Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs yoga on International Yoga Day in Lucknow, India June 21, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] NEW DELHI - Tens of thousands of Indians joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday to celebrate the third International Yoga Day. Rains failed to dampen the spirits of about 50,000 people who joined in an outdoor yoga session with the prime minister in a park in Lucknow, capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Yoga has connected the world with India, Modi, looking relaxed in white track pants and blue-collared T-shirt, told a cheering crowd. Yoga is about health assurance. It is not even expensive to practice, he added. The Modi's official Twitter handle, which has more than 30 million followers, has posted pictures of mass yoga sessions in China, Colombia, the United States, Paraguay, Mexico, Italy, Singapore and atop Machu Picchu, a 15th century Inca citadel in Peru. Social media was flooded with pictures of yoga, the country's signature cultural export, being performed in various places. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee held a yoga session at the presidential palace and several members of Modi's cabinet joined similar events across the country. Modi pushed for the annual event to be celebrated worldwide after winning power in 2014, promoting a lifestyle industry that has grown up around the ancient physical and spiritual discipline and is estimated to be worth around $80 billion. Reuters wedding wristbandssilicone braceletswristband keychainwristband creationprintable wristbands
High-level advisory panel pitches 15-year pollution fight, but holds China up as modelA high-level international advisory body applauded China's efforts to improve the environment and suggested a 15-year strategy against pollution in a draft recommendation report on Monday.China has made building an ecological civilization an important goal and has taken comprehensive measures to improve the environment. This has resulted in positive results, including improved air quality, Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli said when chairing the annual meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, a high-level international advisory body.Like Zhang, Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said he was impressed by China's tremendous achievements regarding its environment in recent years, in particular curbing much of the smog problem.China is capable of solving the environment problems themselves, said Solheim, the council's vice-chairman, adding the best practices taken by China could provide guidance to other areas facing similar issues.His praise of China's approaches to move toward being an ecological civilization won wide support from other members of the environmental council, which includes senior officials and experts from home and abroad.The council's draft recommendation presents highlights of the war against pollution in air, water and soil, and suggests the creation of a 15-year strategy that will be focused on cost-effectiveness, synergies and ways to build public confidence about eventual results.Ideally, the integrated rollout should be ready before 2020, to be in line with the 2035 pivot point, when China expects to be a basic modern country, the draft said.Solheim said he is confident that China can reach the 2035 goal to build a beautiful China, considering the determined and effective efforts adopted in recent years.Along with the longer-term strategy to curb pollution, council members suggested creating conditions for fair competition and incentives for green industries.Based on the input from Monday's meeting, the advisers and their support teams will modify their proposal and provide a final version to the State Council through the Ministry of Environmental [email protected]??
