Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
Saalumarada Thimakka, of Hulikal village (near Kadoor, Magadi taluk, Bangalore rural district), has discovered a novel way of dealing with her inability to have a child
The people of Pudukkottai, one of the most backward districts in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, are dependent on dry land farming mainly due to lack of indutrialisation and low rainfall. Quarries too are a secondary source of livlihood, which provides boulders and stones for construction of buildings. Extreme …
passive smoking causes decreased lung function in women, especially those suffering from asthma. Surprisingly, men's lung function is not affected due to such exposure. These startling facts were recently revealed during a study conducted by researchers from San Francisco-based University of California. Researchers studied more than 10,000 adults, 440 of …
To assess the impact of indoor and ambient air exposure on women and children, a unique project has been launched by the Indian Institute of Technology (iit) Kanpur, and the Norwegian Institute of Air Research (nilu), Kjeller, Norway. The study will be particularly directed at women and children belonging to …
Arunachal Pradesh, though one of the less explored areas in India, is known for its breathtaking natural beauty, distinctive culture and tradition, as also its abundant natural resources. This inspiring beauty is, however, blemished by many inequities, not least of which is the sorry state of the women here. The …
unbeknown to many parents, a few hair products, especially some frequently used by black people, contain small amounts of hormones that could cause premature sexual development in girls, some experts claim. However, the evidence about the same is largely circumstantial and the case is still to be scientifically proven. Throughout …
MALES are more susceptible to chronic arsenic poisoning than females, shows a recent study conducted by Japanese researchers from the University of Tokyo, Kumamoto University, International Medical Centre of Japan and Niigata University of Health and Welfare. During their study, the researchers analysed the correlation between arsenic exposure and skin …
The women of Dengajharia non-descript village in Orissahave broken through ages of gender and caste oppression to pioneer a revolutionary forest protection movement in their village. When the men called it quitsit was the women from this village in Nayagarh district who took up cudgels. The once densely forested areas …
BANGLES and vermilion. The unusual gift made Orissa chief minister (CM) Naveen Patnaik see red. But by giving this present to the CM - along with samples of toxic water and ruined crop - the tribal women of Sukruli, too, were venting their anger. Because an insouciant state administration had …
Up to 20 per cent of women with inherited breast cancer have a mutation in the gene that is responsible for repairing damage by radiation therapy. A team, comprising Australian and German researchers, recently found two key mutations in the gene called ATM. "If one copy of the mutated non-functioning …
Infection due to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life, reveals recent research. Multiple sclerosis is an incurable disease in which the tissues around the nerves come under attack from the body's own immune system. Researchers at Boston-based Harvard School of …
living within two kilometres of a landfill site increases a woman's risk of having a baby with a birth defect by up to seven per cent, recent research conducted in the uk shows. The link though is not conclusive, say researchers at Imperial College, London, and add that more research …
a recent study has proved that exposure to pesticides such as ddt (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane) can increase child mortality ( Lancet , Vol 358, July 2001, pp 110-114). Mathew P Longnecker of the Epidemiology branch of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, usa and his colleagues used the serum samples …
He loves to dabble with pumps. Fourteen-year-old Sukumal Dutta along with the other members of the community has undergone training as a mechanic for diesel pumpsets. With help from the NBTDP, the conventional diesel pump which used to lift water was modified to increase the overall efficiency, reduce cost and …
Our stock brokers can learn a few things about rising and falling prices from the Rabha tribe. Sheetin Rabha is a dynamic and wise women. Her group of 24 members decided to invest and took Rs 600 from their deposits and purchased 480 kg of rice. The price of paddy …
Devastating floods ruined Bhavesh Mandal's crops in the late 1960s. The hapless farmer had no option but to migrate to Mumbai and work as a masonry worker with no roof over his head. However, thanks to the North Bengal Terai Development Project ( nbtdp ), today Bhavesh is back in …
in two separate incidents in Idukky district in Kerala, one boy died and 41 persons were hospitalised after being exposed to phorate, an extremely hazardous pesticide, on June 26, 2001. The pesticide, which is widely used in the state, is a restricted use pesticide and is part of the us …
researchers in the us have created artificial human eggs that contain a copy of the mother's chromosomes. Such eggs could be fertilised with the partner's sperm just like a normal egg. Researchers of the Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at Cornell University, New York, usa, created the eggs. They …
Initially involved in adult education and health activities, Jawan Lal took it as a challenge to transform degraded lands to productive assets in Barwa village for about 110 families. Jawan Lal says, "Even we realised the importance of water and afforestation early, but people were not ready to join and …
Concerned over the water level in the region of Suarashtra which had receeded from 15 metres in 1990 to 120-210 metres in 1998, Mansukh Bhai Suvagia, a 37-year-old government servant decided to initiate steps to tackle the problem. With the help of villagers, he launched a Lok Fund scheme and …
