The world will be watching India as the conference of parties to the Stockholm Convention meet in Geneva from April 25 to 29 to discuss, among other things, a global ban on the pesticide endosulfan. India was the only member country to take a stand against the ban at the Sixth Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Convention that recommended the ban last year. Domestic opposition to India's...

A United Nations-backed agreement reached this weekend will help ensure that influenza virus samples will be shared during a pandemic with partners who need the information to take steps to protect public health. The framework includes binding legal regimes for the UN World Health Organization (WHO), national influenza laboratories and industry partners in both developed and developing countries that will strengthen how the world responds more effectively with the next flu...

The union finance minister welcomed the gesture made by veteran BJP leader L K Advani for assuring the party’s support to the Lokpal Bill when tabled in the Parliament Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said India would endorse the UN convention on graft which the country signed in 2005. “India will ratify the UN convention on graft. There is a long legal procedure which is needed to be followed,” the...

Even as anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare appealed to his supporters not to pay attention to “disinformation and distractive campaigns” being unleashed against him, the Congress on Wednesday said no initiative, however genuine, should undermine democracy. The veiled message came from Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari in response to a query as towhether the party believed that Mr. Hazare should contest elections. Mr. Tewari said, “I have no comments to make on an individual's...

Global health organisations cite his work to control TB in tribal areas An international network of health organisations, and individual professionals, researchers, medical students and health activists have written to the World Health Organisation, requesting it to support the cause of release of Binayak Sen. Fourteen health organisations and 178 individual health workers have endorsed the letter written to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan and WHO Executive Secretary of the Stop TB partnership,...