India earned another dubious distinction in child mortality with the highest number of deaths of children under-five-years of age, according to a UNICEF report released in September 2012. India's toll is higher than the deaths in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan put together. Globally, almost 19,000 children under five years of age die every day across the world a quarter of which is in India alone. India accounted for...

-PTI Bombay High Court today upheld the ban on gutkha and pan masala in Maharashtra. The court, hearing pleas filed by gutkha and pan masala makers, said the tobacco flavoured products fell within the definition of “food” and hence the commissioner of Food and Drugs Administration has the power to ban them. A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Nitin Jamdar ordered the state government not to destroy the seized...

-PTI DEHRADUN: A series of cloudbursts struck Uttarakhand since last night triggering landslides and flash floods that left 33 dead, 35 missing and several injured in parts of the hill state. Ukhimath area in Rudraprayag district was the worst hit as a cloudburst in the wee hours flattened dozens of homes in eight villages killing at least 29 people in their sleep. Over 35 people have gone missing in the disaster and...

-The United Nations Argentina’s announcement that it would export an additional 2.75 million tonnes of maize this year will help ease tight international markets, the United Nations food agency said today, adding that while this is a welcome measure, countries must remain vigilante to avoid a global food crisis. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the announcement was made by Argentina’s Minister of Agriculture, Norberto Yauhar, who had just...

-PTI The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay loading of fuel for the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam but agreed to examine the risk associated with the project, saying safety of people living in its vicinity is of prime concern. “Public safety is of prime importance. There are poor people living in the vicinity of the plant and they should know that there life would be protected,” a bench of justices...