Snippets

• Over 19,000 dengue fever cases have already been reported in Costa Rica in 2005. Two years ago, the country witnessed a record 19,703 cases; health officials believe the figure by the end of 2005 will be higher. "We can call this an epidemic," said Teresita Solano, head of Costa Rican health ministry's dengue programme.

• Joe Barton, the chair of the US House of Representatives committee on energy and commerce, recently launched a probe into the professional histories of three top climate change researchers involved in producing the 2001 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. The report rallied global lawmakers to curb manmade greenhouse gases. Eighteen of USA's most influential scientists have written a public letter, accusing Republican political interests of trying to "discredit the particular scientists rather than... search for understanding".

• Fifteen US states recently sued the Department of Energy (DoE) over not setting energy-saving efficiency standards for household appliances. The petitioners say DoE has violated the mandate given to it by the US Congress through its inaction.

• The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has reportedly issued notices to over 100 shopping malls in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Panchkula and Ambala over non-submission and approval of environmental impact assessments. Most of these malls have their own captive power generation, creating noise and air pollution.