A World Health Organisation agency evaluates electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones for carcinogenicity. THERE has been a dramatic increase in the use of the mobile phone worldwide since its introduction in the mid-1980s. According to the estimate of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), currently there are about five billion mobile phone subscribers globally. In the past decade or so, there has been growing concern about the possibility of adverse health effects,...

-The United Nations   Fast and relatively short-term action to curb soot and smog could improve human health, generate higher crop yields, reduce climate change and slow the melting of the Arctic, according to a United Nations-backed study released today. The study, compiled by an international team of more than 50 researchers and coordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), “complements urgent action needed to cut...

Roadblocks Ahead     * The MIDC has been winding up its plans to set up SEZs     * As many as 28 SEZ proposals, in the government and private sector, were withdrawn or projects denotified in the last six months     * Farmer protests, land acquisition problems, economic downturn and non-feasible tax regimes are cited as reasons for developers backing out. CM Prithviraj Chavan too exercises great caution. *** Mandated to create industrial opportunities in...

Almost 65 years after Mahatma Gandhi used "satyagraha" or "truth force" to lead a movement against British rule in India, Gandhism is back, this time facing an enemy more pernicious than colonialism: corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen stashing stolen wealth abroad. The two foremost leaders of India’s anti-corruption movement, Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, are deploying satyagraha’s most potent weapon – fasting – with telling effect on the government. On Thursday, Hazare...

-The Times of India   Notwithstanding the government's projections of a moderation in the rate of price rise of food items, food inflation jumped to a two-month high of 9.01 per cent for the week ended May 28 on the back of costlier fruits, onions and protein-based items. Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was 8.06 per cent in the previous week, while it was as high as...