-The United Nations Africa and Asia together will account for 86 per cent of all growth in the world’s urban population over the next four decades, the United Nations said today, adding that this unprecedented increase will pose new challenges in terms of jobs, housing and infrastructure.   Africa’s urban population will increase from 414 million to over 1.2 billion by 2050 while that of Asia will soar from 1.9 billion to 3.3...

An estimated 134 million Indians suffer from chronic sinusitis, the symptoms of which include but are not limited to debilitating headaches, fever and nasal congestion and obstruction. That's more than population of Japan. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' (NIAID) estimate does not even take into account those of us who suffer from acute sinusitis. Among Indians this disease is more widespread than diabetes, asthma or coronary heart...

The agitation against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant can be seen as a case of activism gone berserk. The high-octane drama against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu has wound down. The seven-month-long agitation led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) at Idinthakarai village in Tirunelveli district, demanding the closure of the ready-to-be commissioned project, ended on March 27 when S.P. Udayakumar, PMANE convener, called off...

India, like other Asian countries, has focused its climate change adaptation strategies on rural and urban areas while neglecting the urban fringes, say experts. Peri-urban areas are characterised by haphazard, accelerated expansion and are farthest from basic urban services and infrastructure, according to United Nations-Habitat’s ‘The State of Asian Cities 2010-11’. By 2020, of the projected 4.2 billion urban population of the world, 2.2 billion will be living in Asia, many...

-The Deccan Herald   Survey says the poor formed 18.5 pc of the population in 2009-10 Poverty in the State continues to be highest among the southern states. As per the Economic Survey report released by the Department of Planning, Programme Monitoring and Statistics on Tuesday, poverty is still a major cause for concern for Karnataka. As in 2009-10, Karnataka has 10.87 million (1.087 crore) poor people (18.5 pc). Andhra Pradesh has recorded 9.3 pc poor,...