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20-11-2009
Bundelkhand region in India has been reeling under drought for quite some time now. The central government’s special drought mitigation package of more than Rs 70 billion for the next three years promises to bring relief to the people.
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19-11-2009
Both Sinhala and Tamil Sri Lankans want to leave the country for reasons of security and to seek better economic opportunities abroad. While some go through legal channels, there are many who take an illegal route at great personal risks.
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Image: An illegal migrant who set off for New Zealand from northwestern Sri Lanka, only to run into Australian immigration officials. Despite a harrowing journey, he is willing to try again/ Photo credit: IRIN
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19-11-2009
The Indian government has ordered hundreds of paramilitary troops into eastern parts of the country where Maoist rebels have increasingly been taking control, writes Mark Tully, former BBC Delhi correspondent. There is tremendous resentment among the tribals at their neglect by successive governments, he adds.
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Image: Mark Tully/ Photo credit: BBC
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19-11-2009
World Toilet Organisation head, on his India visit to celebrate the World Toilet Day, says there is need to raise global awareness on sustainable sanitation. He points out privatisation can help toilets in India to catch up with growing standards of living.
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Image: Most public toilets in India are unhygienic/ Photo credit: Guardian
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19-11-2009
WHO is targeting to eradicate polio from Afghanistan within next two years. Much of it will depend on how smoothly the agency is able to carry out its six-round immunisation drive.
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Image: An Afghan health worker dropping polio vaccine into the mouth of a child during a vaccination campaign in Kabul/ Photo credit: Britannica
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18-11-2009
Women's political participation is a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality and genuine democracy, says Ines Alberdi, executive director, UNIFEM in an interview with Pamela Philipose. She avers that a lot has been achieved but there is still a great deal more to do.
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Image: Ines Alberdi, executive director, UNIFEM/ Photo credit: IPS
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18-11-2009
Afghanistan, Iraq, India, Somalia, Myanmar are among the most corrupt nations of the world, says Transparency International’s new annual index. The report says that countries plagued by long-standing conflicts tend to be most corrupt because of the collapse of governance infrastructure.
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18-11-2009
In Nepal, the failure of the government to investigate and prosecute extrajudicial killings during the country’s civil war (1996-2006) continues to haunt the families of victims. The UN and the rights activists say that this has perpetuated a culture of impunity.
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Image: The Maoist rebels are equally blamed for serious human rights violations/ Photo credit: IRIN
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17-11-2009
A five-member civil society delegation met India’s minister of environment and forests to present a women’s charter on climate justice. They conveyed their concerns to press the need for a people’s agenda to protect the interests of the masses both at the domestic and international fronts.
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17-11-2009
Millions of babies are born each year the world over, who are not granted any birth certificates. The fact that they are never registered deprives them of vital education and healthcare facilities, leaving them vulnerable to abuse.
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Image: This five-year-old girl from Bolivia is one of some 40 million children helped/ Photo credit: BBC
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