Norway says it is examining reports that Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus allegedly diverted millions of dollars of aid money from a bank. International Development Minister Erik Solheim said that it was "totally unacceptable that aid is used for other purposes than intended". A documentary maker has alleged that cash was diverted from Professor Yunus' Grameen Bank to other parts of Grameen. In a statement, the bank said that the allegations were false. It...

Renowed agri scientist, M.S.Swaminathan today said Indian agriculture will receive a big boost if the country takes advantage of its young population and woos them into the farm sector by making it lucrative. “India has a big advantage as more than half of its population is below 30 years of age”, he said. “If we tap this huge demographic dividend by making agriculture exciting for the younger generation a far better result...

A rise in global temperatures of four degree Celsius is likely to occur during the 21st century causing "devastating impacts" if greenhouse gas emissions continue rising at the current rate, according to a group of international scientists. In a special issue of the UK journal "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A" -- which coincides with the start of the United Nations climate talks in Cancun, Mexico -- scientists argue that...

Younger widows seem open to idea of remarriage, says study The widows in Braj, a region around Vrindavan town in Uttar Pradesh that provides shelter to probably the largest number of widows in the country, are happier there than in their homes in villages, and most of them have no intention of returning. They also seem to be veering away from traditional beliefs on how widows should live and what they...

By marrying traditional wisdom with scientific knowledge, India needs to create dynamic, location-specific content, and build the capacities of local people to make meaningful use of communication technologies for rural development, M.S. Swaminathan, chairperson the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), said here on Saturday. He was speaking at the ‘7th Convention of the Grameen Gyan Abhiyan – Rural Knowledge Movement' on Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Food, Health and Livelihood Security...