New Delhi, December 9 (IANS): National capitals IGI Airport is gearing up to be at the frontline of Indias upcoming offensive against the Covid-19 pandemic. Accordingly, the GMR operated airport, which played a pivotal role in supply of PPEs in the past several months, is now preparing to handle the precious, temperature-controlled cargo carrying anti-Covid-19 vaccines. Expected to be flown out from pharma hubs in Pune and Hyderabad, these vaccines hold the promise to unshackle I

Nairobi, December 9 (IANS): A green pandemic recovery could cut upto 25 per cent off predicted 2030 greenhouse gas emissions and bring the world closer to meeting the two degree celsius goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change, said a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Wednesday. The UNEP's annual Emissions Gap Report 2020 reveals that despite a dip in the 2020 carbon dioxide emissions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is still heading for a temperature

Washington, December 8 (AP): President Donald Trump has declared that he has absolute power to issue a pardon to himself. Yet the law is much murkier than his confidence suggests. No president has attempted to pardon himself while in office, so if Trump tries to do so in the next six weeks, he will be venturing into legally untested territory without clear guidance from the Constitution or from judges. Legal experts are divided on an inherently ambiguous question that was left va

By Asad Mirza IANS | December 7 For once maverick Boris Johnson seems to have taken a correct step, but he faced public and his partymen's ire over the decision. To counter the Corona pandemic, different countries adopted different strategies and took different safety measures, almost everywhere these steps were supported and adhered to willingly by their citizens. However, the response of the British public and some politicians too in this regard seems to be quite different

New Delhi, December 6 (IANS): With no sign of any agreement between the government and the protesting farmers even after the fifth round of talks on Saturday, and the next meeting scheduled for December 9, farmers are sticking to their first and major point - that the three "anti-farmer" laws passed in September be repealed. However, the government says these laws are in the interest of farmers to make them richer. The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Faci

New Delhi, December 6 (IANS): As cyber attacks surge in India especially in the digital payments and healthcare sectors, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is leaving no stone unturned in understanding and mitigating the constantly evolving threat landscape prevailing in the country. The year 2020 saw several UPI-related frauds and several banks issued advisories, alerting users about the same. Ransomware-

ArrayNew Delhi, December 5 (IANSlife): With a rather turbulent year nearing a culmination, taking to books that touch upon the themes of religion, mythology, spirituality and life lessons can help readers slow down and develop a fresh perspective for the coming year. Here's what's on our bookshelf for the December of 2020: The Dharma Forest by Keerthik Sasidharan The Dharma Forest is a grand debut filled with complex characters, conflicted loyalties and erotic jealousi

ArrayNew Delhi, December 4 (IANSlife): Literature festivals and events are dominated by heterosexual content or mainstream ideas of existence and matters that impact their lives and emotions, says human rights gay activist Sharif D Rangnekar. This led to the conceptualisation of the festival Digital & One, says the author of Straight To Normal My Life As A Gay Man' who is also the festival director. Organised by the Rainbow Lit Fest Queer & Inclusive, the two-day onli

New York, December 4 (IANS): After the Democrats disparaged US President Donald Trump's programme to get an anti-coronavirus vaccine ready at warp speed, they are now turning to former Presidents to help convince Americans that it is safe to get vaccinated against the raging disease. A trio of former Presidents, Democrats Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and Republican George W. Bush, announced on Thursday that they would publicly get vaccinated to demonstrate its safety to the 42

Washington, December 3 (IANS): The Covid-19-related school closures risk pushing an additional 72 million primary school aged children into "learning poverty" - meaning that they are unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10, the World Bank has said. The pandemic is amplifying the global learning crisis that already existed, according to two new World Bank reports, which outlined a new vision for learning and the investments and policies needed, including on ed

New Delhi, December 2 (IANS): The Narendra Modi government claims to give minimum support price (MSP)for crops to farmers at one and a half times the costs of production. On the other hand farmers are seeking a guarantee for procurement of crops on the MSP fixed by the government. But the toughest part about giving a guarantee on MSP is that a chunk of the government's budget will go into it. Experts point out that the government will need about Rs 17 lakh crore to procure all crop

New Delhi, December 2 (IANS): With chances of affordable Covid-19 vaccine likely to be available by February 2021, 59 per cent Indians divulged that they will not rush to take it, a survey revealed on Wednesday. The last few weeks have given hope to the world with three vaccine makers -- Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca releasing their efficacy data. Oxford-AstraZeneca has a partnership with Serum Institute of India for production and reports suggest that the vaccine could be

New York, December 2 (IANS): Neera Tanden, who has been named Joe Biden's budget chief, shares a common upbringing with Kamala Harris -- both were raised by single mothers, who came from India and through their determination saw their daughters rise to positions of power -- exceeding the American dream. "Like the vice president-elect's mother, Shyamala, my mother, Maya, was born in India. Like so many millions, across every generation, she came to America to pursue a be

United Nations, December 1 (AP) Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad said the coronavirus pandemic has increased trafficking of women and gender-based violence, leaving the health and safety of women on the line. The 27-year-old activist, who was forced into sexual slavery by Islamic State fighters in Iraq, said curfews, lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed by governments to slow the spread of the virus have had unintended consequences on women worldwide. Rather than reduc

Nemonte Nenquimo, first female leader of the Waorani, won a landmark court case to protect half a million acres of rainforest   BOGOTA, November 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As a girl growing up in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, Nemonte Nenquimo would listen to stories passed down from her ancestors about how the Waorani indigenous people preserved their forests and defended their lands from settlers and oil companies. Those tales of survival and resistance later ins

(AIDS Day Special) Agartala/Aizawl, November 30 (IANS): The status of HIV/AIDS epidemic in north-eastern states of India is indeed alarming, said a report by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO). The AIDS-related mortality per 1,00,000 population in India was estimated to be the highest in Manipur (36.86), followed by Mizoram (28.34), Nagaland (26.20), Andhra Pradesh (21.76), Puducherry (15.33), Meghalaya (11.08) and Telangana (10.79), the NACO report added. Union Min

BY SAEED NAQVI IANS | November 29 For the new team being announced by the Biden administration any innovation can only follow repair work of the considerable wreckage that is being left behind by the outgoing team. At this moment of transition, what construct does one place on the outgoing Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo's participation in the cloak-and-dagger meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu in the mega city

By Vishnu Makhijani New Delhi, November 28 (IANS): Award-winning author and columnist Shoba Narayan is a graduate from the Columbia Journalism School with a Pulitzer Travelling Fellowship and writes on food, travel, fashion, and art and culture for a slew of International and Indian publications like the Conde Nast Traveller, NYT and Brunch. All her four books are firmly rooted in Indian culture, as is her latest offering, "Food & Faith - A Pilgrim's Journey Through Ind

New Delhi, November 27 (IANS): On October 1, 1977, Brazilian football superstar Pele was handed the microphone to address the crowd ahead of a friendly between New York Cosmos, the team he had played with for over two years, and his beloved Santos, where his career started and reached dizzying peaks. Among the sold out crowd at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey was boxing legend Muhammad Ali and England's World Cup winning former captain Bobby Moore, apart from Pele's father and

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26 (IANS): A glance at the statistics and some hard facts would show that as far as their individual careers are concerned, Lionel Messi has eclipsed his legendary former Argentina coach Diego Maradona, who passed away on Wednesday. At the international level, 33-year-old Messi has 87 goals in 165 appearances, making him Argentina's all-time highest goal scorer. Maradona scored 42 in 106 recorded appearances. Messi's goal-scoring record at club level is o