By Rachel Ellis

Published: 20:02 EDT, 21 August 2023 | Updated: 21:00 EDT, 21 August 2023

Potential 2023 first-round NFL Draft pick Andre Carter II could have eligibility REMOVED after military defense bill – which prevents deferral of active-duty service – passes congress

• Only Joe Biden stands between a bill that would refuse deferment for pro sports 
• If ratified, service-academy athletes could only play professionally after service 
• Prior to the season, schools and players were unaware of a potential change
• Whether Carter or other service-academy stars will be draft-eligible is unclear 
• Click here for all your latest international Sports news from DailyMail.com 

By Patrick Djordjevic For Dailymail.Com

Published: 00:17 EDT, 17 December 2022 | Updated: 00:34 EDT, 17 December 2022

Indian villagers have exposed the laughable quality of roads built under an Indian government project by rolling up the edges of the street like carpet. 

In an astounding clip posted to social media, four men are seen squatting by the side of the road in a village in the Jalna district of India‘s Maharashtra state. 

At first glance it looks as though they are attempting to fold a grey rug of some sort, but the camera quickly pans out to show the villagers are in fact tugging at what was supposed to be newly-laid tarmac leading out of the village.

The camera then zooms in to show the pitiful layers of material resembling bitumen, which appeared to have been slapped on top of a large piece of cloth to cover the existing dirt road like a plaster over a wound. 

Indian outlets Times Now and the Pune Mirror reported that the villagers went on to slam the contractors for what they described as ‘bogus’ work.

‘This is all bogus work being carried out in the name of ”development”,’ one was quoted as saying. 

Meanwhile, some 1,500 kilometres away on the other side of the country in the Bhagalpur district, Bihar, locals watched on in horror as a huge bridge spectacularly collapsed into the Ganges river below.

In 2000, the Indian government launched an initiative called the Prime Minister’s Village Road Scheme (PMGSY).

The intention was to construct a network of all-weather roads to link rural villages across India, thereby improving connectivity and encouraging industrialisation, urbanisation and social mobility. 

The scheme, which is still ongoing, claims to have laid some 808,000 kilometres of rural roads in the past two decades. 

It was initially fully funded by the government, but in recent years the funding was reduced and states were forced to shoulder some of the financial burden.

Many social media users speculated that state officials had skimped on quality, giving cheap contracts to low bidders and pocketing the difference. Others meanwhile simply poked fun at the shoddy workmanship. 

‘Is it a road? Is it a carpet?’ one wrote, while another chipped in: Very good technology! This is called factory-made Road! Just dispatched the required quantity of rolls at the site, unroll it and all is done!’

A third wrote: ‘Wherever there is ‘ruling party’ government, there is only loot and corruption!’

The Maharashtra Rural State Road Development Agency later hit back, asserting that they had employed ‘innovative construction technology’ to ensure the longevity and durability of the roads, according to The Hindustan Times.

An agency official reportedly said the villagers’ attempt to remove the ‘stress-absorbing membrane interface layer’ occurred while the roadwork was still in progress. 

But authorities in Bihar may not be able to tell the same story.

The Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge, which measures more than three kilometres in length, unceremoniously imploded and crashed into the Ganges river.

The incredible structure was undergoing construction, having already collapsed once last November. 

National Disaster Response teams are conducting a search for one guard who was reported missing in the wake of the incident.

One worker was killed in the previous collapse. 

Incredible footage from the riverbank showed locals watching on in stunned silence as the collapsing concrete sprayed water dozens of metres into the air. 

The state’s chief minister Nitish Kumar has ordered a probe into the incident and has vowed to discover those responsible for the structural failure. 

Farmers are not known for their optimism – and small wonder. Not only do they have to contend with unpredictable weather, constant pricing pressure and sporadic changes in policy, but their crops are under continual threat from birds, insects and blight.

Every year, farmers worldwide spend more than £45 billion on treatments to ward off pests and disease. However, most are made from synthetic chemicals and there are growing concerns about their effect on the environment, on wildlife and ultimately on all of us.

Eden Research offers an alternative approach. The Oxford-based company makes crop protection products from terpenes, natural compounds that can be found in plants, particularly fir trees.

