The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed online shopping behaviours, according to a survey of about 3,700 consumers in nine emerging and developed economies.The survey, entitled “COVID-19 and E-commerce”, examined how the pandemic has changed the way consumers use e-commerce and digital solutions. It covered Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, the Republic …
Small dams will not be sustainable in the NE region. Multipurpose projects with very safe designs of medium to big dams on the tributaries of the Brahmaputra will be an unavoidable option in the days to come. This is the opinion of renowned water resources expert Prof Nayan Sarma of …
A high rate of inflation may be pinching hard on day-to-day life of people in the country, but a global survey has named two Indian cities -- the financial hub Mumbai and the national capital New Delhi -- among the four least expensive cities across the world. As per the …
Geneva: The tidy Swiss want to clean up space. Swiss scientists said on Wednesday they plan to launch a “janitor satellite” specially designed to get rid of orbiting debris known as space junk. The $11-million satellite called CleanSpace One — the prototype for a family of such satellites — is …
Swiss scientists say they plan to launch a “janitor satellite” specially designed to get rid of orbiting debris known as space junk. The $11 million satellite, called CleanSpace One, the prototype for a family of spacecraft, is being built by the Swiss Space Center at the Swiss Federal Institute for …
Iran is seeking to close grain purchases using gold and oil as payment, and has paid yen for a large volume of wheat as it steps up efforts to beat sanctions that had started to choke imports of food staples, European wheat exporters said. Iran bought at least 2,00,000 tonnes …
The overall environmental performance is improving in Sri Lanka and it has been ranked as a moderate performer, according to the 2012 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) released during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week. The EPI was produced by researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities in collaboration …
Sri Lanka's overall environmental performance is improving and the country has been ranked as a modest performer according to a study on global environment released during this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week. Sri Lanka has been ranked at the 55th place, six places below the United …
Asian Development bank (ADB) and Swiss government have agreed to provide US $ 25 million (18 million loan assistance and 7 million grant assistance) and 7.06 million grant assistance respectively (equivalent to Nrs 2.5 billion) to the Government of Nepal for the second phase of Decentralized Rural Infrastructure and Livelihood …
France's nuclear-safety watchdog ordered immediate upgrades to nuclear reactors to guard against natural disasters, which Électricité de France SA said could require €10 billion, or roughly $13 billion, in additional costs. In a review following last year's Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire concluded that no …
This article reviews the progress of electronic waste recycling around the world and emphasises the need to give more economic importance to this sector in the developing nations. Two cases are considered for determining a model of recycling under the present constraints. These alternative models can provide a basic foundation …
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known for their beneficial effects on plants. However, there is increasing evidence that some ruderal plants, including several agricultural weeds, respond negatively to AMF colonization. Here, we investigated the effect of AMF on the growth of individual weed species and on weed-crop interactions. Original Source
In the Old World, sandfly species of the genus Phlebotomus are known vectors of Leishmania, Bartonella and several viruses. Recent sandfly catches and autochthonous cases of leishmaniasis hint on spreading tendencies of the vectors towards Central Europe. However, studies addressing potential future distribution of sandflies in the light of a …
Countries will make a last ditch effort to save a dying Kyoto Protocol at global climate talks starting on Monday aimed at cutting the greenhouse gas emissions blamed by scientists for rising sea levels, intense storms and crop failures. Kyoto, which was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in …
Time is quickly running out to strike a deal at global climate talks to save a Kyoto Protocol in its death throes and make major cuts in the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists blame for rising temperatures, wilder weather and crop failures. Major parties have been at loggerheads for years, …
Air pollution caused more than 100 billion euros ($134.95 billion) in health and environmental damage, highlighting the need for more renewables sources of energy, a report published on Thursday by the European Environment Agency found. Europe's 10,000 largest factories and energy facilities resulted in 102-169 billion euros in health issues, …
The Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee of the Stockholm Convention has decided to invite the Food and Agriculture Organisation to undertake studies on integrated pest management alternatives to endosulfan. The decision was taken as a follow up to the decision of the Conference of Parties to the Convention in April …
LUCKNOW: With an aim to bringing the focus on rivers and those who live on their banks, a group of six men and women from different countries is on an expedition across the Gomti. "We have people from Germany, Switzerland and India with us," said Andy Leemann, who has taken …
For sheer persistence you have to hand it to Novartis. Ever since its blood cancer drug Glivec was refused a patent in 2006, the Swiss multinational has been fighting India’s patent law, or at least a crucial section of it, with the patent authorities and in the courts. With case …
Canada is stalling the listing of chrysotile asbestos (white asbestos) at the Conference of Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent, meeting in Geneva. On Wednesday, India changed its stand and supported the listing. Listing will mandate the exporting countries to give prior data on the mineral to …
