Pakistan certifies first organic cotton bale
Balochistan on Wednesday marked the certification of Pakistan's first organic cotton bale at a ceremony held at Kot Sabzal. Balochistan's Minister for Agriculture Engineer Zamrak Khan said the provincial
Dawn (Pakistan)
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South Punjab continues to face water shortage
Farmers in south Punjab, who get water from the Indus River, continue facing exceptionally high shortage because of a flawed water distribution mechanism, and are facing difficulties in getting even drinking water, leaving alone sowing cotton. Dwellers of three districts
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Import deal violates WHO rules: PMA: Rabies vaccine
The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has alleged that an agreement between the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Butantan Institute of Brazil on the import of cell culture rabies vaccine is a gross violation of World Health Organisation (WHO) rules because the Brazilian institute is not approved by the WHO. The PMA's Islamabad-Rawalpindi chapter, in a press release issued here on Saturday, said the vaccine to be imported was also not WHO certified.
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Growers seek end to water theft
The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) on Sunday severely criticised what it called the theft of 8,000 cusec of Sindh's share in water through lift machines and demanded that the practice be stopped immediately. The chamber, which met here under its president Syed Qamaruzzaman Shah, demanded that Sindh should get supplied 74,400 cusec water from Taunsa Link Canal in accordance with 1991 water accord. Sindh, at present was receiving 61,000 cusec water from Chashma Link Canal of which 12,000 cusec went to Balochistan whose share was included in Sindh's share, the meeting said.
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Coal-fired power plants pose risks to health: WHO seeks changes in mode of transportation
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that climate change poses significant health risks and called for lessening reliance on coal-fired power generation. According to a WHO report, a drop in coal-fired power generation will reduce air pollution and associated diseases and deaths. It called for changing the mode of transport and promoting bicycling and walking to reduce pollution and traffic-related injuries and deaths. Production and transportation of food are major emitters of greenhouse gases, the report said.
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300 bags of spurious fertiliser seized; call for action against owner
A trailer loaded with about 300 spurious DAP fertiliser bags impounded by officials of the agriculture extension department of Mirpurkhas near Jhuddo town four days ago is still in the custody of Jhuddo police as the test result of the fertiliser samples sent to a laboratory has not been received.
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UN task force on food crisis meets today
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will chair the first meeting of the UN Task Force on the Global Food Crisis on Monday, the UN has announced. It will bring together representatives from across the UN system to discuss a global response to rising food prices, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters at the UN Headquarters. Meanwhile, the secretary-general has sent out urgent letters of invitation to all heads of state of UN member countries to join him in next month's meeting in Rome to discuss short-term and long-term strategies to address the global food crisis, she added.
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Govt addressing sanitation, water problems
The government on Friday called for reinforced collaboration with Unicef to effectively address water and sanitation problems. In a meeting between Federal Minister for Environment, Hameedullah Jan Afridi and Unicef Representative in Pakistan, Martin Mogwanja, the minister pressed for the need to offset additional hygiene related expenditures through launching a comprehensive national programme in collaboration with the Unicef, said a statement issued here.
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40 societies join hands to address climate change impact
About 40 national societies under the Red Cross and Red Crescent umbrella had decided to engage themselves in capacity-building programmes aimed at understanding and addressing the impact of climate change on humanity.
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Polluted water cause of gastroenteritis outbreak: 135 cases in 48 hours
As many as 135 gastroenteritis patients were reportedly brought to various state-run hospitals in the district within the last 48 hours, amid public complaints of water contamination in some areas and lack of required medicines at the health facilities. The areas worst affected by the disease include Karampur, 9-11/WB, Peoples Colony, Muslim Town, College Town, Mailsi suberbs, Masani Bagh, Garah More, Tibba Sultanpur, Luddan, Machiwal and Thingi Colony, where dozens of gastro cases were reported, most of them children.
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Spiralling prices linked to rise in suicides
With no quick fix available to stem the spiralling prices of everyday food items, the worsening situation in which the common citizen finds himself is being cited as the main reason behind the rising cases of suicide in the country.