Saving species
At a recently-held wildlife meet in Cape Town, delegates draft an action plan to conserve migratory species of wild animals
With warm regrets
A US boutique is fined for selling shahtoosh shawls. In India, the government plans to ban its sale
Wild killing
A Maharashtra minister's call for killing protected animals like nilgai sparks off a controversy
Gunning for biotechnology
The US and Indian business lobby along with the Union government gang up to "educate" the public about biotechnology
Leading to a greener future
Recently elected German coalition government brings hope of possible prominence to ecological issues
Joint venture
Southeast Asian nations ink pact that transcends borders to tackle haze pollution caused by land and forest fires
India must rethink timber strategy
From being a net exporter of timber, India has turned into its net importer. The reversal stems from the country's soaring demand for industrial …
Hopes rise though US climate change bill falls
The US senate rejected the country's first climate change bill in the last week of October. On the bright side, the proposed law sank by a 55-43 …
US dawdling over climate change
Even as Europe reels under an unprecedented heat wave, US President George Bush remains unconvinced about the harsh reality of climate change. On …
Smells like trouble
The tax liability of New Zealand's farmers is set to rise because their bovine assets -- hold your breath -- belch and break wind!
Coconut cracker
The eriophyid mite has a field day, while officials sleep tight. The pest attack was first reported in 2000, when a farmer from the Puri …
Novel medical waste treatment facility in Chennai
Tamil Nadu will soon have its first centralised biomedical waste treatment facility. The unit is being set up in Chennai by the Hyderabad-based G …
IMD overhauls monsoon forecast system
Have Indian meteorologists at last found their 'role model'? After getting a lot of flak from politicians and the public for last year's …
Will an amended Seeds Act make industry accountable?
The Union ministry of agriculture has moved an amendment to the Seeds Act, 1966, and also proposes to create a National Seeds Grid. While the aim …
Full-scale review of poverty
What is poverty? The Planning Commission is set to undertake an exercise to find a quantifiable answer to the question. It has proposed to the …
CDM path cleared
The Union cabinet has given the green light for setting up a 'designated national authority' to clear projects being executed under the Clean …
A tale of two meetings
The North East Council reduced to a farce at one. Gibberish over interlinking rivers at another
Hemkund: then and now
Senior journalist Suman Dubey points out Hemkund, which houses a popular Sikh shrine, has become overcrowded over the years
New dams to burden Uttarakhand, heighten disaster risk
Districts worst hit by the floods are also the ones with maximum hydropower projects in the pipeline
NASA planning trip to Jupiter’s moon to search for alien life
A blast of water vapour from Jupiter’s moon Europa in 2012 indicated it may have life
Australia asks UN not to put Great Barrier Reef in endangered list
Country’s foreign minister says the government is acting with “renewed vigour” to save the reef that has lost half of its coral …
India denies Gilead patent for hepatitis C drug, sofosbuvir
Companies that have not signed any licence agreement with US pharma giant are now free to produce generic versions of the drug
Centre proposes National Health Right Act
Draft national health policy which proposes making health a fundamental right also envisages increased role of community in planning and …
Over 36,000 screened for Ebola in India
Of the 700 passengers being tracked, most are in Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West Bengal and Delhi
NGT bans cutting of trees in forests without requisite clearance
Complaint says felling of trees for charcoal production affects a forest area of 20,000 sq km annually