The contentious issue of finance will be among the key items that will take centrestage at the UN-sponsored climate talks in Durban. Predictable and continuous funding to undertake steps to tackle climate change lies at the core of a balanced global deal. At the pre-conference meeting, South Africa said that the Durban meet should go beyond operationalising the Green Climate Fund agreed on at the Cancun meet. Pretoria indicated that...

-The United Nations   The United Nations and international figures marked World Food Day today with calls for immediate aid and longer-term solutions, and warnings of factors that keep hundreds of millions mired in hunger, such as price swings and gender discrimination. In a message delivered to a ceremony at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that there is more than enough food on the...

-The Hindu   “The sector has over 345 reactor years of safe operation” In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident, the emergency response and preparedness measures in India's nuclear facilities had been strengthened and several recommendations of the safety reviews mandated by the government of India had already been implemented, said Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), on Wednesday. A road map was being prepared for implementing the other recommendations. Addressing the...

-AP   Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal and some of the world’s other poorest countries helped lead the way over the past year as U.N. member states began meeting their unprecedented pledge of more than $40 billion for maternal and child health, a new study of the spending says. The spending report is being released Tuesday at a high-level event chaired by U.N. Secretary-General Mr. Ki-moon, who has made raising money for the health of...

We have accommodated all new requests made by India: envoy Even as diplomats and officials were taken aback by the protests against the smooth-sailing India-Russia nuclear plant venture at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, Russia on Tuesday described the protests as unfortunate. Russia said the imminent threat of the project being stalled would not impact future cooperation in the civil nuclear sector but could affect other projects such as the third and fourth...