State of the Climate in Asia 2024
<p>The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing
Asia
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NIV to hold meeting on influenza today
In view of the emergence of the avian influenza epidemic in South East Asia region, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) will host a meeting on strengthening influenza diagnosis and networking in South East Asia in Pune from May 13. Dr A C Mishra, Director, National Institute of Virology said that the meeting was being conducted by the World Health Organisation-SEARO to improve diagnostic capacity of laboratories in the South East Asia region. National Influenza Centers are the cornerstone of global influenza surveillance.
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Wrong response worsens Asia food crisis, says ADB
Asia's response to tightening global grain supplies has aggravated food price inflation and uncertainty, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released here on Friday. Export bans and price floors imposed by grain exporters including China, Pakistan, Vietnam and India have increased price volatility and uncertainty in the international rice Markets reducing supplies. "These have been contributing significantly to the surge in rice price especially since the end of 2007,' a Manila-based lender said.
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India on alert over China virus spread
India is on a high alert against Enterovirus 71 (EV-71), a causative agent for hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) that has infected over 20,000 children and killed around 40 of them, in at least four Asian countries over the past three months. China, which has recorded over 15,799 cases of HFMD and 28 deaths, has been the worst affected, followed by Vietnam where 3,000 children have been infected and 10 died. Singapore too has recorded around 10,490 cases while Hong Kong recently isolated the virus from two children.
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Surging food prices bite across Asia
From the rice paddies of Asia to the wheat fields of Australia, the soaring price of food is breaking the budgets of the poor and raising the spectres of hunger and unrest, experts warn. A billion people in Asia are seriously affected by the surging costs of daily staples such as rice and bread, the director general of the Asian Development Bank, Rajat Nag, has said. "This includes roughly about 600 million people who live on just under a dollar a day, which is the definition of poverty, and another 400 million who are just above that borderline,' he said.
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Asian vultures extinct within a decade
Several species of Asian vulture are being wiped out faster than the dodo because they are eating carcasses of livestock that have been treated with a veterinary drug which to them is highly toxic. According to conservationists, the birds can only be saved by banning the use of anti-inflammatory diclofenac and setting up a network of captive breeding centres. While the demise of vultures may not tug on the heart strings in the same way as the decline of a host of cuter creatures, they play a vital role in the Asian eco-system.
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Chronology Of Major Asian Cyclones
A devastating cyclone has killed 10,000 people and left 3,000 missing in army-ruled Myanmar according to provisional estimates, a diplomat said on Monday after a Myanmar government briefing on Saturday's storm. Here is a chronology of some major cyclones in Asia since 1960: Oct. 30, 1960 - BANGLADESH - About 10,000 people are killed after a cyclone packing winds of 210 km per hour (131 mph) hits Bangladesh at night. May 9, 1961 - BANGLADESH - About 12,500 people are killed in a cyclone with top wind speed of 161 kph (101 mph).
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View Point: Tackling malaria
Malaria, a disease without borders, is preventable and treatable however it needs a bolder commitment from donors and member states if it is to be brought under control. Malaria remains a major health problem in the South-East Asia region with 83% of its population at risks. There are an estimated 20 million cases and 100,000 deaths each year from malaria in the region.
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ASEAN pact on food prices
Trade Ministers of the 10-member South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to cooperate in securing food price stability in the region. "Essentially, we together agreed not to take steps that could bring the distortion or worsen the chaos of markets. It's very important to make sure food prices, even if rise, not to fluctuate to the illogical level,' said Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu at an ASEAN Economic Ministers' meeting in Bali on Saturday.
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Safe, clean, and affordable transport for development
This report follows up on the World Bank Group
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Browsing on fences: pastoral land rights, livelihoods and adaptation to climate change
This paper presents a brief overview of pastoral systems, analyses the rationale behind mobility as a strategy to cope with scarce and variable resource endowment, and finally addresses the rights concerning the access to and the control of resources in the context of climate change.