The Bay of Bengal (BoB) region is emerging as an important focal point for climate security risks. This is largely due to a multi-layered interplay of geopolitical, geostrategic, and climate-related regional dynamics. It forms the final leg between West and East Asia. The region is one of the most climate-vulnerable …
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday in New Delahi that an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world lack access to basic sanitation services, of which 792 million live in India. Maria Neira, Director of WHO's Department of Public Health and the Environment, said that this was as …
The strong present-day Asian monsoons are thought to have originated between 25 and 22 million years (Myr) ago, driven by Tibetan–Himalayan uplift. However, the existence of older Asian monsoons and their response to enhanced greenhouse conditions such as those in the Eocene period (55–34 Myr ago) are unknown because of …
Some 140 tiger experts and government officials from 20 countries met in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Sunday to review progress towards an ambitious goal of doubling their number in the wild by 2022. The nations, including the 13 where tigers are still found in the wild, had vowed at …
Myanmar will expand its sources of clean energy through an agreement with ACO Investment Group, a U.S.-based private-equity fund focusing on Asian emerging markets, to develop two solar-energy plants. The project, consisting of two 150-megawatt solar facilities, is valued at $480 million, according to a release from the Office of …
Earthquakes of magnitude 6.2 and 6.1 struck Myanmar and India's Andaman islands on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. No Tsunami warning was issued after the Andaman quake, an official at the India Meteorological Department said. The Myanmar quake struck 185 miles west of Mergui and was 19.3 miles …
In a startling revelation, an analysis for the Global burden of Diseases has suggested that estimates of the number of people living with HIV are 18•7 per cent smaller than UNAIDS’s estimates in 2012. The number of people living with malaria is larger than estimated by WHO. Significantly, the number …
YANGON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar and Norway are seeking cooperation in mangrove forest conservation and a conservation plan in this respect is being worked out between the two countries, official media reported Tuesday. At a meeting between Myanmar Minister of Environmental Conservation and Forestry U Win Tun and visiting …
Wild elephants are being held in horrific conditions in Myanmar by smugglers looking to resume a lucrative trade, a report says. It claims the animals, mainly calves, are being brutally treated as they are "tamed" for tourist camps in Thailand. Campaigners Traffic fear a resurgence in smuggling could seriously threaten …
Over 20,000 African elephants were poached across the continent in 2013 according to a report released today by the CITES Secretariat. Although the sharp upward trend in illegal elephant killing observed since the mid-2000s, which had peaked in 2011, is levelling off, poaching levels remain alarmingly high and continue to …
An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale struck inside Myanmar at 4.14pm on Sunday. The epicentre was two kilomertres underground, about 195 kilometres northwest of Muang district of Mae Hong Son province, according to the National Disaster Warning Centre. The quake did not affect Thailand and there were no …
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help Myanmar develop renewable energy under a three-year project until 2017, according to an official statement published on Wednesday, reports BSS. The project worth of 2.2 million U.S. dollars, aims to generate power to 25 off-grid villages in Myanmar and will include logistics such …
An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 hit Myanmar on Friday near its northeastern border with China but there were no immediate reports of damage, a meteorological official said. The earthquake, described as moderate, struck at 7:51 a.m. (9.21 p.m. EDT Thursday) about 375 km (240 miles) northeast of the city of …
Myanmar's forests are the final frontier for the logging of tropical hardwoods in mainland Southeast Asia. Until a few weeks ago as many as a hundred timber trucks a day rolled through Marip Brang Mai's village in Kachin State, northeastern Myanmar, a couple of hours' walk from the country's border …
Pune : The consensus outlook for the summer monsoon season (June-September), developed in the fifth session of the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum (SASCOF-5), indicates below-normal to normal rainfall over South Asia as a whole. "Below-normal rainfall is likely over broad areas of western, central and south-western parts of the …
The morning sun shoots rays over the tops of the steep hills surrounding Inle Lake that pierce the mist rising from the waters. Egrets and coots glint white in the sky overhead and glide off into the deep green marsh. Silhouetted against the newly risen sun are fishermen in their …
Challenges such as extreme weather, rising seas and worsening scarcity of drinking water are forcing many Asian governments to confront the changes being wrought by a warming planet even as some point to rich Western nations as major culprits. Millions of people in the region have already been displaced by …
It’s impossible to prevent natural disasters completely but, their mitigation and adaptation are possible through accurate and timely forecasts Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said international cooperation for exchange of weather data and information is very essential for worldwide disaster management after urging the up-gradation of the traditional early …
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has recently provided a loan of US$60 million for improving Myanmar's power distribution network with an aims to ensure better access to electricity by some 480,000 households in four regions - Yangon, Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway. An ADB expert said that repairing and strengthening existing …
Sri Lanka is the highest user of agro-chemicals in the world. It uses 287 units of agro-chemicals per hectare, whereas Myanmar used only eight units and Bangladesh 144 units per hectare, World Health Organization Geneva Non-Communicable Diseases Director, Prof. Mrs. Shanthi Mendis, has declared. Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) General …
India is keen to build a 15,000-km gas grid across Asia to connect producers such as Iran, Myanmar, Bangladesh and central Asian nations with big consumers including itself, China and Pakistan, government officials said. The proposal, which revives prospects of India importing gas from Iran and seeks to extend the …
