BY BINAY KUMAR SINGH IANS | September 18 Two viruses have taken over the world. One, a minuscule creature called Covid-19, has killed more than 8,00,000 people around the globe, but is slowing down and will most likely be eliminated in the coming months. Vaccines have already been developed against it and once inoculated, citizens of the world can expect to go on with their normal lives. However, it is the second virus, that of Chinese imperialism, which poses a long term and a muc

Munduruku indigenous leaders say their land is being invaded as gold prices rise, and efforts to fight the problem are inadequate   SAO PAULO, September 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An Amazon indigenous group that earlier turned away a planned hydroelectric dam is now battling a surge of illegal gold mining in its territory during the COVID-19 pandemic, a tribal activist said. The Sawré Muybu territory of the Munduruku indigenous people, in Brazil's Par&aacu

The pandemic has highlighted the need to address global inequality in education, pay and health care access, philanthropist Bill Gates said. NEW YORK, September 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The coronavirus pandemic has wiped out progress on lofty goals such as ending world poverty and hunger in the next decade, but the economic damage of COVID-19 shows how badly such global development is needed, philanthropist Bill Gates said. Across the world, the virus has deepened social

New York, September 15 (IANS): US President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden are both gaffe-prone, but are taking radically different strategies to deal with their reigns of error before the November 3 election. Biden keeps a lower profile and shies away from unscripted encounters and his strategists hope it will minimise embarrassing errors while watching Trump shoot himself in the foot with his shoot-from-the-hip style. Trump, on the other hand, seems to revel hi

New Delhi, September 14 (IANSlife): Putting India's common citizens - tailors, kirana shop owners, autorickshaw drivers, teachers and more - at its centre, a new inspirational anthem titled 'Himmat Hai Toh Jeet Hai' launched on Monday, kickstarting with it a two-month-long campaign to celebrate 'himmat' or fortitude Indians are displaying in their fight against Covid-19. This celebration of stories of courage and hope amid Covid-19, has been launched by Populatio

BY SAEED NAQVI IANS | September 13 If the Gandhi trio stirred themselves into action as a serious opposition, is there a possibility that they would end up in jail? If they were spared despite this affront, it would imply that the Modi outfit has come to the conclusion that the Gandhis are now totally harmless. Requirements of the media in this regard are helpful to the Narendra Modi establishment in a peculiar way. It keeps the Gandhis in frequent focus with the express purpose

New Delhi, September 12 (IANS): Percy Bysshe Shelley was a poet of the Romantic era who had inspired Mahatma Gandhi. Now, his 'Ode To The West Wind' written two centuries ago, Covid-19, an Italian director and an Indian producer have come together for "Human O.A.K.", a short film that is "absolutely poetic, something delicate, something that speaks about the pandemic but in a gentle way". The film "could only be thought and realised in the lockdown p

BY SOBDAR BALOCH New Delhi, September 12 (IANS): I am often confronted with a question about how to create global awareness about the Balochistan movement. Common answers would be that India, Afghanistan, United States and friendly countries should initiate a debate and chalk out a long-term policy to work with Balochistan in order to maintain durable peace and prosperity of the region. Recognizing Balochistan as an occupied territory will pave the way for it to become a sovereign s

New Delhi, September 12 (IANSlife): Late identification of learning disabilities could leave some children behind in their academic and mental development - something early screening can solve. Indigenous research studies have estimated the incidence of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs) in India to be between 10-12 percent of school-going children. In remote populations and Tier-II cities where there is negligible awareness or service available for identification, these kids sli

New Delhi, September 11 (IANSlife): Bringing into sharp nation-wide focus the indispensable role nutrition plays in the development of not just a child, but communities and the nation at large, September 2020 has been announced as POSHAN Maah, or National Nutrition Month, as a key milestone for 'Kuposhan-mukt Bharat' (Malnutrition-free India), across the life cycle. A strong Panchayat-level focus forms a major highlight of this month, tracing the under-nutrition problem to Indi

New York, September 11 (IANS): Despite Democratic nominee Joe Biden's nearly 8 point lead against Donald Trump in national polls, US pollsters are red flagging the cracks in the Joe Biden - Kamala Harris ticket's lead among key voting blocs, saying the gap is still not wide enough to put the Democrats safely on the winning side against Trump. If the 2020 race is tight, Trump's Black support is being seen as a game changer. Biden's lead among Blacks is pegged in the r

New Delhi, September 10 (IANS): All the member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region on Thursday resolved to collectively fight Covid-19 and strengthen the region's response with better-equipped health systems to deliver essential health services during the pandemic. "The spread of Covid-19 has impacted almost every community, overwhelmed health systems and disrupted economies and livelihoods with effects reaching far beyond the health sector. It has also disproportionate

New Delhi, September 9 (IANS): As long as the Indian Army was at its peace-time locations due to the coronavirus, the Chinese were able to sneak into Indian territory at Pangong Tso lake and set up their bases. Once their chicanery was detected and the Indian forces roused from their locations, the Peoples Liberal Army (PLA) is having a rough time in actual combat. Experts say that by threatening India, China is showing its true colors. Under President for Life Xi Jinping, the count

BY VISHNU MAKHIJANI New Delhi, September 8 (IANS): Winston Churchill once defined diplomacy as "the art of telling a man to go to hell in such a way that he asks for directions to it!" Jawaharlal Nehru explained a diplomat's job rather differently: "I want to assure you that India does not expect to lie on its behalf. Never tell a lie but always remember you have no obligation to reveal the truth. The less said the better; the best is to listen." Listen

New Delhi, September 7 (IANS): The Centre will launch a drive to identify Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) children and ensure their adequate nutrition and care during ongoing POSHAN Maah 2020, Union minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani tweeted on Monday. Irani said that the drive will have a long-term impact on the health of such children and would improve the country's nutrition indicators as well. "GOI will launch an intensive drive to identify Severely

In a lawsuit, communities demanded urgent reparations from the government and oil companies for environmental damage, but the case has been dismissed   QUITO, September 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) : When the Kichwa community closed off their village near the Coca River in Ecuador's northern Amazon rainforest in March to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic, they planned to live off fishing and whatever food they could grow. But about two weeks into their

New Delhi, September 4 (IANS): A rattled China, forced on the defensive by India's astute and sharp military maneouvres on the border has lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even going to the extent of questioning re-election prospects for a third term in 2024. From banning Chinese apps to fall in India's GDP, China is on a relentless India bashing exercise aimed more pointedly at Modi. According to a Global Times report, "Right after Indian troops once again

As floods and erosion uproot more families in Assam, about 300,000 people in the Guwahati hills have no proof of land ownership   GUWAHATI, India, September 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Bankim Chakma wanted to build a home for his growing family in Guwahati in the eastern Indian state of Assam, he had few options. Land was expensive for poor migrants like himself, so he moved to the hills where it was cheaper and safe from floods. But, like the tens of thousands of

Kolkata, September 3 (IANS): As the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal gears up for a high-voltage Assembly polls scheduled in 2021, the party leadership is focusing on the young brigade at the grassroots primarily with a clean and clear track record in politics. The state's incumbent formation is already plagued with corruption charges in various districts, especially after the Cyclone Amphan that ravaged a large part of south Bengal districts. Be

New Delhi, September 1 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent appeal for going vocal about local toys has evoked mixed feelings in Sadar Bazaar Delhi's iconic wholesale toy market. Soon after India announced stricter quality compliance requirements on imported toys, Prime Minister Modi met senior officials on August 23 to discuss ways to boost the manufacturing imprint of Indian toys, suggesting that the youth be engaged in coming up with innovative designs. But a num