Delhi govt to develop 100 ‘oxygen parks’ to improve city climate Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Friday that the Delhi government plans to develop 100 “oxygen parks" featuring dense tree cover to improve the city’s climate and address pollution issues. Laying the foundation stone of the park to be developed on 3-acre land in Mukhmelpur village in north Delhi’s Burari, Gupta stated that this will be the first such park in the city. “Delhi was turned into a gas chamber for years, but nobody was concerned to take steps to address pollution in Delhi," the chief minister said and announced that her government has set a target of planting more than 70 lakh trees, shrubs and hedges across the city this year. Union Health ministry brings pregabalin under Schedule H1 to prevent misuse The Union Health Ministry has brought pregabalin, a drug used for treating chronic pain and certain neurological conditions, under the stricter Schedule H1 category amid reports of its misuse and abuse. The ministry notified the inclusion of pregabalin under Schedule H1 of the Drugs Rules, 1945, through a gazette notification on May 20. “The decision has been taken in view of reports received from certain states regarding the misuse and abuse of Pregabalin, particularly among youth," the ministry said. The drug, which is prescribed for the treatment of chronic pain, neuropathies, fibromyalgia, and certain neurological conditions, has reportedly been misused for its sedative, euphoric, and dissociative effects. The ministry cited seizures of illegal stocks and sales of pregabalin in parts of the country. WHO raises risk of Ebola outbreak in Congo to ‘very high’ at national level The World Health Organization has raised the risk of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola turning into a national outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo to “very high". The strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, was declared an emergency of international concern by the WHO on Sunday. “We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at global level," WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. So far, 82 cases have been confirmed in Congo, with seven confirmed deaths, 177 suspected deaths and almost 750 suspected cases. The situation in Uganda is stable, with two cases confirmed in people who travelled from the DRC, one of them fatal, Tedros said. Qatari negotiating team in Tehran to help secure US-Iran deal to end war, says source A Qatari negotiating team arrived in Tehran on Friday in coordination with United States to help secure a deal to end the war with Iran and resolve outstanding issues, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday. Doha, which has worked as a mediator in the Gaza war and other areas international tensions, had till now distanced itself from playing a mediation role in the Iran war after it came under attack from Iranian missiles and drones during the latest conflict.
