-The United Nations   People with disabilities have the same rights as everyone to make decisions about their lives, including the right to take risks and make mistakes, a United Nations committee has stressed in new guidelines. "Respect for the freedom to make choices should be accorded to all persons with disabilities, no matter how much support they need," said Theresia Degener from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). "People...

-The Telegraph     MANGALORE: Santosh Menezes is eager to vote. Like many in his age group he loves cricket and idolises Tendulkar, Dhoni and Yuvraj. But unlike the others, he cannot communicate or move about. Bedridden since birth, the 24-year-old will have to be carried by his parents to the polling booth on April 17. Santosh, who lives in Kokkada village in Belthangady taluk, some 70km from Mangalore city, is among the 6,000 victims...

-The Business Standard     Institutions such as World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are considered the panacea of all ills that developing countries like India face. Although the amount of money these institutions lend is small, their influence on the economy is high. They continue to be the benchmark for social and environmental policies, good governance, climate change, corruption and so on. A look at some of the reports of these...

-Deccan Herald The world is not ready for climate change, which poses a number of serious risks, says the planet's leading body of climate scientists. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at its conference in Yokohama, Japan recently released a major report on the impact of climate change, with the goal of spurring world leaders to act more decisively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report warns of serious impacts...

-The Hindu Business Line The risk of water availability is a painful reality in south Asian agriculture including India. Any deviation from the monsoon causes problems for the farm community and poses threat to food security in the region. The variability in precipitation in India has actually increased in recent years. While comparing the variability of precipitation (given by standard deviation) between two phases, 1950-75 and 1976-2010, in two geographically dispersed districts...