Central to the achievement of the Agenda for Sustainable Development is an adequate, equitably distributed and fully supported health workforce. Nurses are the largest occupational group and represent an indispensable force with which to combat inequities in access to health services and progress towards health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while …
the un Environment Programme (unep) needs to revamp its publicity department so that it can report with accuracy. With the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd) at Johannesburg barely a few weeks away, it chose to release the preliminary study on the Asian haze, which it claims to have sponsored. …
The Indian government has sent the right signals before the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd) by approving the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. After the cabinet meeting which gave the go-ahead for the approval of the protocol, Union minister for information and broadcasting, Sushma Swaraj said the move will …
Europe's growth hormone-laced animal feed crisis continues to become bigger. From merely three Dutch pig farms in June 2002, the tainted feed has made its way to farms in 11 European Union (eu) nations. The Dutch authorities have halted exports from 2,000 more pig farms. European scientists suspect the medroxyprogesterone-acetate …
around 10,000 years ago, farmers from the Middle East carried civilisation with them to Europe, reveals a recent genetic analysis. It makes it clear that new agrarian technologies were not purely a spread of ideas, but a mass movement of people who settled and mixed with hunter-gatherers of Europe. The …
Emil Salim, chair of the global preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd) and former Indonesian environment minister has urged India's Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to lead the delegation of the developing world in Johannesburg. He has, meanwhile, exhorted countries not to bow to the internal …
European Commission has adopted a communication that will allow businesses to reach suitable agreements on environmental rules through self-regulatory and co-regulatory mechanisms. The move seeks to help companies develop environmental solutions more quickly and effectively.
for a country that suffers from chronic power failures and electricity deficiency, India has been the slowest off the block to implement any kind of energy efficiency regulations. Electrical appliances and products continue to be sold without any labelling or rating process to measure their energy efficiency. The result: the …
tiny pollutant particles, known as sulphate aerosols, emitted by power stations and industries from the us and Europe have played an important role in causing catastrophic droughts in the Sahel region of Africa. These were the findings of a research conducted by Australia-based Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (csiro), …
europe has been declared polio-free. For some 870 million people living in the region's 51 member states, this declaration is an important public health milestone in the new millennium. The European Regional Commission for the Certification of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis confirmed that the disease had been eradicated in the …
It's Thursday, and the bell of the Miguelete Tower, outside the Cathedral of Valencia in Spain, strikes twelve. Eight figures in black robes have assembled before Apostle's gate of the Cathedral, in a midday gathering reminiscent of mediaeval times. They are the s
Votes of dissent The rise of the far right is related in complex patterns to the failure of the elite political establishment to catch the popular pulseWhat on earth is going on in Europe? The question is motivated. Recent elections in countries like Austria, Denmark and France have seen the …
The assassination of Dutch rightwing populist Pim Fortuyn, and the stunning electoral advances of his French counterpart Jean-Marie Le Pen have brought some lingering trends in European politics to the forefront. Rightwing movements and parties, mostly campaigning on anti-immigration, anti-globalisation and anti-establishment sentiments, have been advancing in quite a number …
The data is so old it is almost obsolete. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has brought out its report on the incidence of cancer five years too late. For all that it is worth, the "Consolidated Report of the Population Based Cancer Registries' provides information on the incidence …
summers are round the corner and so is the scorching heat. Most dread the thought of it. But Mahesh, a 15-year-old white tiger of the Ahmedabad-based Kamala Nehru Zoological Garden, is all set to face the wrath of the Sun in grandeur. In 2000, his dwelling was ameliorated with the …
at least 27 million vehicles are junked every year. Ever wondered what happens to them? Studies show that they spawn an environmental disaster that governments are finding difficult to handle. The European Union (eu ) has taken the lead in reversing this trend. From April 21, 2002, with the implementation …
A SMOG emergency caused by two months without rain could prove a blessing in disguise for Italy's Lombardy region. Hope has sprung from the haze with plans afoot to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered cars in the area. The measure is a part of a roadmap outlined …
a controversy is a raging over the efficacy of Alqueva dam in southern Portugal. While ecologists and villagers say Europe's biggest man-made reservoir would displace many people, the planners contend that it is "an inspired quest to save a forgotten region from perpetual drought and poverty'. Recently, the gates of …
the famous red double-decker buses will soon be joined by zero emission fuel cell-powered buses on London roads. In a major move to curb air pollution, the European Commission (ec) has allocated us $16.65 million for the launch of these green vehicles. This funding
the European Commission (ec) has slapped a record fine of us $755.1 million on eight chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Their offence: hatching a nine-year conspiracy to fix the prices of some of the most popular vitamins. "This is the most damaging series of cartels the ec has ever investigated,' says …
