The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
The lac dye is bright red. It is derived from insects like cochineal, kermes and lac, also called Kerria lacca. It takes about three lakh insects to yield one kilogramme of dye. These scale insects thrive on a variety of trees and bushes such as kusum (Schleichera oleosa), palash (Butea …
We know the potential, we know the opportunity. We have the necessary diversity and the knowhow. But still, not many plants are in use for extraction of dyes in India. Of 40 species of indigo found in India, only 16 yield the dye and only four are commercially grown in …
Five years ago, Ama Herbal, a Lucknow-based company, quick to see potential in the natural dye industry, started to manufacture natural dyes. “The response was tremendous. Everyone asked us for samples within 15 days of writing to them,” says Y A Shah, the company’s managing director. “But later, everything backfired. …
After an 11-year break, Japan intends to import whale meat again. Although the plan has been flayed by environmentalists, Japan has said that it would also expand its research whaling programme. "Japan has been discussing the issue for months with Norway and hopes to reach a positive conclusion soon,' said …
Devinder Sharma New Delhi-based food and trade analyst the issue is a part of the trends in global trade in totality. Western countries are trying to put obstacles in the name of sanitary and phytosanitary measures. They are trying to erect trade barriers in the name of environment and health. …
A reliable and sensitive procedure is presented for the analysis of erythromycin (ERY) and oleandomycin (OLE) in food of animal origin, such as meat, liver, kidney, raw milk and egg. The method is based on a solid-phase extraction clean-up with a cation exchange cartridge, a 9-fluoromethylchloroformate (FMOC) precolumn derivatization and …
the meat on one's table could be more than just sumptuous food. It could be a storehouse for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Grocery store meat is a common source of emerging antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the us, say three recent studies . Widespread use of anti-microbial agents in livestock has created a large …
A recent study by the London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals (wspa) and the Singapore-based Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (acres) have revealed that nearly 50 out of 68 Chinese medicine shops surveyed in Singapore sell banned products extracted from bears through a cruel practice. The study …
The Supreme Court has ordered the committee for conservation, supervision and experimentation of animals to carry out inspection in units which produce anti-venom serum from blood taken from horses and see if these units are following the norms. Passing orders on a public interest litigation (PIL), the court said that …
Stop serving rare animals or face closure. This is the warning that has been sounded by the authorities to restaurants in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital. Many restaurants have the meat of bears, scaly ant eaters, porcupines, turtles and even tiger parts as delicacies on their menus. Patrons believe they …
A French ban on the import of British beef is illegal, ruled the European Court of Justice. France imposed the ban three years earlier following an outbreak of mad cow disease. Jean Mischo, the court's advocate-general, said that the French government could not refuse meat imported directly from the UK …
few realise that behind the colourful contemporary folk art of Mithila paintings is a powerful message of conservation and an indication of the region's rich biodiversity. Traditionally done in the Madhubani region of north Bihar, the paintings were originally made by women as
Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and non- and mono-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (dioxin-like PCBs) were measured in tissues of humans, fishes, chicken, lamb, goat, predatory birds, and Ganges River dolphins collected from various locations in India. PCDDs/DFs were found in most of the samples analyzed with the liver of …
uk's national campaign to reduce resistance to the antibiotic sulphonamide has not worked, say researchers. And they put part blame for the rise of treatment-resistant bacteria on the overuse of antibiotics. Over time, as bacteria are frequently exposed to a given antibiotic the bugs that survive mutate in order to …
In a bid to protect its beef exportsthe Argentine government concealed an outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease for monthsaccording to media reports. This disclosure was followed by an immediate ban of Argentine beef by the usthe European Union and other countries. The country's agriculture minister and the head of the …
Human anthrax in India may be linked to the falling vulture population believe wildlife scientists in India. Animal anthrax remains endemic in India because of inadequate vaccination. The lack of cooperation from farmers has kept livestock susceptible to the infection. Over the past two years epidemiologists at the National Institute …
people for Ethical Treatment of Animals (peta), a us -based non-governmental organisation (ngo), has intensified its campaign against the Indian leather industry. It organised a press conference on February 28, 2001 to collect signatures on a petition that urges prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enforce strict laws related to …
an outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease in the uk has sparked off a scare across the world, prompting several governments to impose bans on British livestock and animal products in an effort to contain its spread. The first 27 cases were reported on February 19, 2001, at the Cheale Meats, …
as the long, sleek-bodied dolphins break the surface of water to rise ten metres in air and swoop down again to its depths, children break into squeals of joy while adults gasp at the swiftness of their motion. But how many dwell on the painful and rigorous training that these …