-The United Nations   Up to 3.6 million deaths could be avoided each year in 58 developing countries if midwifery services are upgraded, according to a report released today by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners. The study, The State of the World’s Midwifery 2011, estimates that an additional 112,000 midwives need to be deployed in 38 countries to meet their target to achieve 95 per cent coverage of births...

Support for the agitation against forceful land acquisition for the proposed mega steel plant project of Posco in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa grew larger on Monday, forcing the administration to refrain from acquiring any land during the day. Many social activists, including Medha Patkar, Banwari Lal Sharma of Azadi Bachao Andolan, and noted Gandhian Amarnath Bhai, visited the agitating villagers at Govindpur village and raised their voice against the involvement of...

-The United Nations A top UN official today called on governments, private companies and individuals to join in the battle against non-communicable diseases (NCDs), those that are linked to tobacco, pollution, food and lack of exercise. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, addressing a forum entitled The Human and Economic Case to Urgently Address Non-communicable Diseases, said the UN and partners would join in a campaign to “promote exercise, reduce excessive consumption of alcohol...

A large group of BJP leaders expresses support to agitating villagers Even as the Orissa government was set to resume land acquisition for the controversial Posco steel project in Jagatsinghpur district on Monday, political support for the anti-Posco agitation further grew on Sunday with a large group of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders visiting Gobindpur and other villages in Jagatsinghpur to express their support for the agitating villagers. The agitators, opposing the project...

-The Business Standard   Land acquisition for the Posco steel project at Gobindpur and Dhinkia villages may be postponed indefinitely due to stiff resistance from villagers. The district administration’s dilemma on whether or not to resume land acquisition at the trouble-torn villages is compounded by the recent beeline of political leaders, civil right activists and anti-land acquisition proponents to the project site. While Swami Agnivesh and a delegation of the state Congress visited...