**On Global Warming

World Bank Carbon Fund sets up a facility for forest protection in poor countries. It would pay developing countries hundreds of million dollars and provide financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emission from deforestation.

The facility has already attracted interest from more than a dozen developing countries including Indonesia, Brazil and several others in African Congo river basin.

Deforestation contributes 20% of total greenhouse emission more than all the world’s cars, trucks, trains and airplanes combined.

Environmentalists, have encouraged the protection of tropical forests from cutting and burning which has contributed to the problem of climate change, the report said.

**On Air Travel

The International Air Transport Association ( IATA), has unveiled a global standard that paves the way for global mobile phone check-in using two dimensional (2D) bar codes.

Mobile phone check-in enables airline to send 2D bar codes directly to passenger mobile phone. Passengers simply register their mobile number with their airline at the time of booking to receive a text message with a 2D bar code, or instructions to download it.

The bar code becomes the passenger’s boarding pass and it is read directly from the screen of the mobile device eliminating paper work completely from the check-in process.

**On Hong Kong Crematorium Traffic

Hong Kong health officials want to introduce the green coffin, made of corrugated cardboard and said to speed up the cremation process from 2 1/2 hours to an hour – to alleviate traffic at crematoriums, the government said.

Cremating the dead is more common and affordable than burials in land scarce Hong Kong. Although the cardboard coffins are more efficient and are said to produce less toxic gas during combustion, they are not likely to be popular in Hong Kong, where skimping on the traditional Chinese rituals of sending the dead away is seen as a sign of disrespect.

Hong Kong has to accept the advantages of the coffins, said to be gaining popularity in Japan as well as in Europe. “The eco-coffin coincides with Asian philosophy of integration between man and nature. Due respect is given to the deceased regardless of a simple or magnificent coffin” said Hong Kong Secretary of Health, Welfare and Food in a statement.