More than 15 persons representing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from Kerala will attend a public consultation being organised by the Ministry of Environment in Bangalore on January 25 on permitting commercial release of genetically modified brinjal (Bt brinjal) in the country. Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh had announced the holding of consultations at different places following protests against the approval granted by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee...

SAKHRI NATE (Ratnagiri district): The narrow roads in this fishing village wind down to a crisp blue creek full of frenetic activity. Across the creek is the location of the proposed Jaitapur project being built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). There is a primary fishing school run by the government and trainees can be seen in the campus repairing bright red nets. Near the creek, Kamal...

BHUBANESWAR: Widespread protests marked the visit of Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, to a national consultation on commercialisation of Bt brinjal. In a novel method of registering their resentment to attempts to allow commercial production of Bt brinjal in the country, hundreds of women under the banner of Orissa Nari Samaj (ONS) took out a funeral procession of Bt brinjal. They set a model of Bt...

The earthquake that has hit Haiti, raising fears that thousands have been killed, is the latest in a long line of natural disasters to befall a country ill-equipped to deal with such events. Hurricanes and flooding are perennial concerns for the poorest country in the western hemisphere, which has time and again been dependent on foreign aid in emergencies. In 1963 hurricane Flora, the sixth deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history,...

Nobody in government should be surprised that sugar is selling at nearly Rs 50 a kg, possibly the highest it has reached in history. The supply-side causes have been visible for months. Last year’s patchy monsoon, of course, had an effect on the size of the domestic sugarcane crop; and, meanwhile, across the world in Brazil, extra-heavy rain has hit its production. Consequently, traders worldwide have been gearing up for...