Eden shares are just 3.65p but they have been as high as 19p and should hit that level again, as the company has made huge progress in recent times and should reap the rewards this year and beyond.

Agricultural goods are heavily regulated and, much like the drugs market, new products can take years to gain regulatory approval. When Eden was floated in 2012, regulators had accepted the use of terpenes as basic ingredients, but the group needed specific approval for end products – and for their use against particular diseases.

Eden gained its first licence several years later with Mevalone, which protects fruit and vegetables from fungal disease. Initially, Eden was only allowed to sell Mevalone in southern Europe as a treatment for botrytis in grapes. Known as noble rot, the condition can devastate yields, often flaring up close to harvest time, when chemical fungicides cannot be used.

Today, regulators the world over are saying yes to Mevalone with new approvals granted in Poland, New Zealand, Florida and California over the past six weeks alone.

The product can also now be used to treat more diseases on a host of different crops, such as strawberries, cucumber and lettuce.

Last year alone, sales soared 45 per cent and further growth should come this year, following those recent new licences.

Chief executive Sean Smith has other products on his roster too. Cedroz works on root knot nematodes, worms that attack the roots of fruit and vegetables, from aubergines and tomatoes to carrots, courgettes and cucumbers.

As with Mevalone, approvals for Cedroz have been rising as regulators increasingly look to more environmentally friendly treatments for common agricultural diseases.

Now Smith’s hopes are riding high on Eden’s latest offering, Ecovelex, which stops birds from eating or pecking at crop seeds. This can have drastic consequences for farmers, cutting yields by up to half. Yet most seed treatments are toxic, potentially harming birds and farmers too.

Ecovelex merely makes seeds smell bad so feathered friends fly off in search of other food.

Not only does Ecovelex play neatly into regulatory trends and consumer preferences, but it has also been developed in conjunction with US agricultural giant, Corteva, a $38 billion (£30 billion) company and one of the biggest producers of seeds in the world.

Last week, Eden and Corteva applied to the EU for regulatory approval for Ecovelex, with an application to UK regulators expected in a few weeks. The timing is propitious. Some chemical seed treatments have already been banned, others are about to be – and farmers are in uproar.

Plant-based Ecovelex offers them an alternative that is safe, effective and benefits the environment.

Regulatory authorisation can take a couple of years, but emergency approvals are sometimes given if the need is pressing. Ecovelex may fall into this category, allowing the treatment to be sold in time for next year’s harvest. Corteva is using its considerable muscle to make a case for the new product and farmers are desperate for help, knowing crops could be in peril without some kind of remedy.

Analysts expect a 55 per cent increase in Eden’s annual revenues to £2.8 million this year and growth could be even more turbocharged in 2024 if Ecovelex gains emergency authorisation.

Even if approval takes longer, Eden faces a bright future. The firm has been loss-making to date but profits are expected in the next couple of years.

Eden is also working on insecticide treatments and Smith has developed Sustaine, a technology that allows pesticides to be formulated without using micro-plastics.

Today, micro-plastics are an essential ingredient of most pesticides, despite the environmental harm they cause.

Sustaine offers an alternative. Currently deployed on Eden’s own product range, Sustaine could be implemented by numerous other businesses, curbing plastic waste on land and sea.

The partnership with Corteva offers real potential too.

Midas verdict: Regulators have been clamping down on chemical pesticides, while consumers are increasingly inclined to choose more ‘natural’ foods if the choice is there and prices are affordable. Eden’s plant-based pesticides allow crops, fruit and vegetables to grow and mature unencumbered by disease or synthetic treatments. At 3.65p, the shares are a buy.

Traded on: AIM Ticker: EDEN Contact: edenresearch.com or 01285 359555

That is awkward! Footage of Will Levis joking about being a second-round decide resurfaces after NFL Draft humiliation, with the brand new Titans QB saying he would not GO if he wasn’t chosen in spherical one

• Will Levis was broadly anticipated to be picked within the first spherical of the NFL Draft
• However after an anxious wait, he wasn’t chosen till the second spherical on Friday
• DailyMail.com supplies all the most recent worldwide sports activities information

By Jack Bezants For Dailymail.Com

Printed: 20:15 EDT, 29 April 2023 | Up to date: 21:38 EDT, 29 April 2023