In 2019, the illegal wildlife trade reached staggering levels. Pangolin scales and ivory were being trafficked in massive quantities from Africa to Asia, exposing a network of crime syndicates operating at an industrial scale. The sheer volume of these shipments marked a disturbing milestone, one that revealed the global reach …
Vietnam has recorded its first human bird flu death in nearly two years, and although the victim worked at a duck farm the H5N1 virus has yet to be found in poultry there, officials said on Thursday. HANOI, VIETNAM: Vietnam has recorded its first human bird flu death in nearly …
Under growing pressure from the United States, some of Asia’s largest economies are reluctantly looking for options to reduce the amount of oil they buy from Iran, a move that would further tighten the economic vise on an increasingly defiant nation that announced plans for a new round of naval …
The World Health Organization issued a stern warning on Friday to scientists who have engineered a highly pathogenic form of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, saying their work carries significant risks and must be tightly controlled. The United Nations health body said it was "deeply concerned about the potential …
Third complaint against Chinese companies flouting rules filed. Probe underway. The trade dispute between the US and China over renewable energy equipment is growing shriller. The Wind Tower Trade Coalition (WTTC), a coalition of producers of wind towers in the US, has filed a complaint with the US Department of …
Vietnam says an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease has killed 156 people, mostly children, and sickened more than 96,000 through late November. An official at the Ministry of Health says the average number of weekly cases dropped from about 3,000 in September to 2,460 in November. The U.S. …
A wildly-colored gecko, a fish that looks like a gherkin, and a monkey with an Elvis-like hairstyle are among the more than 200 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region last year, environmental group WWF said on Monday. The area's diversity is so astonishing that a new species is …
The High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage for India on Sunday held a brainstorming session here to address concerns raised by the World Bank over some of the recommendations in its report for the 12th Five Year Plan. Among the issues raised were marginalisation of the private sector …
With a view to effectively deal with the menace of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in India and 10 neighbouring countries, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) formally inaugurated its Stockholm Convention Regional Center on POPs for Asia region in Nagpur on Monday. The Stockholm Convention on POPs is an …
Days after India and China discussed the issue of oil exploration in the South China Sea, Beijing today warned that it did not want foreign companies and outside powers to engage in activities in the disputed waters, saying such acts undermine its sovereignty. Oil exploration activities by India's ONGC Videsh …
U.S. goals of establishing regional free trade and an environmental policy at the APEC summit are useful but too ambitious for some developing nations, China said on Monday, days before President Hu Jintao heads to Hawaii for the meeting. APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) members from 20 countries have taken a …
New Delhi The government plans to quantify the economic losses the country suffers by compromising on food safety. The country’s food regulator — Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) — has already initiated talks with the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, in this regard. “In India, data on economic …
More rhinos have been killed in South Africa in the past 10 months than were killed in all of 2010, new poaching numbers reveal. Statistics from South Africa National Parks show that 341 animals have been lost to poaching so far in 2011, compared to a record total of 333 …
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 …
From 1970 to 1995 the world made progress in reducing the number of hungry people but the figure always remained above 750 million. Since then, the number has progressively risen, increasing to over a billion in 2009, and remaining above 900 million in 2010. But in this rather dismal global …
Nearly eight months after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, Japan is resuming steps it hopes will lead to exports of commercial nuclear technology to India and Vietnam, even as Japan itself is scaling back the use of nuclear energy at home. On Saturday, Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and his Indian …
The world's governments and relief agencies need to plan now to resettle millions of people expected to be displaced by climate change, an international panel of experts said on Thursday. Resettlement is already occurring at the rate of some 10 million people a year, said the report's lead author, Alex …
More than 100 people were killed in flash floods caused by heavy storms in central Myanmar this week, an official said on Sunday. “So far, 35 dead bodies were found out of 106 missing people. The other 71 people are also believed to have been killed in the floods” on …
There has been over 20 per cent decline in the number of deaths from malaria worldwide in the past decade, but the mosquito-borne disease continued to haunt India with the country witnessing over 1,100 deaths in 2009 after a steady decline since 2006. According to the 'World Malaria Report 2010' …
For years, Dr. Robert A. Holt, a genomics researcher at the British Columbia Cancer Agency, wrestled with a question about colon cancer. Might it be caused, or pushed along, by a bacterial infection? Cancers of the liver, stomach and cervix have all been linked to microbes, he knew. And if …
