-The United Nations   Corruption caused by weak governance is leading to unequal land distribution and poor resource management, according to a United Nations report released today, which argues that this lack of transparency is undermining social stability, investment and growth in developing countries. Weak land governance occurs as a result of low levels of transparency, accountability and the rule of law, the report says, which strains “the rules, processes and institutions that...

French nuclear giant Areva, which is planning to sell India six masssive1650 MWe EPR nuclear reactors for the Jaitapur site in Maharashtra, is facing serious financial difficulties with net losses in 2011 placed at well over €1 billion. Areva's CEO, Luc Oursel, announced drastic job cutbacks and the sale of over €2 billion worth of assets, essentially in the company's uranium mines sector, to offset these losses. Trading in the company's...

At the president's informal stock taking plenary, held in the early hours of Sunday, environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan made a final attempt to ensure that India's redlines - legally binding deal and differentiation between developing and developed countries - were not crossed.  Making her case, Natarajan reminded that India was in Durban to "find a solution to the entire issue of climate change."  "India has shown more flexibility than any other party....

-The Telegraph   The world’s nations negotiating for years on strategies to combat climate change have agreed for the first time to work towards a new pact that would force all big polluters, including emerging economies such as India and China, to curb their greenhouse gas emission. A UN climate change conference in Durban concluded this morning after negotiators from more than 190 countries agreed to consider a new document that would carry...

-IANS   An impassioned speech by Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan capped the finale of the UN climate summit that ended here early Sunday with a Durban Package, after she warned that India 'will never be intimidated by any threat or pressure'.   Natarajan's speech ensured that India's main concern - the inclusion of the concept of equity in the fight against climate change - became part of the package.   The package said all countries would...