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 Himalayan state of Sikkim is a paradise for nature lovers. It is also thronged by those who want to exploit the area's biodiversity for financial gains. Two Russians were arrested on July 30, 2001, for illegally collecting insects in large quantity from the remote Yuksam forest of the Kanchenjunga …
the R ussian parliament has approved three controversial bills allowing the import of dangerous nuclear waste. As per the bills, Russia would earn more than us $1,000 for each kilogramme to import and store 20,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel over 10 years from various countries. The lower house of …
Despite three efforts, India has failed to breed the musk deer in farms, although there are examples of success from China and Russia. Musk is a highly valued product in several industries like cosmetics. It is obtained from a golf ball-sized gland in the abdomen of the male musk deer …
Global warming could weaken the ice-soil mixture called permafrost in areas surrounding the Arctic Circle, causing damage to buildings, pipelines and electricity generating stations, according to a study done at University of Delaware, USA. Large cities in Siberia and smaller ones in Alaska and Canada run the risk of being …
the Cold War may be over, but researchers at Hanford nuclear reservation in usa , continue to battle another kind of Russian invaders: radioactive tumbleweeds. Russian thistle has become a menace in the windswept desert of south-central Washington in the us . Russian thistle, a non-native species in the us …
russia has started the construction of world's first floating nuclear plant despite concerns about its safety. The plant, being built near Severodvinsk situated on Russia's northwestern coast, will be operative by 2001. According to the country's energy ministry, the floating plant would initially provide 60 megawatts of energy to the …
Diamonds are immensely useful in drilling and grinding. This is because they are the hardest substances known to us. Now, a new compound developed by scientists at the Institute of Superhard Materials, Ukraine, could give diamonds tough competition. The new material, cubic boron carbonitride, is almost as hard as synthetic …
alarming levels of radioactivity have been detected in two rivers near the Siberian Chemical Complex, Russia's largest nuclear site, according to a usa nuclear watchdog group. The Government Accountability Project said that more than enough radioactivity to meet the world's electrical power demand had been found in the Tom and …
the Russian government has decided to recover the sunk Kursk submarine. The decision has ben taken due to the possibility of a nuclear leak from the wreck's reactor. The Kursk, an attack submarine was shattered by an explosion while taking part in naval exercises in the Barrents Sea off Russia's …
under the aegis of the United Nations, an international agreement was signed by eight countries to develop globally uniform environmental regulations for motor vehicles. The agreement, pending for the past two years, is expected to "harmonise' the world's automobile standards. According to an announcement made by the United Nations Economic …
to help various countries assess the complexity of the hazards posed by persistent organic pollutants ( pops) , the United Nations Environment Programme recently held a meeting in Moscow, Russia, from July 11-14, 2000. The meeting specifically focused on the problems faced by the Commonwealth of Independent States, Estonia, Latvia …
in a move that has triggered severe criticism countrywide, President Vladimir Putin abolished Russia's State Committee on the Environment, the nation's sole agency for environmental protection. He also did away with the State Committee on Forestry and transferred the functions of both these panels to the ministry of natural resources …
according to local media reports, Russia may sell its space station Mir to China. Reporting on the last round of bilateral defence cooperation talks held in Moscow in the first week of March, local daily Izvestia stated that "Russia will help the People's Republic of China (prc ) to build …
about 10 tonnes of heating oil spilled into the Neva River after a tanker ran aground in St Petersburg. Fortunately, there was no immediate threat to drinking water or the environment, officials said. "We are talking about a spill of about 10 tonnes. No more than that,' Andrei Alyabiev, local …
After days of negotiation with a US-based entrepreneur, the Russian Space Agency has changed its mind again about the fate of the Mir space station. After several stay orders, officials now say the present crew will not be replaced when they return to Earth in August. Only recently, there were …
russian ecologists have started primary investigations into several country areas which are polluted with polychlorinated biphenyls ( pcb s), a toxic carbohydrate which can cause serious health damages. Anna Danilina, a senior expert of the Russian State Environmental Committee and a member of the special commission to investigate the existence …
