In 1908, diamonds brought sudden wealth to Namibia’s desert. By 1956, Kolmanskop had become a ghost town

In 1908, a railway worker clearing sand beside a track in what is now Namibia noticed something unusual: stones that caught the sunlight. His German supervisor, August Stauch, recognised the discovery as diamonds, setting off a rush that would transform one of southern Africa’s harshest landscapes. Within months, prospectors and mining companies were moving into…

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MDR on UPI soon? Parliamentary Panel recommends expeditious introduction on high-value transactions

Earlier this week, Parliament cleared amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. A Parliamentary panel has called for the early rollout of a calibrated Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on high-value digital transactions. According to the panel the framework is essential to make the payments ecosystem financially viable and reduce the government’s subsidy burden.Earlier…

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MIT engineers create a recyclable elastic yarn that can be melted and respun into new fibre 10 times and can tackle the growing problem of textile waste

MIT researchers melt resin pellets and spin them into thin, stretchy fibres designed for repeated recycling. MIT engineers have developed a new elastic yarn made from polyethylene that could offer a more recyclable alternative to conventional stretchy fibres such as spandex. The material is designed so its components can be melted together and processed into…

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