United Nations

Report: Slum population to double by 2030

About a sixth of the world’s population — nearly 1 billion people — live in slums, and that number could double by 2030 if developed nations don’t reverse course and start giving the issue serious attention, according to a United Nations report.

The U.N. Human Settlements Program’s report is the first ever to assess slums and examine how widespread they are.

The report’s main finding is stark: Almost half the world’s urban population lives in slums. Asia has the largest number of slum dwellers overall, with 554 million, while sub-Saharan Africa has the largest percentage of its urban population living in slums — about 71 percent.

The report says that the worldwide number of slum dwellers increased by 36 percent in the 1990s to 923 million people. At its current pace, the number could double to 2 billion by 2030.

Arkansas

Town’s mayor, police called to duty

The mayor, police chief and school librarian of Bradford are all leaving for military duty today that is expected to take them to Iraq, and the residents left behind in this town of 800 are scrambling to fill their roles.

The call-up and what to do about the loss of city leaders is the talk of the town. At city hall, meanwhile, officials have been rushing to prepare paperwork necessary to transfer the mayor’s power to a 78-year-old retired school teacher.

In addition to Mayor Paul Bunn, Chief Josh Chambliss and librarian Nolan Brown, five other residents of this farm town have received orders to report to Fort Hood, Texas.

Grebe Edens, the town’s recorder-treasurer, will take over for the 35-year-old mayor. Previously, she spent 24 years as Bradford’s fourth-grade teacher.

“Most of the people on the city council now, she’s paddled them before,” Bunn said.

Beijing

Suspect arrested for poisoning reservoir

An unemployed worker poisoned a reservoir, sickening 64 people, because he wanted to boost sales for water purifiers, the official Xinhua News Agency reported early today.

Police detained Cao Qian, 27, in Henan province’s Ruyang County after the reservoir that provides drinking water to homes in the area was found tainted by poison Wednesday.

No deaths were reported, but 42 of those were poisoned badly enough to be hospitalized, the report said.

It said Cao “claimed to poison the water in a bid to have his water purifying devices sell well.” No details were given.

Such crimes are not unheard of in China. Last year, at least 38 people died in the eastern city of Nanjing after eating snacks that a rival snack shop owner laced with the poison.