With launch of COP27, bicycle rally held in Mangaluru for awareness on climate change
Mangaluru: The Karavali Karnataka Janabhivriddhi Vedike (KKJV) initiated an awareness campaign in the city on Sunday, even as the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) kick started in Egypt.
The launch of the campaign coincided with the international convention for the organizers to spread awareness on the gravity of the climate crisis and the urgency to undertake bold, ambitious, just and equitable climate solutions in the interest of the planet and the people. The campaign in Mangaluru was also a part of a series of coordinated bike actions in cities and countries in Asia, led by the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD).
The bicycle rally in Mangaluru was flagged off by Rev Dr Praveen Martis SJ, principal of St Aloysius College, and Dr Smitha Hegde, professor at Nitte University, Centre for Science Education and Research, along with Mr. K. Shashidhara Hegde, who has cycled to work and back 8 km for four and a half years. The race started at St Aloysius College (Autonomous) at 8 am on Sunday, and traversed the arterial roads of the city, before culminating at Kadri Park at around 9:30 am.
Dr Martis, speaking on theme of the rally, ‘Reparations for the Climate Crisis’, said, “We are a part of a group of enlightened citizens and would like to strive for climate justice. All of us should really take part in it, bring others onboard and also fight for it as it is our right as also our future generations’.”
Dr Smitha Hegde lauded the participants, saying that the secret was in youth-led ‘self-start’. “The power is in you, you can definitely make the change,” she stressed.
At Kadri Park, the bicyclists, who reached just after 9 am, were welcomed by citizens with cheers and claps for their effort. After refreshments, the finish line commenced with young organizer Sandipa Nath briefing the participants on the event’s agenda.
Chief guest Dr Smitha Hegde spoke on damage to climate and ecosystems because of temperature rise, urging the participants to contribute to prevention of climate change, referring to pay ‘Prithvi Runa’ – debt to Mother Earth – before leaving the earth.
Social activist Vidya Dinker speaking on the objectives of the bicycle ride, said that youngsters were needed to assert the repairs to climate action from those who bear greater responsibility for the crisis. “Our pressure must be exerted at all levels, holding authorities accountable,” she said and cited the example of hazardous fossil fuels industries expanding in Mangaluru.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
