-Reuters LONDON: Some 165 million children worldwide are stunted by malnutrition as babies and face a future of ill health, poor education, low earnings and poverty, the head of the United Nations children's fund said on Friday. Anthony Lake, executive director of Unicef, told Reuters the problem of malnutrition is vastly under-appreciated, largely because poor nutrition is often mistaken for a lack of food. In reality, he said, malnutrition and its irreversible health...

-Down to Earth Report by children's non-profit links childhood malnourishment to educational performance, adult income and GDP Malnutrition decrease the gross domestic product (GDP) in low- and middle-income countries, says a report by international non-profit Save the Children. Malnutrition affects educational development, physical productivity and health, and also perpetuates inequalities, such as those created by caste in India, says the report. The report, Food for thought: Tackling child malnutrition to unlock potential...

-The Times of India LONDON: Iodine deficiency during pregnancy, something rampant among Indian women, adversely affects the child's mental development. A UK study published in medical journal The Lancet on Thursday has shown that iodine - which is consumed mainly via dairy products and seafood - is essential for producing hormones made by the thyroid gland, which have a direct impact on fetal Brain Development. A recent Indian health ministry survey conducted in...

-The New Indian Express   In a war of letters between Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth over ways to tackle the Naxalite menace, the minister has emerged the loser. In 2012, the minister had criticised the UPA's flagship programme-the Integrated Action Plan (IAP)-which has been designed to tackle Left Wing Extremism (LWE) through development projects. Last July, he had asked the Prime Minister to scrap the IAP-the brainchild...

-The Indian Express SC has usefully separated valid safety concerns from generalised fears of nuclear power In clear and ringing terms, the Supreme Court has backed the operationalising of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Nuclear energy is necessary for the larger public interest, for "present and future generations", it stressed, while ordering the government to comply with all safety measures. The court had been hearing a string of petitions that said the...