Civilian toll tops 100k
More than 100,000 civilians have been killed or hurt in Afghanistan in the last 10 years, the UN said yesterday.
Tadamichi Yamamoto, head of the UN Assistance Mission, said: “Almost no civilian has escaped being personally affected.”
On Friday, a seven- day “reduction of violence” deal between the US and Taliban took effect, paving the way for an end to the 18-year war.
But Karen Lindsay has decided go the extra mile when doing her bit to protect the environment.
T h e 41- y e a r - o l d businesswoman has cut down the amount of blooms grown in the Netherlands – Europe’s greenhouse capital.
She’s also banished ribbons and recycles plastic bottles into vases.
The mum- of-five, who also sells flowers grown in Scotland, said: “We buy a lot from Ecuador, Kenya and Colombia.
“You might think that ’ s qui t e far but the f lowers come on p a s s e n g e r p l a ne s , not freight f lights, and those countr ies have fantastic growing facilities that don’t use artif icial light or heat.”
Karen, who started working in a florist when she was 14, said she is trying to spark her own green revolution in the industry and things are slowly starting to change.
She said she’s responding to customer requests for more environmentally friendly packaging. And she’s championing change in an industry notorious for single use plastic.
Karen said: “We’ve stopped using colour ribbon. And we offer biodegradable cellophane and twine, and plastic vases made from recycled milk bottles. They aren’t the prettiest but they come from a good supplier and we can cover them and use them for display purposes.
“I add a little peg that