Endosulfan, the pesticide which is widely believed to be responsible for thousands of deaths, diseases and devastation, was able to save its own life largely because of India’s questionable efforts at global forums. The controversial pesticide has been in news for a long time because of its harmful effects on humans, wild life and the environment. Obviously the $100 million industry is going out of the way to defend the...

Arms deals, sensitive organizations like the Indian space agency besides the prime minister will be under the jurisdiction of the proposed Lokpal or national ombudsman, N. Santosh Hegde, a member of the 10-member drafting panel said Monday. The panel proposed 'to bring arms deals, organisations like ISRO, besides the prime minister under the Lokpal purview', Hegde, Karnataka ombudsman and a civil society member of the drafting panel, said at a meeting...

The dominant approaches to development have failed the world’s poorest citizens and now the paradigm must change. This is the strong message coming from over 2,000 non-governmental organisations gathered at the civil society forum for the Fourth U.N. Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) in Istanbul, Turkey. Arjun Karki, spokesperson for the forum, told the gathering that the failure to see more LDC countries graduate from this most vulnerable classification...

Setting aside their differences with the Anna Hazare team over the Lokpal Bill, civil society representatives on the Sonia Gandhi led-National Advisory Council (NAC) have come out strongly to oppose they called a systematic attempt to slander the reputation of Shanti and Prashant Bhushan. NAC members and their comrades banded under the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) with Aruna Roy, Harsh Mander and others endorsing the viewpoint of...

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...