Olympic panda Cobi dies at age 25

 

File photo of Cobi, a giant panda named after the mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. [Photo: qq.com]

Cobi, a giant panda named after the mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, died this month at the age of 25 at a zoo in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Cobi passed away on Feb. 2, despite two days’ of emergency treatment after he suddenly fell into a coma on Jan. 31, the Chengdu Zoo announced Thursday.

The age of the male giant panda is equivalent to about 75 human years. He was healthy before his sudden illness though he had some symptoms of aging such as loss of appetite.

Cobi was named by Juan Antonio Samaranch, former president of the International Olympic Committee. He was born on July 26, 1992 Beijing time, coinciding with the opening day of the 25th Olympic Games in Spain.

He fathered nine cubs, most of whom have further descendants.

The average lifespan of wild pandas is 15 years, but those in captivity usually live longer due to better nutrition and living conditions.

A survey found China with an estimated 1,864 wild pandas and 375 in captivity in 2013.



Shinfield Eastern Relief Road

I had previously taken up the question of delay to completion of the Shinfield by pass. The Council has now provided the following explanation:

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The failure to resolve this industrial dispute is bad news for both staff and passengers – Andy McDonald

Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary,
commenting on reports that Aslef members have rejected a deal with Southern
rail, said:

“Southern services are abysmal even without strike action, but the
failure to resolve this industrial dispute is bad news for both staff and
passengers.

“The Government and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) have failed to
guarantee passenger safety or accessibility for disabled passengers who face a
loss of independence with the expansion of Driver-Only Operation services.

 “For the sake of long suffering passengers, all parties need to get
back around the negotiation table and thrash out a deal that delivers a safe,
reliable and accessible service.”



China plans smart health and elderly care

China plans to develop the smart health and elderly care industry in the next four years to grants universal access to health management services and home-based elderly care, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Thursday.

China will build a smart health and elderly care industry with more than 100 industrial leading enterprises and a number of brands by 2020. [Photo: Xinhua]

According to an action plan jointly made by the MIIT, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Health and Family Planning Commission, China will build a smart health and elderly care industry with more than 100 industrial leading enterprises and a number of brands by 2020.

The country will also have more than 100 model bases for the industry in the next four years, said the plan.

Efforts should be made to make breakthroughs in core technologies and promote the development of intelligent analysis technologies such as real-time health status analysis and health trend analysis based on big data, so as to provide more types of health-care services to the public.

The government will also encourage the development of advanced health devices such as health management wearables, portable health monitors and home service robots, it said.

The MIIT said the it will build a unified information sharing system to improve the quality and security of the service network of the smart health and elderly care industry.



Agency worker traps hand in machine

A polythene film manufacturer was sentenced for safety breaches after a worker trapped his hand in machinery.

Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court heard how the injured person broke the little finger on his right hand while operating machinery in March 2014 at Total Polyfilm Ltd.’s Brighouse plant.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to adequately manage the risk of workers being injured when operating machinery. Also it was found the workers failed to operate in the correct way of working when using this equipment.

Total Polyfilm Ltd of Walton Summit Estate, Bamber Bridge, Preston, Lancashire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and have been fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of £697.

After the hearing HSE inspector Jacqueline Ferguson commented: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.” 

Notes to Editors:

  1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. hse.gov.uk[1]
  2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: legislation.gov.uk/ [2]
  3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk

Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases.