This paper presents a status report of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) on two crucial development parameters—inequality and poverty—that have a significant bearing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; especially SDG-1 and SDG-10). The paper tracks the origins and movements of absolute and relative poverty, …
Prospects for the European Union's favored Nabucco natural-gas pipeline project appear to be dwindling, weeks before a consortium of Caspian Sea producers is due to choose one of four planned pipelines to carry its gas to Europe, This week, Azerbaijan said it plans to build its own pipeline through Turkey …
Talks to break the logjam over the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project made no headway today with protestors terming as “failure” the discussions with the Central government’s expert committee on the issue. The 15-member panel on a three-day visit to the plant as part of efforts to allay people’s fears …
State-run mining giant NMDC Ltd has dropped a proposal to acquire the Erchim Tkhan — popularly known as Vinci Coal — project in Russia. Reason: one of the owners of Vinci Coal is based in North Korea, a country under heavy US sanctions. The Rs 11,369-crore Maharatna company had last …
However, Nuke Plan Won’t Affect Delhi’s Broader Engagement With Tehran New Delhi: As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) works on a resolution to censure Iran yet again for its nuclear programme, India believes there is little to stop the Islamic republic from proceeding with weaponization. India believes the latest …
The multi-disciplinary experts committee set up by the central government to interact with officials of the Tamil Nadu government and representatives of the anti-Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) movement held intensive deliberations on Wednesday, officials said. "The deliberations are intense with the committee members asking probing questions from Nuclear Power …
China, the world's biggest carbon emitter, could nudge the United States into more action on climate change, rescuing the latest round of global talks and improving its international reputation. Expectations remain extremely low that a new global deal can emerge from a summit later this month in Durban, South Africa. …
Despite decades of research, the roles of climate and humans in driving the dramatic extinctions of large-bodied mammals during the Late Quaternary period remain contentious. Here we use ancient DNA, species distribution models and the human fossil record to elucidate how climate and humans shaped the demographic history of woolly …
CHENNAI: The two 1,000 MW reactors of Koodankulam plant are not governed by the nuclear liability law as the agreement signed with Russia in 1988 did not have any such provisions, according to member and former chairman of atomic energy commission M R Srinivasan. The agreement with Russia was signed …
A Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off amid heavy snow in Kazakhstan on Monday morning, beginning a two-day trip to ferry three astronauts to the International Space Station and opening a new era of US dependence on Russia — and eventually on commercial enterprises — for space travel. NASA ended its …
As Russia’s space agency struggled Thursday to fix a probe bound for a moon of Mars that instead got stuck in Earth’s orbit, some experts said the chances of saving the $170 million craft looked slim. Roscosmos spokesman Alexei Kuznetsov said efforts to communicate with the unmanned Phobos-Grunt spacecraft hadn’t …
Arctic Sea could be ice free by the summer of 2015, a leading ocean expert in Britain has claimed. According to Prof Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University, the ice that forms over the Arctic sea is shrinking so rapidly that it may vanish altogether in four years' time, destroying the …
The contingent of over 100 Russian and Ukrainian engineers attached to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project fears that the Russian agency that assigned them to the station would cancel contracts as it has not been allowed to report for work for the last three weeks. The 45 Russian and 60 …
Jayalalitha knows her state needs power, but spars with the UPA over the N-plant Pushpa Iyengar The Quick Switch... CM’s opposition to the N-plant at Koodankulam a manifestation of differences with the Centre Jayalalitha is upset Centre not clearing Rs 2.5 lakh-crore for TN She has done a volte face …
Indian companies seem to be shying away from making their carbon emission details public, according to a survey by a UK-based non-profit body. Only seven per cent of Indian firms give out complete and verified data about their carbon emissions, says London-headquartered Environmental Investment Organisation (EIO) in its study. Among …
Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, R. Chidambaram, on Friday sought to allay fears over the safety of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, saying it was absolutely risk-free and designed to be safe from calamities including tsunami. Speaking on sustainable development and energy security during the 18th Foundation …
Russia recognizes that concrete steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions need to be agreed at climate talks in South Africa next month before a globally binding climate deal can emerge by 2015, EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard said on Thursday. Negotiators from around the world are due to meet in …
A group of island states most vulnerable to global warming have lashed out against rich nations for wanting to delay a new international climate pact until years after the Kyoto Protocol on curbing carbon emissions expires in 2012. The 42-member Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) said countries such as …
New Delhi: Even as India continues to negotiate ENR transfer with Russia without any result, Moscow is insisting that New Delhi cooperates to set up a reprocess-ing plant on Russian soil. Diplomatic sources told TOI that the proposal had been first made to India last year, but it has assumed …
Interpol on Wednesday launched a new campaign to coordinate the global fight against tiger poaching, warning that failure to protect the endangered cats would have economic and social repercussions. The international police organisation said it was imperative that the 13 nations where tigers can still be found work together to …
