Fig leaf for the business world

India is obliged under the Montreal Protocol to gradually stop the use of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which cause unimaginable damage by burning a hole in the Earth's stratospheric ozone layer. The industrialised countries have already phased out some of these substances. The first deadline for India and other developing nations comes on January 1, 2010, when these countries are expected to entirely stop using CFCs.

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AUTONOMY OR CORRUPTION?

News Snippets

>> On November 25, a month-long road show kickstarted in the Australian continent.

Sterile growth of hybrids

For the new Green Revolution India is expected to queue up for China’s hybrid seeds China is the benchmark for rice productivity, and its success is supposed to have come from its early adoption of hybrid rice. But this is true only in parts.

Volcanoes’ rainfall twist

MAJOR volcanic eruptions can disrupt rainfall patterns over the Asian monsoon region. A study has shown that big eruptions tend to dry up much of central Asia, but bring more rain to southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar—the opposite of what many climate models predict.

News 360° - Briefs

OIL PALM PLANT INVASION Philippines is promoting agrofuels as a way to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Thousands of hectares have been set aside in the Palawan Island, a part of UNESCO’s recognised biosphere reserve, for oil palm and jatropha. A project by Agumil Philippines Inc., a joint venture between Filipino and Malaysian investors, has already started cultivating oil palms. The state-owned LandBank is backing it.

Equitable water for all

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) on November 17 announced its decision to invest US $20 million in a private equity fund for water related infrastructure. While the bank is not new to such deals, it is the first time it has invested in an equity fund like this.

Chinese art barricaded

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei had intended interactive art.

Gatecrashing virtual China

Amazon’s Kindle devices are selling in China because the e-reader allows users to log on to banned sites such as Twitter and Facebook, according to Hong Kong’s newspaper South China Morning Post.

News 360°- Briefs

Health Now cholera rocks haiti