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 …
THERE is something down under Down Under that has scientists of prehistory busy revising their notions of a lost past: off the coast of Tasmania has been found a colony of living coral and other marine life pegged at a pedigree of 45 million years, or abouts. Scientists call it …
Electric cars, long promoted as a way to reduce vehicular smog, could create additional environmental problems because of the lead- based batteries that power them, say researchers of Carnegie Millon University in Pittsberg, US. Emissions from mining, smelting and recycling of lead pose serious threat to public health. According to …
Hailed till recently as a model of efficiency and productivity, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is reeling under a barrage of criticism today. A UN-commissioned review of its operations has reported that the agency "suffers from illness of a cultural type" which would take years to cure. The 2-volume …
In a significant development towards tackling brain disorders, American researchers claim to have successfully transplanted immature brain cells in mice to treat a genetic brain abnormality similar to one that may cause mental retardation in humans. Evan Smith of the Harvard Medical School and John Wolfe of the University of …
Juniper forests in Pakistan are likely to get an added lease of life. The Pakistan Environment Protection Council (PEPC) has launched a Rs 15 million pilot project to protect the world's second largest juniper forest in the Ziarat valley of Balochistan. The major facets of the programme are proper techniques …
The Chilean sky is overcast with thunderheads of controversy. Lawyers, scientists and landowners are slugging it out with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) - an 8-state venture by Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland, to grab control of the site at Paranal in the Atacama desert, where …
On April 27, Elizateth Dowdeswell, UNEP's executive director, began the 3rd Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable - Development in New York on a strident note. "if we aspire to greater security, to peace, to a decent quality of life, we know it cannot be achieved and sustained unless …
The rain-forests of the Amazon region have once again been set aflame by controversies. This time the fuse has been lit by the "Amazon Charter" - recently finalised by the Fernando Cardoso government. The charter proposes a road through the forests leading to the Pacific Ocean. This Pacific link is …
President Carlos Menem of Argentina has thrown up his arms on the issue of the country's new patent law, lambasted both at home and by Washington. The law, which was recently approved by the Argentinian Congress, was described as 11 piracy" by the us Republican Senator Bob Dole. Even the …
Going by the statistics provided by this year's International Labour Organisation report on world employment, "modernise or perish" has become the mantra of progress for developing nations. This is shown in the high growth rates in East and Southeast Asia, and in economic stagnation in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. …
Zambia's structural adiustment programme has changed the face of its labour force. While over 72,000 adults have been rendered jobless over the last 4 years since the reforms began, children have taken up many jobs in the labour force, according to a survey of the Central Statistics Office. The survey …
An unprecedent mining boom is on the cards in Peru as foreign investors make a beeline to grab the opportunities. Foreign investment had come to a standstill since 1970 because of the governments nationalisation programmes and terrorist activities by the dreaded Shining Path guerillas. Foreign investors have taken heart at …
THE Union budget 1995-96 is a study in warring inclinations. Despite claims of spearheading a "vibrant" and cash-flooded economy, finance minister Manmohan Singh has preferred to keep his purse strings tight as a corset. Expected to consolidate the ongoing reform process, the budget tried to please everyone -- a proposition …
The Sri Lanka government has asked farmers, community organisations, NGOs and small and medium scale enterprises to comment on the draft of a revised forest policy before the final policy is framed. However, former conservator of forests, V R Nanayakkara points out that the money being poured into the revision …
Sugar mills in Sindh, Pakistan, are now biting a bitter pie. About 27 mills have been labelled environmentally hazardous by the Sindh Environmental Control Agency. They did not install a "showering system" to neutralise the damaging effects of the waste particles. Liquid affluents from the mills are also poisoning fish …
In a rare victory for the Sri Lankan public, a private firm, Shakkain Engineering Ltd, (SEL) was served with a court injunction to end quarrying and crushing operations at Kirindiwela in north Colombo. Environment Foundation lawyers pelted SEL in the case on behalf of the people. Within 1 year the …
IN THE highland village of Paini, 7 km off Joshimath in the Garhwal Himalayas, the village Mahila Mangal Dal (MMD) -- the women's welfare group -- today has a sizeable treasury of money in its village fund. The fund not only helps the women during lean periods, but also meets …
Overriding the fears of water and air pollution raised by environmentalists, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has announced plans to build 3 coal-fired plants in Trincomalee, Puttalam and Matara. Their cost is estimated to be US $400 million and their combined output is 900 mw. The decision was prompted by …
Pakistani medicos are unhappy about the use of the drug Parlodel, banned in the US and Canada. The doctors say that the drug's common side effects -- low blood pressure, excessive vomiting, severe headache and nausea -- warrant its withdrawal from the market. Palodel, which reduces post-natal lactation, has a …
