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, …
German agricultural authorities on Sunday identified locally grown bean sprouts as the likely cause of the deadly E coli outbreak that has killed 22 people and sickened over 2,200 others in Europe. The Lower Saxony agriculture ministry sent an alert on Sunday warning people to stop eating the sprouts, Ministry …
Global warming will likely open up coastal areas in the Arctic to development but close vast regions of the northern interior to forestry and mining by mid-century as ice and frozen soil under temporary winter roads melt, researchers said. Higher temperatures have already led to lower summer sea ice levels …
Iran has discovered a deposit of light oil offshore of an estimated in-place reserve of 756 million barrels valued at $13.6 billion, the state TV website reported on Saturday quoting a senior oil official. The oil reserve was found at Khayyam field off the Gulf shore in Hormuzgan province. It …
Fires are spreading fast across vast Siberian forests in a reminder of last year's worst drought on record which killed dozens of people and forced Russia to suspend grain exports. The Emergency Ministry said on Sunday on its web site www.mchs.gov.ru that around 100,000 hectares of forestry was caught up …
Leading Russian companies Gazprom, Zarubezhneftegaz and Inter Raoues are keen to develop Pakistan's energy sector and will contribute to the building of power generating facilities and developing gas fields in Pakistan. This assurance was given to President Asif Ali Zardari during his first three-day state visit to Russia (May 11-13) …
The eight Arctic nations pledged Thursday to create international protocols to prevent and clean up offshore oil spills in areas of the region that are becoming increasingly accessible to exploration because of a changing climate. The Arctic Council
Iran has started the nuclear reaction at its Bushehr power plant, the Russian company that built the reactor said in a statement on Tuesday that indicated Iran is close to wrapping up work on the site that has dragged on for more than three decades. The German company Siemens abandoned …
Rich countries have missed a U.N. deadline for outlining aid to help developing nations combat climate change. Among industrialized nations, only Russia and Ukraine sent letters to the United Nations by the May 1 deadline -- only to say they did not feel obliged to contribute under a deal to …
Climate change cut global wheat and corn output by more than 3 percent over the past three decades compared to growth projections without a rise in temperatures, a study found on Friday. The impacts translated into up to 20 percent higher average commodity prices, before accounting for other factors, according …
Supreme Court has directed Ministry of Environment to take action against environmental polluters, but a pressure group within the industrial sector has been effective in blocking the actions over the last two years. This was stated by Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Alternate Energy, Government of Sindh, Mir Hussain Ali, …
Quickening climate change in the Arctic including a thaw of Greenland's ice could raise world sea levels by up to 1.6 meters by 2100, an international report showed on Tuesday. Such a rise -- above most past scientific estimates -- would add to threats to coasts from Bangladesh to Florida, …
Ignoring protests by a section of the country’s academia, officials in Russia have announced plans to open a scientific institute to study yetis. “A scientific centre would spur research on the yeti,” the administration of the Russian coal-mining region of Kemerovo in western Siberia said. Popular myth has it that …
Moscow On the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster and Japan still struggling to contain the crisis at Fukushima nuclear plant, Russia is set to propose a plan to boost safety at the world
The recent catastrophe in Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant after a devastating earthquake has declined Bangladesh's and global support in favour of nuclear energy, a recent survey report said. WIN-Gallop International, a network of independent opinion pollsters, carried out the survey in 47 countries, says a press release. ORG Quest …
As protestors in Ratnagiri are being lathi-charged for opposing the idea of a nuclear power plant at Jaitapur, down south in Kudankulam, the villagers are stoically eyeing an uneasy future. A few weeks from now, this Tamil Nadu village will witness the commissioning of perhaps the first nuclear plant in …
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that BRICS nations should combine their potential strengths to continue enhancing coordination on major issues of common concern. BRICS countries
Manmohan, Medvedev express satisfaction at the development in the relationship India and Russia will review safety issues with regard to their ongoing nuclear cooperation programme in the light of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan. If necessary, additional features would be incorporated in the two Russian-origin nuclear plants …
This new report provides basic quantitative and qualitative facts about nuclear power plants in operation, under construction, and in planning phases throughout the world.It finds that nearly three-quarters of reactors under construction are located in China, India, Russia & S.Korea but none of these nations have historically been transparent about …
