Johannesburg. (Image: Bongani Nkosi) MEDIA CONTACTS • Zadna +2711 275 0082 questions@zadna.org.za RELATED ARTICLES • Broadband boost as Eassy hits SA • SA internet use passes 5m mark • Prestigious award for UCT project • Taking the internet to townshipsBongani NkosiMore businesses and private internet users in South Africa are showing support for the .za domain name as opposed to the generic top-level category dot-com, according to a market survey on local perceptions about domain names.Some 83% of South African companies are happy with the .za domain, The ZA Domain Name Authority (Zadna) said at a press conference in Johannesburg on 16 March, where the results of the survey were released.“Locally co.za is growing way ahead of .com,” said Zadna’s general manager Vika Mpisane. “Most companies are saying it’s important that we trade under a local name [on the internet] as we’d like to be known as South African. The main factor was having a name with a South African identity.”About 75% of local businesses believe that co.za gives their concern online credibility, Mpisane said.The survey, conducted by BMI-TechKnowledge research firm between November 2009 and February 2010, involved thousands of online and telephone interviews with .za domain name holders, which included internet service providers (ISPs) Telkom and Mweb, business people and non-profit entities.A number of the country’s bigger firms currently prefer the dual use of co.za and dot-com to maintain a global presence, and, according to the survey, 58% of companies indicated they might switch to this in the future.About 15% or 90 000 South African websites are currently using the dot-com domain exclusively, while 541 805 are registered under the .za domain. The letters “za” were chosen as Saudi Arabia uses the extension “sa”.More companies with an online presence choose the local domain because it’s slightly more affordable to register, Mpisane said. The registration and annual renewal fees for a .za domain are R50, while a dot-com domain costs US$7 (about R51).‘Local domain not overcrowded’There was a perception among users that the .za domain is overcrowded, but Mpisane said the reality is there are about 86 million dot-com sites currently active, so “there’s potential for .za to grow much bigger”.“My experience is that companies first go to dot-com and find their name has already been taken,” he added.Zadna believes more South African websites should carry the local domain, as it would help the country generate more money from the internet and facilitate the settling of disputes over name registrations and intellectual property.The agency said it’s working on making more companies aware of the benefits of the .za domain. “A gospel we need to preach is that when you have dot-com you are not giving money back to South Africa … .za belongs to South Africa; if you register dot-com that registration fee goes to America,” Mpisane said.Difficulties arise when a local dot-com company finds that its registered online name is used by another firm abroad, he said. “A company may end up in an American court when there’s a dispute.”Zadna said it has resolved 35 disputes over .za site names since 2007, with two having gone to appeal. Through its alternate dispute resolution (ADR) process, overseen by experienced adjudicators, settlement costs just R10 000 over two months and avoids lengthy court cases.Interest in new domain variationsThe survey also revealed that there is potential for creating local domain variations such as mobi.za for mobile phones, fam.za for families, shop.za for retailers and music.za. About 49% of NGOs were interested in the ngo.za domain to coexist with or replace the current org.za extension.But there was little interest in websites adopting local city names, for example .Joburg or .Durban, a trend that’s gaining popularity globally. Survey respondents said this was because some South African city names change over time.Mpisane said businesses also saw this as an attempt to create multiple local identities on the internet. “The respondents overwhelmingly felt that South Africa did not need to have multiple identities online.”Regulating the internetZadna, which falls under the Department of Communications, said it’s going ahead with plans to license all local ISPs and website operators, which are currently unlicensed.The ISPs, many of which have established a reputable online presence in the country, are in favour of this, Mpisane said. “They do want to be licensed. When you license them you set accountability measures.”Although South Africa’s Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002 calls for the providers to be issued with licences, it has not been enforced yet. The department hopes to rectify this in 2010.Growing Africa’s online presenceZadna chairperson Hasmukh Gajjar expressed concern for the “nonexistent, completely silent” presence of Africa on the global internet market. He said this was mainly because “the continent is lagging behind in terms of internet providers”.There are about 1-million websites in the whole of Africa with country domains, with more than half of that number being the .za domain.This problem could be solved by encouraging more organisations to opt for local domains, said Mpisane, adding that another solution was to get domain authorities – such as Zadna – to market their services.
