-The United Nations   Releasing new statistics today, the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) announced that by end 2014, there will be nearly three billion Internet users - two-thirds of them from the developing world - with mobile-broadband penetration approaching 32 per cent. "The newly released ICT [information and communications technology] figures confirm once again that information and communication technologies continue to be the key drivers of the information society," said Hamadoun...

-Frontline   A Delhi High Court verdict says the State government is bound to ensure that poor and vulnerable sections of society have access to treatment for rare and chronic diseases. SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Mohammed Ahmed Khan looked on helplessly as his father, Sirajuddin, narrated the sordid tale of the loss of four of his children to Gaucher's disease, a rare genetic disease that requires lifelong, exorbitantly expensive enzyme replacement therapy. Sirajuddin, a rickshaw...

-Down to Earth   Study published in The Lancet indicates what the country will need to spend to provide basic cancer screening and care to patients A report published in the international journal, The Lancet, has drawn attention to poor infrastructure and treatment facilities for cancer patients in India, which is leading to high cancer mortality. To deliver even a basic cancer screening and treatment package in rural India, 15 states would need to...

-The Times of India   NEW DELHI: A German researcher's study of the dying Yamuna is an interesting take on Delhi's aspirations to be a 'world class city' vis-a-vis its utter failure in conserving the river. The study talks about Delhi's constant obsession with beautifying and developing Delhi's riverfront and how this has ironically meant nothing but further deterioration of the riparian ecology. Titled 'Bourgeois Environmentalism and the Reclamation of Yamuna's Floodplain...

-PTI   London: The temporary ban, proposed by the European Commission, includes mangoes, eggplant, the taro plant, bitter gourd and snake gourd. The 28-member European Union has temporarily banned the import of Alphonso mangoes, the king of fruits, and four vegetables from India from May 1, sparking protests from the Indian community, lawmakers and traders. The recent decision by the grouping's Standing Committee on Plant Health came after 207 consignments of fruits and vegetables...