China on Monday accused the developed nations of trying to “split” the developing countries to weaken their voice at the Copenhagen summit. It also called upon the developing countries to come together in the “common interest of mankind.” Interacting with a group of journalists here on Monday, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan said protests by the Alliance of Small Island States against the drafts prepared by G-77 countries and Brazil, South Africa,...

On International Anti-Corruption Day (9 December), the United Nations has warned that corruption kills development, and is one of the biggest impediments to reaching the Millennium Development Goals. "When public money is stolen for private gain, it means fewer resources to build schools, hospitals, roads and water treatment facilities. When foreign aid is diverted into private bank accounts, major infrastructure projects come to a halt," said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He warned...

As protests against the plan to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh continued during the third day of the bandh in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, agitators in Nellore closed the gates of the Kandaleru reservoir of the Telugu Ganga project for the second consecutive day and stopped release of water to Chennai for some time before irrigation officials intervened and re-opened them. In Vijayawada, Telugu Desam Party leaders, including two MLAs, launched...

Rampur-Mathura (Uttar Pradesh): It is not yet 5 p.m. but the light has started fading in Rampur-Mathura, a village of barely 5,000 people, in Sitapur district. A group of village elders settle down comfortably in wooden chairs around a small fire lit under a tree. It is here that they gather every evening to discuss the day's events before retiring for the night. Until now, the village's busybodies used to keep...

Even a cursory glance at the daily newspaper reveals the economic mindset and the manipulation of that mindset into losing its sense of balance and well-being by the plethora of reports, articles and stories on the economic life of the Indian nation. There are all sorts of stories, statistics, credit appraisals, banking trends, FDI investment couched in the jargon of the modern economy that, curiously enough, seems to be so...