Nodal agency for UNDAF
The Planning Commission has been appointed the nodal agency for the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). Commission deputy chairman KC Pant said that the plan panel would be supportive of the UN system in its new dispensation.
Scientific excavation of Buddhist monuments in Barhat begins
The Bhopal division of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), covering the entire Madhya Pradesh, has commenced the scientific excavation of the Buddhist monuments in Barhat in Rewa district. A press release issued by chief archaeologist of the division, Phani Kant Mishra, Bhopal on Tuesday claimed that it was he …
Govt constitutes State Bio-diversity Board
With a view to promoting conservation and enhancement of Bio-diversity, its sustainable use and to provide jequitable sharing of benefits, the State Government has constituted Madhya Pradesh Biodiversity Board , headed by Chief Minister Digvijay Singh and renowned specialist on the subject, MS Swaminathan, who chaired the National Commission on …
ASI conservation 'damaging' Ajanta paintings, says INTACH report
Expressing grave concern about the methods adopted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) over conservation of the ancient cave paintings at Ajanta, the Aurangabad chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has strongly recommended that the ongoing work cease immediately till a"detailed chemical analysis …
Nippon M'bishi, Daimler to test drive fuel-cell car
Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp said yesterday that it and DaimlerChrysler AG would jointly conduct trials in driving fuel-cell powered vehicles in Japan by the 2000/01 business year. The companies announced earlier that they have agreed to jointly conduct studies on ways to popularise the use of fuel-cell powered vehicles. A …
War, tourism - biggest threats to historic sites
War and the pressures of tourism are the most serious problems facing the world's greatest buildings and historic sites, according to a report published recently. The World Monuments Fund's List of the 100 most endangered sites range from pre historic rock cravings in Niger to a visionary arts school in …
Nuclear site battling a rising tide of waste
A giant radioactive souffle is rising toward the top of a million-gallon tank of nuclear waste buried in the desert near Richland in the U.S. Whipped up unexpectedly by a pump that was supposed to dissipate pockets of hydrogen gas, the waste has smothered one tube for vapour sampling, threatens …
Prehistoric village found in Syria
A Franco-Syrian archaeological team has discovered a neolithic village dating back 11,000 years on a site in northeastern Syria, archaeologists announced on Monday.
Oldest human footprints found in French cave
The oldest footprints of modern-day man have been found in the Chauvet cave discovered in 1994 in southern France, the Culture Ministry said. The footprints, between 20,000 and 30,000 years old and believed to be those of an adolescent, were discovered in the clay floor of the Chauvet cave in …
Rich archaological finds in Mithila region
The 'recovery' of over 400 objects of historical interest for the first time from Mithila region by a team of archaeologists from KP Jayswal Institute takes back proven Mithilanchal history to the 10th century AD. Five habitation layers have been found in unbroken form between that period and 10th century …
Millie - the million dollar goat
After Dolly the sheep, it's Millie the goat. The world's first cloned transgenic goats have been born as part of a research programme conducted by LSU Agricultural Centre and Genzyme Transgenic Corpo, a biotech company in US. The transgenic goat has been named Millie. Millie is a million-dollar goat, but …
Ancient wonder
A new show reveals artistic spelndors, even abstract imagery, from the tombs of Egypt's pharaohs : a report.
Secrets of the cave's art
Finally allowed back into the Grotee Chauvet one of hundreds of natural caverns cut into the pale limestone cliffs that form the Ardeche Gorge (France) and containing the world's rock paintings, scientists seek clues to the lives and beliefs of ancient artists.
Guatemala voters appear to reject rights of Mayas
Guatemalans appear to have voted down constitutional changes to recognize officially for the first time the rights of the country's Mayan majority, a rejection that supporters of the measures said would set back efforts to consolidate peace after a 36-year civil war.
Real friends in need
Aid organizations operate on the assumption-and-hope-that their programs eventually improve lives. Is that supported by fact, or is it an illusion, wishful thinking by those who part with "guilt" money? These were questions that motivated Chris Bale to look up friends in the region, among them a youngster from a …
TN match industry objects Govt move to halt mechanisation
The All India Chamber of Match Industries - a body of small-scale match manufacturers from Sivakasi in Tamil nadu - has decried the attempts of the Tamil Nadu Government to put an end to the process of mechanisation in the sector, saying it would hinder the process of gradual elimination …
UNESCO may delist Valley's heritage sites
Kathmandu Valley, which boasts of seven monumental zones enlisted in the World Heritage Site (WHS), may see its name cut-off from the list if it doesn't pull up its socks soon. The degrading conditions of these monuments and the growing number of high-rise buildings that don't meet the WHS criteria …
No school, no future
Better education in poor countries would give everyone a richer life, and not cost much. But in Africa more and more children do not go to school at all : a report.
