-The United Nations Only one-third of the world's countries have national strategies for viral hepatitis, the United Nations health agency today said urging Governments to scale up measures to tackle this ‘silent epidemic,' in particular the five types that, over time, cause chronic and debilitating illnesses. "The fact that many hepatitis B and C infections are silent, causing no symptoms until there is severe damage to the liver, points to the urgent...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre is planning to increase cash incentives for private builders willing to construct houses for economically weaker sections in partnership with it. Under the Affordable Housing in Partnership Scheme floated in 2009, the Centre was to pay private builders Rs 50,000 per dwelling unit or 25 per cent of the cost of civic services, whichever was less. Since the scheme found few takers, it is planning to...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Rising apprehension that food inflation may finally begin to bite in electoral terms has seen the Manmohan Singh government press the panic button as retail prices of cereals, vegetables and pulses soar in comparison to last year. Persistent high inflation, particularly in food, is gnawing the government ahead of assembly polls in four major states later this year and the 2014 Lok Sabha election, a concern...

-The Hindu That the Union Health Ministry takes critical decisions affecting a large number of people without any scientific basis does not portend well for public health in India. Neither the ban imposed on the oral anti-diabetes drug pioglitazone on June 18 nor its revocation a month later with a requirement that the medicine be sold with a boxed warning highlighting the adverse side-effect of bladder cancer was based on any...

-The Pioneer BHAWANIPATNA (Bhubaneswar): The Palli Sabha of Tadijhola village in Trilochanpur Gram Panchayat of Kalahandi held on Tuesday unanimously declared that the villagers would not allow mining in the Niyamgiri Hills. "Niyam Raja is our father and Niyamgiri hills, our mother. Hence, we will not allow Vedanta to snatch it from us," said every villagers of Tadijhola present in the meeting. Out of 22 voters of the village, 19 were present...