A United Nations independent human rights expert today voiced concern over the deaths of homeless people in India’s capital from a cold wave, underscoring the need for adequate shelter to protect them from harsh weather. “The lives of hundreds of homeless people in India are at risk as temperatures near zero degrees,” said Raquel Rolnik, the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. Ten homeless people have lost their...

The study was conducted in six States and is based on interviews of over 51,000 individuals  Findings also underscore the limited awareness on most sexual and reproductive matters Leading sources of information on sexual matters were friends and the media Less than one in three women know that a condom can be used just once, and just one in six know that a condom cannot disappear into a woman’s body. These are...

A new report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has found that politically and ideologically motivated attacks against teachers, students and schools are on the rise, calling for greater community involvement to reduce such incidents. Since the first-ever study on the issue, entitled “Education under Attack,” was published in 2007, the systematic targeting of students and teachers has been on the upswing, especially in Afghanistan, Pakistan,...

The heat generated in the media on climate change issues has been put off by a cold winter. However, R.K. Pachauri of The Energy Research Institute (TERI), the leading climate change expert has suffered some burns. Allegations of financial dealings with corporations that are the biggest polluters and violators of good environmental practices have left him groping for cover. In his defence, he makes many separations — of himself as...

One hundred and twenty one journalists were killed in the world in 2009, according to a study circulated by the non-governmental organization Press Emblem Campaign (PEC). Last year saw the largest number of press people's deaths ever since the Geneva-based PEC began to compile such estimates, the study said, yesterday. Thirty-three percent more journalists were killed in 25 countries in 2009 than the year before (91 people). The largest number of journalists...