Despite the fact that over 350 million rural people have escaped poverty over the past ten years, the bulk of the world’s poor are still found in rural areas, says a new United Nations report, which calls for greater investment in agriculture and efforts to boost livelihoods. The Rural Poverty Report 2011, released today by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), found an overall decline of extreme poverty –...

Global temperatures from November 2010 are similar to those observed in November 2005 The year 2010 is almost certain to rank in the top three warmest years since the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850, according to data compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that were released here on Thursday. A WMO statement said the global combined sea surface and land surface air temperature for 2010 (January–October) is now estimated...

The year 2010 is almost certain to rank among the three warmest years since the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850, with the possibility of topping the chart, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported today. The global combined sea surface and land surface air temperature for January–October is estimated at 0.55 degrees Celsius, plus or minus 0.11 degrees, (0.99 degrees Fahrenheit, plus or minus 0.20 degrees) above the...

Although new HIV infections show a downward trend in countries of the World Health Organisation's South-East Asia Region, particularly India, Thailand, Nepal and Myanmar, HIV/AIDS is still a serious public health problem. Perhaps the most vulnerable group are children with HIV/AIDS, whose number has increased by 46 per cent between 2001 and 2009. Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is possible by 2015 and WHO is committed to this goal. On...

NIIRA RADIA, the lobbyist at the heart of India’s audacious multi-billion telecom swindle, inaugurated a Krishna temple she funded in south Delhi on her birthday — that, interestingly, coincides with Indira Gandhi’s. Those present on the occasion said Radia prayed for long, presumably seeking divine intervention to wriggle out of the country’s biggest scandal. Before the temple visit, notices from the country’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax (IT) Department and the...