Denver, Toronto, and San Francisco all have laws on the books that require vegetative roofs, and a similar plan has been proposed for New York City, but it was Washington, D.C., that led North American cities in the square footage of vegetative roof coverings installed in 2017. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), a trade group for the green roofing industry, reports that the nation’s capital saw more than 1 million square feet of new vegetative roofing last year. That was enough to allow Washington to retake first place from Toronto in the annual survey of GRHC member companies.Following Washington were Newark, New Jersey; New York City; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Toronto.In a GRHC news release, Tommy Wells, the director of the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment, attributed the green roofing boom there to several municipal programs, including rebates for vegetative roofs and Stormwater Retention Credit trading, a program designed to reduce stormwater runoff. The city offers rebates of $10-$15 per square foot for voluntary installations, with the specific amount depending on whether the project is located in an area served by the combined sewer system or the municipal storm sewer system.There are now more than 3 million square feet of green roofing in the District. RELATED ARTICLES New York councilman proposed initiativeIn New York, three members of the City Council have proposed several bills that would require nearly all new buildings to have greenery, solar panels, or small wind turbines covering at least half the roof, amNewYork reports.Brooklyn Councilman Rafael Espinal Jr. last month proposed requiring green roofs on high-rises, department stores, and storage facilities, while other councilors earlier this year proposed the requirements on other types of buildings, such as homes, schools, and libraries. Espinal said the related measures would, over time, reduce New York’s carbon footprint and help the city do its part to mitigate climate change.Taken together, the three proposals would ensure that all new buildings in the city — and any building that gets a new roof — would be covered in some way, amNewYork said. The measures were originally introduced during the Council’s previous legislative session but they never came to a vote. In the meantime, other cities have adopted solar and vegetation requirements on new buildings and buildings whose roofs are replaced.“By greening every single rooftop in New York City, we will make a strong commitment to doing our part to protect the planet,” Espinal said in a statement. “New York City could turn our concrete jungle into a green oasis.”However, the Real Estate Board of New York, a trade group, wasn’t impressed.“We appreciate the Council’s effort to promote sustainability,” a statement from board president John Banks said. “However, these proposals are missing some important technical points. Not every roof is equipped to host a green roof due to load considerations and not every roof receives enough direct sunlight or wind to warrant the installation of solar panels or wind turbines. We look forward to working with the Council on reducing our carbon footprint in more effective ways.”These are arguments raised by business and real estate groups in Denver during the campaign for the green roof citizen initiative last fall. Although the measure was approved, revisions to make the rules more flexible and affordable are in the works after a mandatory six-month waiting period expired. Denver’s Green Roof Ordinance Kicks InVegetated RoofsLessons Learned on a Living RoofDo Green Roofs Temper Urban Heat? Seeing Red Over Green Roofs GRHC founder and president Steven Peck said that a program called the Living Architecture Performance Tool is making it easier for cities to promote green roofs by removing policy and performance barriers.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-affiliated State Kisan Sabha on Tuesday staged a rally outside the Vidhan Sabha and submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister. The farmers are demanding an immediate check and end to evacuation of agricultural land of tillers by the government. “We expect serious efforts by the government in checking the wild animal, especially the monkey menace, and solving the problem of stray cattle,” said State Kisan Sabha secretary and MLA Rakesh Singha and president Kuldeep Tanwar. They also demanded a support price for milk producers. Farmers get just ₹16 or ₹17 for a litre of milk but bottled water is available at ₹25 per litre in the State, they alleged. Successive Congress and BJP governments have done nothing to solve the problems of farmers. The Jai Ram Thakur government that had made huge promises has also not done anything concrete so far, they alleged.The Modi government, instead of addressing farmers’ issues, is dividing people on caste and religious lines, said Biju Krishanan, joint secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha. The government has been exposed by the CAG in its farm insurance scheme in which some corporate houses have been benefited, he said. The Kisan Sabha would obtain at least 10 crore signatures on the anti’-agrarian policies of the incumbent government, he added.