BRAZIL has been a favourite hunting ground for mysterious killer viruses. Unknown illnesses, giving occasion to much brainracking in medical circles, have been its bane. Four deaths recently in

Bacteria that feast on garbage may provide an environmentally benign way to dispose household waste, say British engineers who are testing a new anaerobic digester -- that does not require air -- for

A new instrument to detect tiny polluting particles that vehicles emit

Endangered species may just about find a safe haven in the Arabian desert. Regional governments in the oil-rich Gulf have poured in billions of dollars into the transformation of dry, dusty

A new dam intended to solve a water crisis has, paradoxically, created new problems for the people of Gwadar in Pakistan. Environmentalists fear that in the absence of a proper drainage

It is a victory of sorts for activists in the oil-ricb Ogoni region of southeast Nigeria who have been fighting a long-sustained battle against oil giant Shell Petroleum. They claim that

A euphemistically named agreement for the "sustainable development of the Mekong river basin" has generated a storm of controversy. The rum- blings were heard almost as soon as the accord

Asphyxiated Dhaka dwellers in Bangla" are hoping for a breather from air pollution. In response to a petition filed by a citizen in March-end, the Bangladesh government was issued a Hijb Court

The Arab League is putting up stiff resistance to us plans to push through an indefinite extension of the Nuclear Non -proliferation Treaty. In late March the group of Arab nations took a