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, …
The construction of a section of Russia's Sakhalin II oil pipeline project resumed from August 1, 2007, a few days after it was suspended after allegations that its safety link violated the approved design plans. The Sakhalin Rostekhnadzor, the regional environment agency, had suspended the construction of a trunk pipeline …
on august 3, 2007, India and the us declared a bilateral agreement on full civil nuclear energy cooperation after two years of tortuous negotiation. Nuclear energy propagators cheered, sensing a revival for the ailing sector. What went unnoticed in the international media was an agreement between the us and Russia …
Russia's natural-gas exporter oao Gazprom has announced to build a gas pipeline parallel to the Eastern Siberian oil link, which will lower the cost of supplying fuel to China and the Asia Pacific. It will use oil fields in the Yakutia Republic for supplying the oil. This was done keeping …
Moscow recently announced that all genetically modified (gm) food in the city will now have a city-wide label. Ecologists welcomed the move while producers called it a complex and expensive exercise. After an inspection, producers will have the right to carry Moscow's gm-free label for a year. Greenpeace too welcomed …
A Greenpeace study in St Petersburg, Russia, says 40 per cent of the city's waste is dumped into the Neva river due to shortage of waste treatment facilties. And this has been contaminating fish stock, which is sold in markets. The study found that pollutants from untreated and industrial waste …
On July 1, England joins the growing list of countries that have introduced laws to protect the public and employees from the harmful eff ects of passive smoking. From July 1, smoking in almost all enclosed public or work places will be illegal, with fines for smokers who break the …
With Ukraine in the grip of a severe drought, industry analysts recently predicted a slash in grain exports in the country. The country's agricultural ministry said drought had damaged crop spread over around 400,000 hectares of crops and the figure was likely to rise. In view of the drought, the …
The international body on whaling has renewed a five-year whaling quota for Eskimos for subsistence hunting in the us and Russia on May 29. The 76-nation International Whaling Commission voted by consensus to allow 280 bowhead whales to be hunted and caught until 2012. About 260 bowheads were reserved for …
A valley full of rare geysers and thermal vents in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula disappeared on June 3 after an entire mountainside collapsed only to reappear few days later after a drop in the water level in the lake, formed by the landslide. The Valley of the Geysers is one of …
Estonia has recently accused Russia of waging a cyber war against it. It said the country's websites were under attack, which came from networks hosted by Russian state computer servers. Head of it security at Estonia's defence ministry, Mikhail Tammet, said the attacks affected the functioning of the government since …
Farmers in eastern Uzbekistan are likely to face criminal charges for growing fruits, vegetables and other crops that they can sell instead of cotton and wheat demanded by the state. The agriculturists, in theory, belong to the private sector but in practice are tied to Soviet-style rules binding them to …
Tigers and Asian big cats were at the centre stage of an important debate at the 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties of the CITES at the Hague, The Netherlands. Led by India and other range states like Nepal, China, Bhutan and Russia, the 14th CoP was able to …
in a recent meet in Germany's Potsdam city on March 16-17, 2007, g8 countries and five other major developing countries agreed to launch the Potsdam Initiative aimed at preventing biodiversity loss due to climate change. It was for the first time that developing nations took part in the annual g8-ministerial …
The Turkmenistan government has dismissed five regional governors in the face of unrest caused by a severe food crisis. Though the country faces a crop failure this winter, the government says the severity of the bread shortage has been exacerbated by falsified data submitted by the regional governors. A recent …
As an animal high on popularity charts, the tiger has fascinated and awed generations for centuries. However, with its range confined to 14 Asian countries today, its distribution has more than halved and so have its numbers. With the tiger facing a serious challenge in its entire distribution range, the …
The influenza virus can survive for thousands of years in frozen lakes and might be picked up and carried by birds to reinfect animals and people. After their release, these viruses can cause new infections and spread pandemics, researchers recently reported in the Journal of Virology. "We have found viral …
an international consortium of countries, including India, has signed an agreement on November 21, 2006, to build an experimental nuclear fusion reactor to meet the future energy need of the world The multi-billion-dollar (about us $12 billion) project called iter has the eu, the us, Japan, Russia, South Korea and …
yes, radio: On November 17, 2006 the government approved an expansion of community radio stations by non-profit organisations. Applicants need to have a standing of at least three years. Individuals, political parties or their affiliates and trade unions will not be allowed to operate stations. Stations should serve a well-defined …
THE Russian government has extended its probe into the alleged environmental violations at the Sakhalin oil and gas project by another month, and has warned the project managers of criminal charges (see
