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 …
In spite of rising living standards worldwide, more than 1bn people cannot meet their most basic needs, according to a United Nations report published. Its ninth annual Human Development Report, which is based on statistics mostly from 1995, also touches on east Asia's economic problems. It says the crisis has …
researchers say that sand from the beaches of the northeastern us and Canada have been making its way to Bermuda. They believe that this has been due to the curious appetites of migratory birds which carry quartz crystals to the island in their stomachs. Palaeontologist Bruce Rueger of Colby College …
IF a report recently published in the us is to be believed, the rich became richer and the poor became poorer over the last year in the us. Family incomes rose overall, with the wealthiest families gaining the most while the poor saw their incomes actually decline by nearly two …
HAVING learnt from past experience, health officials and the government are all set tackle the threat of dengue in Delhi this year. A proceedings of a conference on "Dengue outbreak in Delhi:1996", organised by the Ranbaxy Science Foundation in December 1996,were released by Delhi health minister Harsh Vardhan on May …
The National Conservation Strategy and the Policy Statement on Environment and Development was adopted by the Governink ,nt of India in June 1992 to provide the basis for the integration and internalisation of environmental considerations in the various policies and programmes of the government. In 1994, a far-reaching notification by …
On paper, India has ratified almost all multilateral environmental conventions including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Convention), the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Basel Convention on the Control of Transhoundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, …
Twelve persons died in three chemical explosions in Delhi recently. Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP), the chemical compound believed to be responsible for the explosion, is used as a catalyst for fibreglass processing in helmet-manufacturing units. Stabilising agents like di-methyl phthalate need to be added to this volatile compound in …
So little done, so much to do THERE was a time when humans worshipped nature. Today, we voice concern over the state of the world's environment. For the layperson, concern for the environment boils down to deforestation or pollution, especially that of the air. Few realise that even the drinking …
The Enron project seems to be generating endless controversy. Since April 28, an indefinite satyagraha has been launched against the multinational company by the Enron Virodhi Sangharsha Mancha and the National Alliance for Peoples Movement at Ghuaghar in Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra. In a separate development, the Supreme Court has …
the Union government recently tabled a discussion paper for reducing subsidies. The proposals seek to make considerable savings by making substantial cuts in the cost of goods such as electricity and higher education. The white paper based on a detailed study by the National Institute of Public Finance Policy says …
own To Earth has been carrying a series of articles on India's vast and ancient experience in rainwater harvesting. These articles are based on a 400-odd page book called Dying Wisdom: The Rise, Fall and Potential of India's Traditional Water Harvesting Systems. Released as a part of series of citizens' …
STLL stinging following a series of dam-related embarrassments, the World Bank (WB) has set up an 'International Advisory Group on Bank Hydropower Projects' (IAG) to determine if the proposed Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos is too politically hot to handle. The Laotian government wants to build the dam so …
OTULA OWUOR NAIROBI the fear that deadly European products and wastes easily end up in Africa was again confirmed when Kenyan customs and health authorities impounded at least 3.2 tonnes of suspected British 'madcow beef' being dumped into the country. The importation of the beef suspected to carry a transmissible …
Recently, Bangladesh signed four agreements with Vietnam. The accords were on the formation of a joint commission for economic, cultural, scientific and technical cooperation between the two nations. The two nations also agreed to extend cooperation in the field of agriculture, as both of them have economies that are primarily …
an immediate international moratorium on the construction of large dams was unanimously demanded by participants at the first international meeting of dam-affected people held in Curitiba, Brazil from March 11-14. The 'Declaration of Curitiba' said that the moratorium should last until a number of demands, including compensation to millions of …
The demand for rice is constantly rising in Bangladesh with nearly 2.3 million people being added every year to its burgeoning population of 120 million. Bangladesh faces production constraints like drought, lack of irrigation facilities, flooding and salinity of soils. These factors are coupled with fluctuating rice prices in various …
PRIME Minister H D Deve Gowda's talent for undermining the need to protect the environment and people's rights is well-known. The finance minister (FM), P Chidambaram, is one of the same ilk, say critics after his budget speech in Parliament on February 28. Even officials at the ministry of environment …
Supply of clean fresh water, already threatened by soaring pollution levels, is depleting at such a rate in some regions that within 30 years two-thirds of humanity will suffer "moderate to severe water stress". This gloomy prediction has been made by a forthcoming UN report titled Comprehensive Assessment of the …
THE recently concluded International Conference on Civil Engineering for Sustainable Development, at the University of Roorkee in Uttar Pradesh, furs recommended developing the nation's economy in an eco-friendly manner. According to K G Ranga Raju, a professor at the university, risk assessment and disaster management should find a place in …
In its search for a strategy for afforestation, a laudable goal in itself, the Madhya Pradesh (mp) government has once again put its foot in its mouth and buckled down unduly to commercial lobbies. Its decision to relax the land ceiling laws to permit timber companies to take up plantations …
